WHO published its World health statistics report 2025, revealing the deeper health impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on loss of lives, longevity and overall health and well-being. In just two years, between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy fell by 1.8 years—the largest drop in recent history— reversing a …
Sub-Saharan African nations will miss the deadline to achieve most of the development targets they aimed to reach by next year, according to the United Nations. The UN in 2000 established the Millennium Development Goals, a 15-year plan to reduce poverty, lessen hunger, cut child mortality and boost access to …
UN urges final push on global targets that have shown little improvement, notably those related to women and children. Achieving global targets to reduce maternal and child deaths and increase access to improved sanitation facilities by 2015 is "slipping away", despite significant progress in the past 14 years, the UN …
Fourteen years ago, the Millennium Declaration articulated a bold vision and established concrete targets for improving the existence of many and for saving the lives of those threatened by disease and hunger. There has been important progress across all goals, with some targets already having been met well ahead of …
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced the decision of the government to introduce four new vaccines as part of India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). Vaccines against rotavirus, rubella and polio (injectable) will now be provided to all Indian children free of cost. The idea is to expedite India’s progress on …
India will provide four new vaccines free of cost as part of a programme to reduce child mortality, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said. They include one for rotavirus, which kills thousands of children a year. The disease causes dehydration and severe diarrhoea. It spreads via contaminated hands and surfaces, …
BHUBANESWAR: Though Odisha has made considerable progress in reducing infant mortality in the recent years, backward districts continue to be bogged down by high incidence of neonatal deaths despite increased healthcare interventions. A study in some of the backward tribal dominated districts has brought to the fore evidences that cite …
Harsh Vardhan, India’s new health minister, has pledged to bring transparency in health-care services and provide health insurance to all citizens. Vardhan, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon by qualifi cation, is touted by many health experts as the pioneer of India’s Pulse Polio programme. Vardhan, an ear, nose, and …
A GENETICALLY modified banana, which has the potential to dramatically reduce infant mortality and blindness in children across Africa is to undergo its first human trials in a major step towards becoming a staple for millions of people. The GM banana developed by Australian scientists is enriched with vitamin A …
THE 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) has highlighted improvements in key health indicators, especially a decline in childhood deaths and stalled progress in reproductive health. The recent NDHS shows that mortality rate for children under five years is 128 deaths per 1,000 live births, which is a decline …
Neonatal deaths still remain a challenge in the country due to lack of adequate neonatal care facilities at primary healthcare level and low institutional delivery. Neonatal deaths contribute to 64 percent under five child mortality across the country, according to Health and Demography Report-2011. Renowned public health expert and chief …
Each year 5.5 million babies enter and leave the world without being recorded and one in three newborns – over 45 million babies – do not have a birth certificate by their first birthday. Babies who are stillborn, born too early, or who die soon after birth are least likely …
LONDON: With nearly 8 lakh new born babies dying every year in India, the country holds the dubious distinction of having the highest number of such deaths globally. A comprehensive review led by Professor Joy Lawn of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to be made public on …
India accounts for the greatest burden of newborn deaths in the world, according to a recently published report. Half of the newborn deaths worldwide occur in just five countries, with India recording the highest at 7,79,000 per year, followed by Nigeria (2,76,000), Pakistan (2,02,400), China (1,57,000), and the Democratic Republic …
The CEO of the Zilla Parishad (ZP), Nashik, has called for detailed reports of the high infant mortality rate (IMR) reported in Yeola, guardian minister Chhagan Bhujbal's constituency in the assembly. The IMR has risen sharply from 19.29 per thousand to 23.49 per thousand in barely three years in Yeola, …
The well-being of mothers in China has improved dramatically thanks to the government's efforts to enhance family healthcare, an international report showed. China ranked 61st among 178 countries and regions as the best place to be a mother, moving up seven spots from last year, according to an international index …
In Pakistan, maternal mortality has reduced by almost half, child mortality decreased by a quarter, expected years of schooling increased by 3.3 years and gross national income per capita rose 270 percent over the past 15 years. These statistics were announced at the launch of Save the Children’s “State of …
Save the Children’s 15th annual report on the State of the World’s Mothers focuses on saving children and their mothers whose lives are at risk in times of crisis. It is estimated that each day, an estimated 800 mothers and 18,000 young children die from largely preventable causes. Over half …
The UK has one of the highest rates of death for children under five in Western Europe, according to new research published in The Lancet. In 2013, the mortality rate for under-fives in the UK was 4.9 deaths per 1,000 - more than double the rate of 2.4 per 1,000 …
The fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG 5) established the goal of a 75% reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR; number of maternal deaths per 100 000 livebirths) between 1990 and 2015. Aimed to measure levels and track trends in maternal mortality, the key causes contributing to maternal death, and …
Remarkable financial and political efforts have been focused on the reduction of child mortality during the past few decades. Timely measurements of levels and trends in under-5 mortality are important to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) target of reduction of child mortality by two thirds …
