-The Indian Express Global Burden of Death: world health improves but progress is patchy; Bangladesh betters India in reducing maternal deaths Pune: Between 1990 and 2015, deaths of children under five have gone down by half worldwide but India has had the highest number of such deaths at 1.3 million in 2015. India has pulled down maternal deaths but Bangladesh has done better, according to the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study...

-The Hindu Fine particulate matter from industries, cars and biomass causing premature mortality. Air pollution could have killed at least 600,000 Indians in 2012, a study conducted by the World Health Organisation and made public on Monday said. That is about a fifth of the 3 million who died worldwide because they were exposed to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that may have aggravated or been directly responsible for cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer. India...

-The Hindu In an unusual sequence of events around a research paper that claimed air pollution was responsible for reducing life expectancy in Delhi by six years, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar not only condemned the study but said in an e-mailed public statement that “the timing of the release of the study seems to be motivated as it has been done at a time when Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is...

-The Hindu A new report lays bare the link between environmental degradation and the health of Indians. The numbers cited are cause for concern “Every poison we put out into the environment comes right back at us, in our air, water and food. These poisons slowly seep into our bodies and take years to show up as cancer or as immune system disorder or as hormonal or reproductive system disorders — affecting...

-Economic and Political Weekly The importance of hand-washing in personal and public hygiene has evolved over the centuries. While the market with its countless number of soaps and hand-wash products for personal hygiene with the accompanying advertising has created a false sense of security, it is community hygiene implemented through public health measures that is really effective in the battle against disease. Lekha D Bhat (lekhabhatd@gmail.com) teaches at the Department of Social...