-PTI Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Wednesday said it was not fair to expect schools to take in children from Economically weaker sections (EWS) when a cap on their fees and charges had also been imposed. “One unfortunate things is to put a cap on their (private schools) charges. Now, that is also not fair, because remember that primary schools have to meet their expenditures,” Dikshit said. She said while government could meet...

A healthcare model relying mainly on people from within the community to provide care is reaping success One of India’s most backward districts and Maharashtra’s worst ranked in human development indicators, Gadchiroli, today finds itself at the forefront of a healthcare revolution that can potentially save millions of infant lives and help India rapidly reduce her abysmal infant mortality rate (IMR). Under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), India...

The accredited social health activists (ASHAs) — the first port of call for health care under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) — will be entrusted with additional responsibilities, albeit with better monetary incentives, as the Mission Steering Group – the highest decision making body of the NRHM — has approved the proposal for involving them in activities such as spacing between births, promoting iodised salt and village sanitation. The ASHAs...

-Live Mint At a time when India plans a multi-pronged attack on malnutrition in 200 high-burden districts, it will pay to examine the cracks in state institutions that have led to past failures and can still derail well-intentioned plans. Melghat, a tribal corner in the northeastern fringes of India’s richest state—Maharashtra—is an apt example of almost everything that has gone wrong in India’s response to malnutrition and child deaths. Every 14th child dies...

Tribal Health Indicators A tribal child is 25% more likely to be underweight and 40% more likely to die before five years of age compared with an average Indian child. The proportion of low birth-weight children at around 23% as well as the proportion of neo-natal deaths at roughly 40% is similar for tribals and others. However, more tribal children die in the 1-4 age group compared with others, according to the World...