-The Indian Express ICDS, the primary scheme targeting malnutrition, needs to be broadened with the help of the National Nutrition Mission. Every once in a while, a discussion or debate starts on malnutrition. On a debated issue, precision is desirable. Initially, there were several discussions on the word “malnutrition”, which can technically mean over-nutrition, as well as under-nutrition. But now, there is global consensus on three terms. First, for a given reference age,...

-The Times of India New Delhi: Worried that the recent gang-rape and suicide of an ASHA worker in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh can jeopardise its ambitious health plans, the Centre has asked states to take proactive measures to ensure security of healthcare workers. The health ministry has suggested states to set up a complaint committee or cell headed by a woman as per Vishaka guidelines in every healthcare facility. Besides, states have also...

-The Hindu Business Line Early detection really helps, particularly in the case of breast cancer, a big killer in India The incidence of cancer worldwide is on the rise. Cancer has risen from 700 new cases per million people in 2013 to nearly 1,000 new cases per million people in 2015. Even in India, the trend has been along similar lines. The World Health Organisation estimates that cancer deaths in India alone...

-The Hindu Ex-official says priority setting in India is based on consultation, not evidence. Bangkok: India faces serious challenges in implementing universal health coverage policies because of a “serious knowledge gap” among policy-makers and a “general unwillingness for change”, Rakesh Srivastava, former Director-General of Health Service, says. At a session on “Enabling better decisions for better health: embedding fair & systematic processes into priority setting for universal health coverage” here, Mr. Srivastava said...

-Economic and Political Weekly Health and nutrition indicators have improved, but remain unacceptably low. After a hiatus of a decade, we now have up-to-date information on the health and nutrition status of the population. Preliminary results for 13 states and two union territories of the much awaited National Family Health Survey–4 (NFHS–4) which was conducted in 2015–16—the first after NFHS–3 of 2005–06—have just been released. In a welcome development, NFHS–4, for the...