A report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), which was released on July 6th (observed as World Zoonoses Day by research institutions and non-governmental organisations across the globe) this year, says that around 60 percent of known infectious diseases in humans are estimated to have an animal origin. Likewise, almost three-fourth of all new and emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic i.e. these diseases...

-The Hindu Paper uses latest available food price and wage information from the National Sample Survey’s 2011 dataset. Three out of four rural Indians cannot afford a nutritious diet, according to a paper recently published in journal Food Policy. Even if they spent their entire income on food, almost two out of three of them would not have the money to pay for the cheapest possible diet that meets the requirements set...

  Air quality in North India in general and Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) in particular plunged to its lowest point in recent years during October-November thanks to a variety of factors. Through media reports one comes to know that stubble burning (also called paddy straw burning/ crop residue burning) is chiefly responsible for the public health crisis in India's capital and its nearby regions. Data accessed from the website...

-Hindustan Times The society runs 268 social welfare schools providing free education, food and clothes to nearly 1.5 lakh children from Class 5 to under-graduate courses. Hyderabad: The success story of residential schools being run for students belonging to marginalised sections by the Telangana government has been chosen as a case study for the prestigious Harvard University in the United States of America. A communication to this effect from Harvard University was received...

-The Indian Express While we do not question the basic premise that air pollution has adverse health impact, we are sceptical about the figures quoted and the methodology adopted in estimating the cost. In the past three years, several studies have linked air pollution with health effects. For instance, the State of Global Air 2019, published by the Health Effects Institute (HEI), claimed exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution contributed...