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 …
just 10 avoidable risk factors, including malnutrition, unsafe sex, smoking and poor sanitation, account for 40 per cent of global deaths each year. This was stated in the latest World Health Report of the World Health Organisation (who). According to the organisation, cheap remedies exist for many ailments and governments …
victims of arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh have taken the British Geological Survey (bgs) to court. They contend that bgs did not test for arsenic in the water of wells funded by a project which had partners such as the United Nations Children's Fund (unicef) and the World Bank from 1983 …
an ambitious international project to promote washing hands with soap in Kerala has evoked a sharp response from the hygiene conscious people of the state. Recent media reports suggest that the
A group of scientists studying salinity levels in the aquifers of Haryana stumbled across a bigger problem. The team from the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (cssri) found arsenic in the groundwater of Gohana block in Sonepat district of Haryana. Worse still, the levels of the contaminant were well above …
scientists from the Dhaka-based International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (icddr,b) have recently initiated clinical trials to study the efficacy of an oral diarrhoea vaccine in Bangladesh. The vaccine is being manufactured by the international pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. It has been developed by Baltimore-based John Hopkins University. The vaccine would …
the World Health Organisation (who) recently released the draft tobacco treaty text. This would be the basis for final negotiations on the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (fctc) which, when adopted, will be a significant step towards combating global tobacco menace. Excerpts from the text: The preamble of the text …
• 1,393 new medicines were marketed between 1975-1999. Only 1.14 per cent were for tropical diseases and tuberculosis • The global disease burden of these tropical diseases is more than 10 per cent • For non-infectious respiratory diseases (prevalent more in higher income countries) pharmaceutical companies spent US $307 million …
Starting September 2002, about two million children would be vaccinated free of cost against Hepatitis b in 15 cities and 32 districts in the country. The move follows the inclusion of the vaccination in the Universal Immunisation Programme (uip) by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (mhfw), which took …
Hepatitis B is a communicable disease with a high strike rate the germ: "The Hepatitis B virus kills 20 out of every 100 infected people each day. This works out to 400 times the people who die of AIDS daily,' points out S K Sarin, president, Indian Association for Study …
europe has been declared polio-free. For some 870 million people living in the region's 51 member states, this declaration is an important public health milestone in the new millennium. The European Regional Commission for the Certification of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis confirmed that the disease had been eradicated in the …
The almost exclusive focus on the multiple violent insurgencies in Assam has ensured that no other issue catches the policymakers' eye. Fluorosis is not even a perceived threat in Assamese society, even as it slowly assumes uncontrollable proportions. Today, over 100,000 people in Assam suffer from hydrofluorosis
recognising the worsening global epidemiological trends for dengue, the recently held 55th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organ isation (who) passed a resolution urging the international community to spend more funds and expend efforts on dengue research. who reports that every year, 50
after 40 years of its inception Codex Alimentarius, the internationally recognised quality standards for food products, is in for its first re-evaluation. The assessment will be conducted by Food and Agriculture Organisation (fao) and World Health Organisation (who). The re-evaluation will also include comments from the public. The objective behind …
in a valiant attempt to reduce inequalities in healthcare between rich and poor nations, the World Health Organisation (who) has suggested a strategy to help developing countries benefit from new discoveries in genetic research. The suggestions were made in a recently released who report called Genomics and World Health. The …
Iraq has accused Britain and the us of not only causing cancer but also blocking medical supplies crucial to the treatment of cancer to its people. In a letter to un secretary-general Kofi Annan, Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri said depleted uranium ammunition used by the us-led forces during the …
frying and baking of starch rich foodstuff at very high temperatures results in the formation of a carcinogen called acrylamide. This has been proved by a recent study conducted by Sweden-based Stockholm University. According to the university's researchers, foods with very high levels of acrylamide include French fries, potato chips …
an improved formulation of oral rehydration solution (ors) has been recently approved by the World Health Organisation (who) and the United Nations Children's Fund (unicef). It is soon going to be endorsed by the Indian government. The new formulation has the same constituents as the old one
