-Down to Earth This water causes diarrhoeal diseases that kill 800 children every day, mostly in India, Afghanistan and Congo To limit the spread of disease and reduce environmental pollution, human waste (excreta) needs to be safely contained and effectively treated. Yet 4.2 billion people, more than half of the world’s population, lack access to safe sanitation. In developing countries, each person produces, on average, six litres of toilet wastewater each day. Based...

-The Times of India New Delhi: The health ministry will soon revamp its flagship immunisation programme 'Mission Indradhanush' to include four new vaccines. The mission, currently providing coverage against seven life-threatening diseases, will soon also include vaccines for rotavirus, measles rubella, inactivated polio vaccine biavalent and Japanese Encephalitis for adults, health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said. Mission Indradhanush — depicting the seven colours of the rainbow — will also be rechristened...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Dengue, the mosquito-borne disease which hits India hard every year, is estimated to cost the world a whopping $8.9 billion annually. That's higher than many major infectious diseases including cholera, canine rabies and rotavirus gastroenteritis, medical journal Lancet has said quoting a new study. India shares a significant burden of the total cost. Last year, when there was an unusual surge in dengue cases in India...

-The Hindu This month marks the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to dramatically improve lives across the world by 2030. This month marks the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to dramatically improve lives across the world by 2030. The SDGs will help countries frame their policies and strategies towards achieving these mutually agreed upon goals and targets. SDG 3, which aims to ensure good...

-The Hindu India’s UIP will now be able to provide free vaccines against 13 life-threatening diseases to 27 million children annually India has made huge strides as far as public health achievements are concerned, made possible by the use of safe and effective vaccines delivered through quality programmes. For example, small pox was eliminated in 1975, polio in 2014 and maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) in August 2015. While India has shown its...