-VillageSquare.in Women trained as poshan sakhis, or nutrition friends, advice and help rural women, particularly expectant and lactating mothers, to eat nutritious food and overcome anemia and underweight deliveries Koraput (Odisha): Swapnarani (21), an expectant mother, finishes her household work fast to attend the monthly maitri baithak at her village Bhutanagar in Badakeranga panchayat of Odisha’s Koraput district. Maitri baithak, or friendship meeting, provides space for women to discuss issues that concern...

-United Nations The world’s population is set to grow by 2.2 billion between now and 2050, the UN said on Wednesday, and more than half of that growth - 1.3 billion - is likely to be in sub-Saharan Africa, where women’s rights are hampered by limited access to healthcare and education, along with “entrenched gender discrimination”. Monica Ferro, Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Geneva, said the trend globally is...

-Hindustan Times It will give the failing discipline the priority, energy and momentum it requires To eliminate tuberculosis by 2025, a decision to integrate the two vertically implemented programmes — tuberculosis with HIV/AIDS — was taken in March, and an expert committee was constituted to provide the operational strategies for it. The argument for this integration is unquestionable. When HIV/AIDS claimed 30 million lives in the 1990s, it was declared a global...

The country's maternal mortality ratio (MMRatio) exceeds that of China by a huge margin, which not only indicates the poor status of women in our society but also the miserable functioning of health system, among other things. However, there is some good news around the corner to cheer about. Recently released data by the Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin indicates that for the country as a whole the MMRatio has...

-Down to Earth Now, government has promised ‘world’s largest health scheme’ whose implementation is not possible, at least in 2018. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) used the phrase ‘quality health for all’ in its manifesto when Narendra Modi was pushing for his prime ministerial candidature in 2014. It gave hope to many who were campaigning for robust healthcare system in India. However, with the government completing four years...