The government needs to allocate more funds for public health. The mismatch between the declared objective of universal healthcare through the public health system and the actual level of expenditure remains serious.  One of the three most important planks on which Barak Obama won the U.S. presidential election was the country’s healthcare system, which he promised to fix. Indeed, the most important legislative measure initiated by Mr. Obama so far...

TIRUNELVELI: For the first time in the State, the Indian Red Cross Society’s Tirunelveli chapter has kicked off a novel initiative of collecting unused medicines from the public, segregating and stocking it in a pharmacy to be given strictly to the poor patients carrying prescriptions given by a qualified doctor. After seeing a sizable quantity of valuable drugs remain unused in the shelves of his house and of his friends,’ the...

Endorsing or participating in private studies on efficacy of drugs and accepting any kind of hospitality from pharma companies might be a thing of the past for doctors with the Medical Council of India coming out with a fresh code of conduct for medical practitioners. The MCI through an amendment to the “Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulation 2002” has brought out the code of conduct which includes...

Copenhagen showed how fast and far India has traveled geo-politically. The same, alas, cannot be said about the health of the nation. On the international stage, India’s relentless focus on equity made us proud. The time has come to apply that principle at home. India’s ailing health delivery system is viewed as a worthy but dull topic on a normal day in a typical newsroom in the country. Typically, such neglected...

The recent high-pressure tactics to introduce genetically engineered food crops in India are another rude reminder that Western agribusiness companies have a deeprooted strategy to obtain a stranglehold on India’s food and agriculture system. In a review of recent trends titled ‘Food Without Choice’ (The Tribune, November 1) Prof Pushpa M. Bhargava (who was nominated by the Supreme Court in the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee to protect safety concerns), an internationally...