health
The Hindu’s editorial advocates ‘Free medicines as a mission’
This editorial in The Hindu, following up earlier ones on Universal Health Coverage through a tax-funded system, appeared in print and online editions today. The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Free medicines as a mission. Participate in the discussion on the article page with your own comments.
Spending for a healthy India – Tamil podcast on higher GDP expenditure for universal healthcare
The Hindu published an editorial titled Spending for a healthy India on March 9, 2012 highlighting the importance of tax-based universal healthcare by 2017. That should be the goal of the Twelfth Plan. The aim is to reduce out-of-pocket spending on healthcare that is pushing many Indians into poverty – simply because a massive health [...]
Universal Health Coverage for India – Insurance, Medicines and human resources
The report of the High Level Experts Group (HLEG) instituted by the Planning Commission to provide Universal Health Coverage for India has many key features that need extensive debate. Disappointingly, such discussions are not taking place, at the level of political parties, Trade Unions, Civil Society organisations and even the media. The Hindu has been [...]
Srinath Reddy group report on Universal Health Coverage for India – download link
Here is the link to the High Level Experts Group report on Universal Health Coverage for India. The panel was headed by Dr. K. Srinath Reddy. It is a good document based on which there needs to be a public discussion on the future of healthcare in the country. http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/rep_uhc0812.pdf A series in The Lancet on [...]
State of Chennai food safety
This scene at the junction of Kodambakkam High Road and Jagannathan Road shows the concern of the Tamil Nadu Government towards public health, and even common sense. A row of footpath vendors serve lower cost meals to patrons from what are commonly known as ‘kaiyendhi bhavans’ – cart stalls that are stand-and-eat joints. The less [...]
Pensioner Kanani: a welfare watchdog in Tamil Nadu
I like Pensioner Kanani for the high-quality service that it provides to retirees. The mainstream media is too preoccupied with breaking news, political games and pseudo-events to cover the retirement sector. One can imagine that they are also less interested in this population sub-set because pensioners are not aggressive consumers, and are therefore unattractive to [...]
A sobering report on India’s poverty from OPHI
Poverty talk is mostly confined these days to prime time television, where contrived debates fuelled by puffed-up anchors and venal politicians fill the gap between commercials. In the case of newspapers, they minimally take notice of the problem. Their so-called process journalism mostly ignores chronic poverty, as it does everything else chronic — lack of [...]
In a nation of billionaires, children with crippled legs
During the recent IPL matches held in Chennai, there were middle class citizens who thought nothing about forking out Rs. 1,000 each to watch what has been proved to be a scandal-ridden spectacle that passes for sport. The prosperity pipeline of the IPL is so constructed, that that thirsty spectators had to pay five rupees [...]
The missing E’s in medical education: Dr. K. Srinath Reddy
The Chairman of the Public Health Foundation of India, Dr. K.Srinath Reddy has written in The Hindu today, another piece on the parlous state of health — this time on medical education in the country. His earlier pieces in the newspaper dealt with the need for the entire Union Cabinet to function as a strong [...]
