-PTI Pregnant women and lactating mothers are eligible to receive a cash benefit of Rs. 5,000 in three instalments. New Delhi:  The Modi government on Wednesday virtually halved the number of beneficiaries under its Maternity Benefit Programme (MBP) by restricting the scheme to firstborns instead of 'first two live births' as applicable earlier. PTI had earlier reported that reduced allocation of funds of Rs. 2700 crore for the scheme in the Union...

-The Hindu Why are children in Kerala’s Muslim-dominated Kozhikode and Malappuram districts dying of diphtheria? Propaganda by orthodox Muslim community leaders and alternative medicine practitioners that Vaccination is un-Islamic is the main cause, reports Rajeev G.R. Her years of clinical experience had not prepared her for that damp, rainy night when death lingered in the air inside the operation theatre. As Mohammad Afzaz (14) desperately gasped for air, he told her, “You...

-The Times of India HYDERABAD: The Telangana government on Tuesday sounded a "global emergency" after an active strain of wild polio virus (P2 strain) was detected in a water sample collected from a drain, prompting it to airlift two lakh vaccines from Geneva to innoculate more than three lakh children in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy district as a "preventive measure" from Wednesday. Vaccine Derived Polio Virus (VDPV) strain has not been seen...

-PTI The study says, although India is a leading producer and exporter of vaccines, the country has the greatest number of deaths among children under five, a prime reason for these deaths are delays in immunization. Washington: India is a leading producer and exporter of vaccines but two-thirds of Indian children do not receive Vaccinations on time which makes them susceptible to diseases and contributes to untimely deaths, according to American...

-The Times of India New Delhi: The health ministry will soon revamp its flagship immunisation programme 'Mission Indradhanush' to include four new vaccines. The mission, currently providing coverage against seven life-threatening diseases, will soon also include vaccines for rotavirus, measles rubella, inactivated polio vaccine biavalent and Japanese Encephalitis for adults, health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said. Mission Indradhanush — depicting the seven colours of the rainbow — will also be rechristened...