The Wire The issue of the deaths of 70 children in the Gambia after consuming cough syrup is back in the news again. These deaths were linked to four Medicines made by an Indian manufacturer, Maiden Pharmaceuticals. A Gambian presidential task force has now recommended that the government must sue the drug manufacturer, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, and the drug importer, Atlantic Pharmaceuticals.  It also wants the Government of India to be sued. This...

Australian Broadcasting Corporation Poonam Gond is learning to describe her pain by numbers. Zero means no pain and 10 is agony. Poonam was at seven late last month. "I have never known zero pain," she said, sitting in the plastic chair where she spends most of her days. The 19-year-old has sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder. Her Medicine ran out weeks ago. Poonam's social worker, Geeta Aayam, nods as she...

-The Telegraph Alertness among public and preparedness by healthcare institutions is always good, says Organised Medicine Academic Guild’s secretary-general New Delhi: A body of medics has called on fellow doctors and government agencies to acknowledge India’s largely safe status against existing coronavirus variants and avoid “scaremongering” lest the public disregard caution if and when a “real wolf” arrives. The Organised Medicine Academic Guild (Omag), a body of 15 professional medical associations with a...

-The Hindu With the Rajya Sabha Standing Committee on Health expressing concern over the high cost of cancer treatment, the Government invoking Section 100 of the Patents Act is a way forward The subject of the spiralling costs of cancer Medicines and their implications that have frequently been highlighted the world over were dwelled on in a recent report (“Cancer Care Plan and Management”) by the Rajya Sabha’s Standing Committee on Health....

-The Hindu The Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed by Parliament in 2005, aiming to give people access to the records of the Central and State governments. It was a vital reform to help activists and individuals ensure transparency and accountability in governance. In a discussion moderated by Sonikka Loganathan, Anjali Bhardwaj and Saurav Das take stock of what’s working and the issues that appear to be weakening the law....