-The United Nations More women are being diagnosed with and dying from breast cancer, the specialized cancer agency of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today reported, calling for greater attention to prevention and control measures to offset lifestyle changes which pushed breast cancer to be the leading cause of cancer death among women. Global cancer rates jumped to more than 14 million last year, with some 1.7 million women diagnosed...

-The Hindu     Report points to a serious dereliction of duty by many of the institutions involved Health activists have appreciated the Parliamentary Standing Committee's report on the "Alleged Irregularities in the Conduct of Studies Using Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine by PATH in India." They commended "its candid, transparent contents, which reflect the committee's acknowledgement of the unethical nature of the HPV trials'' conducted in the country. In the trials, Program for Appropriate...

-The Telegraph Two Union government health agencies colluded with a foreign entity to conduct a mass vaccination campaign on thousands of girls in India four years ago, violating medical ethics and national laws, a parliamentary committee said today. The parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare has blamed the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Drugs Controller General of India for collaborating with the US-based Program for Appropriate Technologies...

-The Hindu If a creditable scheme to promote menstrual health hygiene is not to become an environmental hazard, distributing biodegradable products is a must In June 2010, the Centre approved an unprecedented scheme to promote menstrual health by distributing subsidised sanitary pads among adolescent girls. Priced at Rs.1 each, the pads were targeted at 15 million girls between the years of 10 and 19, and across 152 districts in 20 States. It...

-The Hindu The government has issued a warning letter to Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), asking it to be careful while conducting clinical trials so as to ensure that discrepancies and violations are not repeated in future. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had suspended the Phase-V post licensure clinical trial being conducted by PATH, an international non-governmental organisation, in Khamman (Andhra Pradesh) and Vadodara (Gujarat) for Human Papilloma...