-Down to Earth * Day-long Conclave organised by CSE in New Delhi; about 50 experts from across India participate * Experts recogniselinkages between India’s growing burden of diseases and the food produced intensively using chemicals as well as ‘bad food’ — ultra-processed foods high in fats, sugar or salt (HFSS), marketed rampantly * Strong pesticide management billneeded. Class I pesticides, extremely hazardous and toxic, must be phased out * Regulations needed to reduce misuse...

-The Indian Express Deliberations at UN show resolve to address public health challenges at highest level. On September 26, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) deliberated on how best to address a serious public health challenge — tuberculosis (TB). A day later, the world’s most esteemed political forum deliberated on combating non-communicable diseases (NCDs). For several years, WHO South East Asia and its member states have been ground zero in the battle against...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: Widespread privatisation of public goods in many societies is systematically eliminating human rights protections and further marginalising those living in poverty, according to a new report, released by the United Nations (UN). The 25-page report by the UN is eye-opening in the light of Indian government think-tank Niti Aayog releasing Guidelines for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for tackling Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in government-run district hospitals. Niti Aayog's...

-The Indian Express Progress on non-communicable diseases should not be benchmarked against sustainable development goals. In the last week of September, India’s health ministry received the prestigious UN Inter-Agency Task Force Award for “outstanding contribution to the achievement of NCD (Non-Communicable Diseases) related SDG targets”. At the same time, a Lancet paper by the monitoring group, NCD Countdown 2030, contended that India will fall short of the NCD targets pertaining to SDGS....

Although life expectancy at birth for both the sexes has improved over the last quarter of a century, a recent report points out that ‘non-communicable diseases’ (NCDs) now account for a larger proportion of total deaths vis-à-vis ‘communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional disease' (CMNNDs). The report entitled India: Health of the Nation’s States - The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative, which has been prepared after two years of intense collaborative...