In Tamil Nadu, untouchability is so deep-rooted that there are separate burial spaces for Dalits and upper castes even in some urban pockets. “Samarasam ulavum idame Nam vaazhvil kaanaa Samarasam ulavum idame… Jaathiyil melor enrum Thaaznthavar keezhor enrum bethamillathu Ellorum mudivil serndhidum kaadu Thollai inriye thoongidum veedu Ulaginile ithuthaan Nam vaazhvil kaanaa Samarasam ulavum idame…” (Here, in this place pervades equality Which one could not have seen ever in one's lifetime! Steering clear of caste discriminations Such as the high, the low and...

Melinda lauds efforts of Bihar's Health Ministry to expedite immunisation rate Philanthropist and software titan Bill Gates on Wednesday said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation were in talks with the Government of India to introduce new vaccines to bolster the rate of immunisation in the National Rural Health Mission programme. In Bihar to visit community health workers and State officials to witness first-hand the launch of a five-year $80 million...

Appreciating the efforts of the government in containing polio and HIV, software czar and philanthropist Bill Gates on Tuesday discussed issues relating to immunisation and pentavalent vaccine production with Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here. Mr. Gates and his wife Melinda called on Mr. Azad and discussed matters relating to the immunisation programme, pentavalent vaccine, polio vaccination efforts, HIV control and capacity building, senior officials said. The Microsoft founder appreciated the...

World Bank president Robert Zoellick recently listed nine measures that the G20 should adopt under its current French presidency. These range from improving information about grain stocks and developing better weather-forecasting methods to strengthening social safety nets for the poor and helping small farmers benefit from tenders from humanitarian purchasers such as the World Food Programme . These measures tackle only the symptoms of the global food system's weaknesses, leaving the...

Save the Children, an NGO has called for greater investment in female health workers as essential to saving mothers' and children's lives. “Every year, close to two million children die before their fifth birthday, and around 67,000 women die annually from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth — but investment in women as community health workers can play a major role in dramatically reducing these figures,” said a statement issued by...