Five years ago, when the proposed National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was a subject of fierce controversy, Bunker Roy compared the attitude of the government to that of a dog who crosses a road half-way, can’t decide whether to go forward or backward, and gets run over. This enlightening image applies again today, in the context of the proposed National Food Security Act (NFSA). The National Advisory Council (NAC) discussed...
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Despite economic growth, India still a top home for childhood hunger by Katy Daigle
India, a global breadbasket with economic growth that rivals China's, is still home to 42 per cent of the world's underweight children. The stark statistic, released by the Washington-based Food Policy Institute ahead of World Food Day on Saturday, stands in contrast to the country's burgeoning economy and hopes of boosting its global stature as exemplified by its hosting of this year's Commonwealth Games. "We need to be asking ourselves, what or...
More »Urban food security has deteriorated in many States, says report by Gargi Parsai
Chronic under-nutrition among women decreased in Bihar and Orissa The urban food security situation has deteriorated in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnakata and Madhya Pradesh, while Punjab showed a marginal worsening till 2006, says a Report on the State of Food Insecurity in Urban India released here on Friday by Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy. “Indicators such as the percentage of anaemia amongst women and children, the percentage of women...
More »Start a hungama by Manoj Kumar
It’s a silent epidemic that we’ve never been able to put a finger on. In debates on food security, the issues of hunger and malnutrition have always been add-ons. But for millions, getting the next meal is the difference between life and death. Four-year-old Akash Sahariya can barely stand up. His bleached hair, distended belly and matchstick arms are harbingers of certain death that awaits him. He is the fourth...
More »New approach to HIV treatment could save 10 million lives, says UN report
A new United Nations report says that a radically simplified approach to ensuring access to HIV treatment for everyone who needs it could prevent 10 million deaths by 2025 and 1 million new infections annually. The so-called Treatment 2.0, says the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), could lower the cost of treatment, simplify treatment regimens, ease the burden on health systems, and improve the quality of life for people living...
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