-Scroll.in Money could have been better spent on medical infrastructure, Sen says Santiniketan (West Bengal): Economist Amartya Sen on Friday criticised the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana, saying it does not fulfil the requirements of primary Healthcare and that the money could have been used better by improving medical infrastructure. “If we look at the Healthcare system, we will see that there is tremendous neglect towards primary Healthcare. The neglect is often not conspicuous...

-The Hindu The regulatory framework must be reformed to ensure access to safe and sufficient blood A ready supply of safe blood in sufficient quantities is a vital component of modern Health care. In 2015-16, India was 1.1 million units short of its blood requirements. Here too, there were considerable regional disparities, with 81 districts in the country not having a blood bank at all. In 2016, a hospital in Chhattisgarh turned...

-Hindustan Times With little transparency on how such deaths are investigated, and new rules relaxing how clinical trials are conducted in India, this data could be a poor estimate, said experts. Mumbai: At least 1,100 people who took part in clinical trials over the past four years have died, and 88 of these deaths were caused by direct side effects of the trials, the Health ministry told the Rajya Sabha last week. But,...

-The Telegraph Daily requirement for Indian women less than that assumed for fortification plans Millions of women across India may face the risks of consuming excess iron under current government policies on food fortification and nationwide iron tablet supplementation for women of reproductive age, new research has suggested. A study has calculated that the average daily iron requirement for Indian women is 15mg and not 21mg as currently assumed and cautioned that fortification...

-The Indian Express The state has failed to create capacities for a timely, reliable, decentralised data regime. The credibility of India’s data systems is under serious threat with the recent controversy over the employment data of the National Sample Survey. While the Census of India and the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) have a good reputation, when it comes to data related to the social sector — Health, education, nutrition —...