India ranks a dismal 134 among 187 countries in terms of human development index in the UNDP's latest Human Development Report. Against this bleak backdrop, the bugle of caution is rightly sounded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its latest Human Development Report (HDR), released in Copenhagen on November 2 jointly by Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. As the international community is busy preparing...

The Planning Commission has received a sweeping set of recommendations that proposes free health care and medicines for diverse needs to all Indian citizens, irrespective of economic means. Whether or to what extent the proposals — described as “even bigger” than the UPA’s blockbuster job scheme — will be accepted will depend on the political and executive leadership. If the government throws its weight behind the initiative, it will effectively mean...

The High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage for India on Sunday held a brainstorming session here to address concerns raised by the World Bank over some of the recommendations in its report for the 12th Five Year Plan. Among the issues raised were marginalisation of the private sector and the “elimination of intermediation by insurance companies.” The expert group, which will revert to the Planning Commission on Monday with...

-The United Nations   Children’s well-being has improved dramatically thanks to increased global political will and efficient supportive programmes and policies, according to a report released today by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children UK, but it also warns that benefits need to reach the most disadvantaged children for gains to be sustainable. “We have seen remarkable results largely because of strong political will by countries, matched by the...

While higher income levels mean countries have more money to improve women's health, ultimately it comes down to how governments decide to spend the money We know that economic growth and human development do not always go hand in hand, as evidenced by the very different position of countries in per capita GDP rankings compared with human development rankings. But the link between health conditions and economic growth is usually thought...