Four infants died in Lucknow after they were given anti-measles vaccine The team will ascertain whether the vaccines were spurious or there were procedural lapses It will probe whether Auxiliary Nurse-midwives were trained to administer the vaccine The Centre has sent a two-member team to Lucknow to probe the deaths of four infants after they were administered anti-measles vaccination at an immunisation camp in the Mohanlal Ganj area. “Most stringent action will be taken...

More than 15,000 health sub-centres and 28,000 nurses and midwives have been added in the rural health sector during the last five years, a health survey report says. According to the Rural Health Survey Report 2009, released by the Health Ministry Wednesday, a remarkable increase in human resource and infrastructure in the rural areas has been achieved since the launch of National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) in 2005. "Comparing the...

At the beginning of this millennium in year 2000, 189 countries and 23 international health agencies had pledged to reduce child under-5 mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three-fourths by 2015. These were called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) number 4 and 5. With only five years left for the target year, a clutch of international health agencies and NGOs have come out with ‘‘Countdown to 2015 — Decade...

The health ministry will soon finalise the syllabus for the proposed short-term medical course for training doctors especially for rural areas, an official said Wednesday. 'The course is now in its advanced stage of finalisation,' a senior official from the health ministry said. The official said almost all state governments have given their nod to the syllabus. 'The syllabus has got the nod of most of the state governments. Only...

The Union Women and Child Development Ministry will map the high-risk and vulnerable districts to strengthen nutrition surveillance. It will also set up a working group for surveillance in health and nutrition at the Central level under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). This follows a paper prepared by the Women and Child Development and Health and Family Welfare Ministries for addressing nutritional challenges...