Health & Sanitation

57% of the world’s countries collect blood through unpaid volunteers. Unpaid, voluntary blood donors ensure a standard base and safe blood transfusions, in times of need. One unit of blood can help several patients.

ARMMAN has been awarded $115,000 (approximately Rs. 74 lakhs) to scale-up their customised free mobile voice call service, mMitra. The service provides tailored preventive healthcare information to pregnant women and mothers of children under five years of age. mMitra has enrolled over one million women across seven states in India since their pilot programme was...

Sometime after observing World Menstrual Hygiene Day, a community development nonprofit, The Desai Foundation in collaboration with Shantaben Vidhyabhavan announced the expansion of its “by women, for women” Sanitary Napkins Program in Gujarat, India.  The program which provides training, employment and access to sanitary napkins, is expanding the second branch, inorder to reach an additional 250,000 women and girls. The product manufactured and sold through this...

The Maternity Bill has been in force since 1 April, bringing in a host of issues in its wake. There have been over the economic forces that come into play while implementing the tenets of the Act, with HR managers across disciplines trying to find solutions to their specific requirements within the framework mandated by the...

Abortion remains highly restricted in India. The governing law, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (1971), permits abortions before 12 weeks of pregnancy by a registered medical practitioner or before 20 weeks of pregnancy with the approval of two registered medical practitioners, but only if the mother or child's mental or physical health is in danger. A slightly more liberal amendment is under consideration, but still does not allow abortion if the woman simply wishes to terminate the pregnancy.

SBI Foundation partnered with Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (AYJNISHD), Mumbai for providing cochlear implants to 50 children born with profound hearing loss. The cost of cochlear implants and post-operative rehabilitation will be borne under their CSR Project. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, SBI yesterday presented an amount of Rs. 2.65 crore to Dr....

Recently, Assam’s health minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, unveiled the draft of a new population policy for the state. It proposes, among other things, to penalise people who have more than two children. However, the Government has sought public suggestions on the draft population policy, which would be put up in the public domain, before...

Noted surgeon Dr. N K Pandey emphasised that sustainable development goals (SDGs) related to access to medicines and healthcare, should definitely be a priority for the government. Speaking at a conclave on the ‘Role of Industry Associations in Influencing Healthcare Innovations and Sustainable Development in India: Opportunities, Challenges, and Policy considerations’ organized by Open...

The Foundation for Disease Elimination and Control of India (FDEC-INDIA), Indian Council of Medical Research and Govt. of Madhya Pradesh announced Phase 1 roll-out of Malaria demonstration project in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh. This Phase will focus on community awareness and education programs among the community residents in Mandla. Minister of State for Health, Fagan Singh Kuleste...

About 10,000 school children, 50 schools through 100 workshops are now enabled to become ‘Health Champions’ for their peers and communities. ‘She’s Ambassador’ is a health and leadership program to develop health champions. It aims to empower young people to make educational and sustainable decisions favourable to healthy lifestyles and social development. Mumbai Obstetrics Gynaecological...

Today, the Indian government spends only about one percent of its GDP on healthcare, which is among the lowest globally for any country. Along with building highways, firing up our power plants and ensuring there is a roof over every Indian’s head, there is a need to focus on healthcare in the country. According to...

World Health Day is an annual reminder, an alarm set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to remind the world of both the increasing health burden and attention required for public health. This year, 7th April, is a day that marks 68 years of the WHO’s effort in preventing, arresting, and reporting on public...