-The Hindu There is reason to be optimistic about the U.N. report on disability rights, but there is also disappointment at its failure to make the poverty connection The disability movement has waited anxiously for the report of the high level panel on post-2015, formed by the Secretary General of the United Nations, which was released in May. This document is expected to set the tone for the Secretary General's report on...

-The Hindu   Every day, more than 5,000 people develop tuberculosis; nearly three lakh children drop out of school owing to the disease and more than one lakh women are rejected by families in India. A middle-aged patient with a history of cough with blood-tinged sputum for three weeks duration consults a doctor. The physician puts forth a routine query whether anyone in his family suffers/suffered from tuberculosis? Annoyed, the patient responds: no...

-The Hindu The south leads in the number of medical and nursing seats, with for-profit private colleges dominating the scene. It will take major capacity expansion in the government sector to meet WHO norms on access to health professionals. India has achieved major organisational and technological successes but the health system's performance is abysmal. This cannot be attributed to poverty. It is poor health that places India 134th in the Human Development...

-The Hindu It cannot get any worse than this. Over three lakh newborns in India die on the very first day of their birth. With this the country ranks as number one in terms of first day of birth mortality; its share in global first-day deaths stands at 29 per cent. The appalling state of Indian health care to which this speaks is further highlighted by the fact that the...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to ban the production, stocking, distribution and sale of tobacco products such as gutka and pan masala in the state. The decision came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's remarks in a case recently, seeking to know the action taken by state governments in curbing the use of tobacco and its products. The order will be passed in a...