-Down to Earth The Earth needs to resurrect and heal. It is the right time to define collective growth and prosperity, not in terms of rising income but rising ecological wellbeing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola have shaken the global economy and society in the last two decades. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) disease is following suit. The nature has hit a reset button. Economies are in a...

-The Hindu There is scientific basis and epidemiological significance for the 21-day lockdown period announced by PM Modi. Is there any public health/epidemiological significance to the 21-day lockdown period announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi? It seems that rich scientific data has fed this decision to announce a 21-day lockdown period. In fact, 21-day quarantines have been discussed elaborately in the context of Ebola and the calculations are based on the estimated incubation...

-The Hindu It is not data, but lack of transparency and awareness that causes panic during a pandemic China’s initial cover-up of the novel coronavirus outbreak for nearly a month invited worldwide condemnation. Similarly, there were concerns when the U.S. was reported to be barring leading scientist, Anthony Fauci, from speaking publicly about the COVID-19 outbreak without approval. Dr. Fauci has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious...

-Frontline Medecins Sans Frontieres warns that the free or regional trade agreements that are being negotiated, which seek to strengthen current patent regimes, are a potential threat to the developing world’s access to life-saving drugs, which it sources mostly from India. WHEN NELSON MANDELA’S GOVERNMENT passed the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act in 1997 to make medicines more accessible to the poor, 39 big pharmaceutical companies filed law suits in...

-Livemint.com The 69th meet of the World Health Assembly began with a call to address unprecedented challenges facing the global health sector Geneva: Despite carrying the highest disease burden in the world, the Narendra Modi government chose to send a small delegation to the World Health Assembly (WHA) that began on Monday, giving the country little say in the way the global health agenda is being set and inadequately reflecting its priorities,...