The most recent round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP) was held in Japan in early March. One of the key aspects of this year’s RCEP was the insistence by developed nations to add provisions which will impact negatively the production of cheaper medicines. If these provisions are added, it could badly affect India’s Revised […]
On a night in August 1999, the car of Vadodara-based doctor Subroto Das hit a tree by the highway. Three persons were injured. However, they had to wait for almost five hours before help arrived. It was the acute helplessness the doctor and his fellow travelers experienced on that night which led to an initiative […]
The final version of the National Health Policy sees huge reversals made on many proposals on the Draft National Health Policy, 2015. For instance, as per the new policy, health is not a fundamental right. A proposal has been made to increase the health budget to 2.5% of GDP, but that’s going to happen only […]
During the 1960s, a young hippie named Larry Brilliant came to Indian from his homeland in America and played a central role in eradicating smallpox in India. Though exciting, his tale is hardly known to many Indians. Smallpox has killed an estimated 300 million to 500 million people in the 20th century alone. The disease […]
Faced with extraordinary issues like manpower crunch and infection control, the critical care sector in India still does a great job of saving lives. A recent article that appeared in the Indian magazine, The Week points out this often overlooked aspect of our healthcare sector. Some of the aspects that the article try to draw […]
The government recently launched an intense house-to-house search to find out unreported TB cases across 18 states. The search, which took place between Januray 15 and 31 has screened about 34 lakh people. It’s been reported that at least 26,000 people among them have been identified with TB symptoms. 1,800 cases have been confirmed till […]
The world’s heaviest woman’s name is Eman Ahmed Abdelaty. She weighs 500 kg and hails from Egypt. To alleviate her problem, she has sought the help of Indian doctors, which many see as yet another instance of the world seeking out some of the world’s best medical help to solve a problem. A couple of […]
An estimated 2.5 million people in India have earned bits of medical knowledge by working as a doctor’s assistant or from a chemist or even a relative. These people prefer to be called doctors and treat patients-especially in rural areas where a real doctor is not to be found. They are among the ones who […]
That Dr Dwakaranath S Kotnis is held in high esteem by another nation can be seen by the fact that every time a Chinese leader pays a visit to India, it’s usual for him/her to meet the family of the Indian doctor. Dr Kotnis was sent to China as part of a medical mission from […]
Dr Ashok Sankhpal is a medical doctor who was posted for nine months near Al Ramtha in Jordan- very close to the Syrian border, not the safest place to be in at this point in time. He expresses the horror thus: “I could hear the bombings every day and with every bomb explosion, about 50 […]