-The Hindu Education and exposure to a community health worker too score higher than age of marriage in accessing a facility, says study. Poverty, education, and exposure to a community health worker are more important than age at marriage in determining whether a mother will be able to have a safe birth in a medical facility, according to a first-of-its-kind study on utilisation of institutional delivery in the country. The research comes at...

-The Hindu  It would be better off with few comprehensive national surveys than being over-dependent on the omnibus NFHS In a country perennially thirsty for reliable health data, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is like an oasis. It has a large volume of data that is openly accessible. The report of the fifth round of the NFHS was recently released (covering phase 2 States where data collection was delayed due to...

-The Hindu Dire need for awareness and education regarding the superstition, says study conducted in Odisha Health concerns continue to be a major underlying reason behind witchcraft related violence in Odisha while there is a dire need for awareness and education among the people regarding superstition, says a study that analysed 102 incidents of violence. The study ‘Witch-Hunting in Odisha’ conducted by State Commission for Women, Odisha and Action Aid Association, a non-government...

-Down to Earth Most of the victims were targeted for “causing health issues or crop failure” Witch-hunts are still highly prevalent in 12 of Odisha’s 30 districts — especially Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Ganjam — a new report has claimed. Most victims of such superstitious practices were targeted for “causing health issues or crop failure”. Around 27 per cent cases were triggered by health issues in children, 43.5 per cent by...

-Hindustan Times The study has been authored by Aditi Roy, PHFI Crop diversity is thought to have small, positive impacts on dietary diversity among farming households, particularly when market access is restricted. Policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic severely restricted market access. To date, no study has explored the relationship between crop and dietary diversity in this context. To address this gap, we used longitudinal data collected from 833 farmers across 12...