-Livemint.com The Gorakhpur tragedy must be seen against the larger backdrop of public health failure in Uttar Pradesh The recent tragedy of more than 85 children and newborns who died in Gorakhpur has, not for the first time, put the spotlight starkly on the country’s ailing public health system. The lack of all things important to human settlements—sanitation, disease surveillance, primary healthcare, tertiary hospitals, resources, life-saving equipment, political will and public health...

-The Hindu Acne drug seen to provide cure for Japanese encephalitis in limited trials Weeks after several children died of encephalitis-related complications at the Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College, Gorakhpur, the Centre is looking to introduce a new drug, traditionally used for acne, to deal with the seasonal outbreaks of acute encephalitis. Last year the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said the drug did not appear potent enough to merit being...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: It's dengue season, but the city is in the grip of swine flu and chikungunya as well. Where 2016 saw fewer than 200 cases of swine flu, the count is already nearing 2,000 this year. The viral disease has killed at least five people while a 12-year-old died of dengue in south Delhi's Humayunpur last week. Those are only the official figures - five top hospitals...

-Hindustan Times After Tamil Nadu’s pioneering Amma canteens, many states have started community kitchens, such as Karnataka’s Indira Canteens. This is a welcome development. The first coverage of the recently inaugurated “Indira canteens” in Karnataka that I noticed were two reports on television channels. Both were poking fun (justifiably) at Rahul Gandhi’s goofy speech at the launch. Sadly though, neither commented on the rationale or importance of the Karnataka government’s initiative. This...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Income tax exemptions worth hundreds of crores have been given to hospitals claiming to be charitable institutes, but they may be doing little or no charity, according to a recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General. CAG has asked for measurable parameters to assess the extent of charitable activities by hospital trusts availing tax exemptions as the public exchequer could be losing crores without...