Full Coverage: Health

30.10.2007 Female foeticide has reached alarming levels in Asian countries. If China leads in declining sex ratio, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal follow closely. Experts at the on-going Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights warn against this disturbing trend and call for urgent action.

29.10.2007 Homeless children are sniffing glue on the streets of Kathmandu to ward off hunger pangs. The NGO Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN) says 95% of the approximately 900 street children in Nepal's biggest city are addicted to dendrite.

29.10.2007 Agrarian tragedy is taking a new form in rural Vidarbha, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Spiraling medical costs and the lack of a basic health care system are making farmers mortgage their lands.

27.10.2007 A citizen held electronic health card (eCard) will enable people to access online electronic prescriptions in Bulgaria. The pilot project will be tested by 1,000 patients who will use their eCard at both their GP and pharmacy.

27.10.2007 WHOÂ’s newly published classification code will appraise the health of children and youth within the context of their current environment and development continuum. By documenting the rapid growth and changes in the early decades of life, the code hopes to address children's well-being through appropriate social policy, health care and education.

22.10.2007 The newly introduced female condom has been welcomed by the sex workers of Sonagachi and other brothels in the eastern state of West Bengal – perhaps South Asia’s largest red light area. The pilot project of Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust and National AIDS Control Organisation will track its use among women at risk in six states in India.

16.10.2007 NEW YORK, Oct 16 (OneWorld) - Apple's iPhone contains hazardous chemicals that can endanger human health and the environment, say scientists associated with the environmental organization Greenpeace International who tested the device in their laboratories a few months ago.

16.10.2007 The Rajasthan government and UNICEF have joined hands to mobilize volunteers to strengthen routine immunization in the western Indian state. The pilot project will seek to make people aware of the benefits of vaccination and improve infant and child mortality.

15.10.2007 The report, PeopleÂ’s Voices on MDGs 2007 highlights key policy areas, common obstacles, as well as MDG progress among countries in the South and Southeast Asia regions from the civil society perspective.

15.10.2007 A WHO led campaign in South and Southeast Asia has called for inclusion of nutrition issues in government programmes on HIV/AIDS. Experts are of the opinion that nutrition can go a long way in treating the disease as well as preventing mother-to-child transmission.

11.10.2007 Most countries in South Asia are lagging far behind, when it comes to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, says a report released by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) earlier this week.

11.10.2007

11.10.2007

10.10.2007 This year's Stand Up and Speak Out, scheduled on October 16-17, 2007, aims to move people to feel for the cause and also create more publicity than last year. This time the movement is more political too, says Sylvia Borren, co-chair of Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP).

10.10.2007 Handloom weavers in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh are battling poverty and tuberculosis while the government sponsored schemes still elude them. The Asian Human Rights Commission has launched an appeal to the people to urge the government to take action.

10.10.2007 Over 3,000 labourers signed on a monster banner to remind the Pakistan government of its promises to eradicate poverty and other MDG goals. The 10 km banner, patched together from smaller bits of cloth, will carry 1.5 million signatures to be unfurled in Bahawalpur on October 17.

10.10.2007 A new manual encourages the hearing disabled communities in developing countries to take control of their health. Developed by the Kenyan Peer Education Network,The Deaf PeersÂ’ Education Manual addresses three main issues: sexual education, relationships and hygiene for a basic understanding of sexual health, HIV/AIDS, and can be adapted to fit the cultural context and needs of the deaf communities.

09.10.2007 India is likely to fall short of the 2015 global deadline set by the United Nations to halve poverty and hunger, says a recent report by the UN and the Asian Development Bank.

09.10.2007 Kannettaviin tietokoneisiin liittyvä innovaatio toi nepalilaiselle Mahabir Punille arvostetun Ramon Magsaysay -palkinnon. Pun oli käynnistäjänä projektissa, joka yhdisti seitsemän nepalin vuoristokylää langattomilla yhteyksillä toisiinsa sekä lopulta Internetiin. Kaiken kaikkiaan hanke on tarjonnut 14 syrjäiselle kylälle lääkinnällisiä, koulutuksellisia sekä kaupankäynnillisiä palveluita.

08.10.2007 A smart card at an annual fee of INR 30 will help India's poor access good health. The Indian government has plans to offer health,life and disability insurance to around 400 million poor working in the unorganized sector. Also in the offing: a pension scheme for people over 65 living below the poverty line.