Full Coverage: Health

29.02.2008 Two studies by the Urban Health Resource Centre talk of maternal and newborn care among the poor in central India and state of urban health in the national capital. Apart from highlighting the need for better access to healthcare facilities, the reports underline the cultural factors and prevalence of poverty as obstacles.

28.02.2008 According to a recent study, around a million people will die of smoking in India alone in next two years. The country is on the threshold of a tobacco-unleashed epidemic, says Ramesh Menon, a journalist cum documentary filmmaker and recipient of the 2006 Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.

28.02.2008 Hundreds of children who had witnessed a blast in AfghanistanÂ’s Baghlan city last November are still traumatised, suffering from paranoia, dizziness, stress and sleeping disorders. Health experts are of the view that children in the conflict-affected country are at risk of suffering deep scars of war.

27.02.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 26 (OneWorld) - Most of California's furniture contains toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption, and neurological and reproductive dysfunction, according to a report released today.

22.02.2008 With nearly 10 million children dying every year around the world, how does it matter even if GDP growth shoots up? Research reveals that the issue is not about inadequacy of resources among developing countries, but lack of effective policies that can translate economic growth into development outcomes for the poor.

22.02.2008 Andhra Pradesh government in southern India will provide cellular phones to rural health workers along with setting up mobile hospitals. In addition, two free caller services for emergency medical help or advice have also been introduced under public-private collaboration.

21.02.2008 NEW YORK, Feb 21 (OneWorld) - Graphic images of animal cruelty and this week's record recall of U.S. beef have spurred fresh demands to expand a ban on killing sick animals for food consumption.

21.02.2008 Villagers in IndiaÂ’s north-eastern state of Tripura lack basic civic amenities like water, hospital, school, etc. and yet are content with their voter identity cards issued by the government. Poverty inhibits them from demanding even their basic rights.

19.02.2008 Child mortality cannot be divorced from broader political and socio-economic development, says a report by Save the Children, a UK-based organisation. The report argues that policy choices and efficient resource allocation are crucial to tackle the issue of child survival in developing countries.

19.02.2008 According to a new Wealth and Survival Index, India is one of the worst performers in cutting child mortality, given its national wealth. The new report by Save the Children UK says even the poorest of countries can attain child survival if they pursue the right policies.

18.02.2008 There are millions in India who do the dirty job risking their lives. We never notice their lives or deaths. Bereft of the honour of uniform and the posthumous glamour of martyrdom, these soldiers sacrifice their lives making sure the rivers of filth flow unhindered, says S. Anand of Tehelka, a weekly magazine.

18.02.2008 Pneumonia has taken epidemic proportions in Afghanistan, where over 170,000 patients have been diagnosed with the disease in past one month. Food insecurity, lack of awareness and unhygienic conditions are only adding to the problems of people, who are facing the harshest winter in many years.

15.02.2008 Even after the ban on its use, the hazardous impact of pesticide Endosulfan sprayed in cashew plantations in Kerala, continues to affect the communities. The state government's relief package of Rs 5 million and other schemes have proved inadequate to rehabilitate the victims.

14.02.2008 Smoking kills nearly a million people a year in India. A new study reveals that tuberculosis rather than cancer is the common cause of death among Indians who smoke. The study also says that only 2% of smokers quit – and that too because they are too sick to continue.

13.02.2008 A support group in Pune, in the state of Maharashtra, has now started reaching out to those who live with the painful memory of a suicide in the family. More than 100,000 people take their own lives every year in India, where levels of stress are increasing by the day.

12.02.2008

11.02.2008 Even as the HIV virus occurrence rate remains low at below 1 percent in Bangladesh, the country needs to secure itself by building awareness, officials say. More often, people need support to fight the social stigma that goes with the virus in this largely conservative Muslim society.

08.02.2008 NEW YORK, Feb 8 (OneWorld) - A much-delayed U.S. government report has been obtained by journalists, raising allegations that officials may be suppressing politically inconvenient data that, if released, could help protect the health of millions living in the Great Lakes region of the country.

07.02.2008 After Bangladesh and India, the avian flu has spread its tentacles to Pakistan. The country has a huge poultry farming sector, with at least 12,000 farms of varying sizes. The health ministry has sent out letters to concerned authorities to remain on high alert.

07.02.2008 KARACHI, Feb 6 (IPS) - Saifullah Paracha, a Pakistani national incarcerated in the United States military prison in Guantanamo, Cuba since September 2004, suffers from a serious heart condition and may not live unless provided special care, says his lawyer.