Tuberculosis re-emerges as a major threat as new drug-resistant strains develop because of mismanagement of the disease. At the beginning of the year, doctors at Mumbai’s P.D. Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre reported that they had 12 patients infected with TDR-TB, or totally drug-resistant tuberculosis, a condition in which the TB bacilli is resistant to all first- and second-line drugs used in the conventional treatment of the disease. Panic...

-The Indian Express Contraceptive use saves the lives of more than a quarter of million women each year, either from death in childbirth or unsafe abortions, according to estimates published. In 2008, 355,000 women died while giving birth or from illegal or dangerous abortions, a study published by The Lancet said. But more than 250,000 deaths were averted that year because contraception reduced unwanted pregnancies, it said. “If all women in developing countries who...

-FAO Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture play a crucial role in food and nutrition security and in providing for the livelihoods of millions of people. FAO's latest flagship publication on the state of fisheries and aquaculture, launched at the opening of the 30th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, highlights the sector's vital contribution to the world's well-being and prosperity, a point reflected in the recent Rio+20 Outcome Document. The State of...

-The Times of India   Higher education in India should not perpetuate inequality of opportunity It's admission time again. Charming images of 'freshers' entering the campus and glossy advertisements of the universities we had never heard before hide the harsh reality of educational mortality from school to higher education. Elaborate coverage of rising cutoffs and entrance tests draw our attention to individual merit and luck. We tend to forget the overwhelming role of...

'Women in urban slums need a basket of healthcare services to meet their needs' As the Centre mulls a national urban health mission on the lines of the existing National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), a study indicates that the mission may need some tweaking to deliver healthcare services to the urban poor. While women groups and accredited social health activists (ASHAs) have a big role to play in reducing maternal and...