A new United Nations report shows for the first time how poor health is linked to poverty in cities and calls on policymakers to identify those that need the most help and target measures to improve their well-being. The report, entitled “Hidden Cities: unmasking and overcoming health inequities in urban settings,” was launched today in Kobe, Japan, where leaders from governments, academia, media and non-governmental organizations have been meeting for the...

More needs to be done to protect women from the dangers of unsafe abortions, a United Nations official told a forum in Ghana that is examining the extent of the problem in Africa, where some 5.5 million unsafe abortions are performed annually. Thokozile Ruzvidzo, Director of the African Centre for Gender and Social Development at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said many commitments have been made regarding women’s health,...

National Food Security Act can help bring down malnutrition and maternal Mortality rates in the country, Biraj Patnaik, principal adviser to the Supreme Court commissioners on right to food, said Wednesday. 'Anaemia during pregnancy is one of the main reasons for maternal death, because that may cause haemorrhage. Food supplement which can tackle iron deficiency is the way to face this challenge,' Patnaik said. According to Patnaik, the body mass index (BMI)...

All epidemiological data in Chhattisgarh are ‘guesstimates' Underestimation of malaria Mortality figures Public hospitals ill-equipped to handle severe cases Last week, the medical journal Lancet published the results of a malaria survey undertaken by researchers as part of the Million Deaths Study, an ambitious programme that strives to document the causes of nearly one million deaths in India from the period 1998 to 2014. As per the survey 2,05,000 Indians die of malaria every...

Orissa government has imposed a seven-month ban on fishing for the nesting and breeding season of Olive Ridley turtles. This will affect the livelihood of at least three lakh fishermen across the state. Fish eaters will have to pay more for sea fishes or will have to satisfy themselves with sweet water fishes. The ban will be in force along 120 km sea coast in six districts of Balasore, Bhadrak,...