Full Coverage: Health

30.11.2005 Alcohol is the leading risk factor for death and illness in the Americas, it takes a disproportionate toll on the poor, and not only alcoholics are at risk; the larger problem is overconsumption by people who just drink "socially." Experts on alcohol abuse and public policy from 20 countries are gathered in Brazil this week to discuss ways of reducing its harmful effects.

30.11.2005 In 2003 President Bush announced a 5-year, $15 billion initiative to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, yet restrictions attached to how those funds may be used are limiting their effectiveness, says Population Action International.

30.11.2005 Barbershops in Jaipur city are doing something more than just haircut. Guess what? They are giving tips to their customers as to how they can prevent themselves from getting the infection.

29.11.2005 The 2005 Human Development Report paints a bleak picture of the progress made toward those aims six years into the campaign. Among the highlights: The report says the goals for poverty, universal education and child mortality will all be missed in 10 years if current trends continue.

29.11.2005 An effort to regulate drug prices in India, through measures “other than price control”, has been wasted. A task force set up under Supreme Court directions to find ways to reduce prices of life-saving drugs, could not come up with many viable solutions.

28.11.2005 Uganda has become the first country in the world to benefit from a healthcare information system that manages, measures and monitors the distribution of Anti retroviral drugs (ARVs).

28.11.2005 India is fast becoming home to a large number of children affected with HIV/AIDS, but there is hope of a longer life for them, according to a study published in this weekÂ’s issue of Lancet, the reputed medical journal.According to the study conducted by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, US, adequate zinc levels are essential for growth and to enhance immunity in children who test positive for HIV.

28.11.2005 Using mobile mania that has gripped the country to do more than just connect people, ZQM Software Systems in the Capital is all set to tackle one of the biggest hurdles in checking transmission of AIDS -- lack of general awareness -- through fun and games. It will launch four mobile phone games on World AIDS Day, December 1, under the banner of "Freedom from AIDS/ HIV".

24.11.2005 A study funded by Sida aims to explore the opportunities for using ICTs in mitigating HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa. The study focused on three countries, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique. It seeks to discover how ICTs contribute to the empowerment of people living with HIV/AIDS and how the usage of ICTs improves ongoing and planned HIV/AIDS programs in the region.

24.11.2005 Around 800 delegates from over 55 countries will discuss gender and health related issues at the fourth international congress on women that gets underway here from Nov 27.

23.11.2005 New Delhi: Dr. Devi Shetty, the Chairman & Sr. Consultant Cardiac Surgeon of Narayana Hurudayalaya Institute of Cardiac Sciences has stressed on the importance of innovation in providing health care services to people.

23.11.2005 IBM has offered its support to AIDS research by joining the World Community Grid, a philanthropic technology initiative made up of a global community of computer users who donate free time on their personal computers.

23.11.2005 A German e-waste management expert has underlined the need to immediately conduct a Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) assessment in Chennai.

23.11.2005 India may be a major exporter of anti-retroviral(ARV)drugs but barely 30,000 people are actually on medication in this country which itself has a burden of five million HIV positive cases. Read this story from Inter Press Service

22.11.2005 A landmark document signed by 30 governments in 1990 has helped increase global breastfeeding rates by 15%. With 6 million lives saved annually by exclusive breastfeeding, the initiative has made important progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

22.11.2005 New Delhi: Dr. Devi Shetty, the Chairman & Sr. Consultant Cardiac Surgeon of Narayana Hurudayalaya Institute of Cardiac Sciences has stressed on the importance of innovation in providing health care services to people.

22.11.2005 A two-week workshop on HIV/AIDS for young television producers was concluded in Accra on Friday,18 November, with a call to combat stigma and discrimination against people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

22.11.2005 Sir Roger congratulated the Governor of Rajasthan, H.E. Smt Pratibha Patil, for continuing a state-wide ban on the sale of non-iodized salt, and for distributing iodized salt free of charge in remote, tribal areas.
Cecilio Adorna, UNICEF India Representative, said that Rajasthan had the leadership required to make Universal Salt Iodization a reality. “Rajasthan could be a role model for other Indian states,” he said. More work is needed on quality control, and in raising public awareness about the risks of using non-iodized salt, he said.

21.11.2005 Almost a fifth of all ill health in poor countries and millions of deaths can be attributed to environmental factors, including climate change and pollution, according to a report from the World Bank.

21.11.2005 Is an avian flu pandemic imminent? As panic sends the world into a flutter, the Indian response still struggles to take wing, discover Padmaparna Ghosh and TV Jayan.