Full coverage: Health

28.04.2008 Hundreds of Chileans have announced their intention to leave the Catholic Church following the Vatican's involvement in a local constitutional ruling to ban free contraception.

28.04.2008 An open source developer community, consisting of members like BT, IBM, Oracle, etc., has decided to collaborate to develop common healthcare IT products and services. Anyone will be free to use them to provide interoperable healthcare platforms that will link clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and other points of care to make healthcare systems more efficient.

25.04.2008 On World Malaria Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due to announce a global initiative to fight against the vector-borne disease that kills a million people around the world every year. In India, malaria is spreading to newer areas owing largely to a changing climate.

24.04.2008 IBM is toying with the idea of providing information to rural users on toll-free numbers. Its pilot project in southern India will provide information on healthcare services, small businesses and micro-finance. Once successful, it will be taken to international markets.

24.04.2008 Äitiysterveyteen kannattaa sijoittaa, ja vastaavasti äitien terveyden laiminlyöminen tulee kalliiksi. Äitien ja vastasyntyneiden kuolemat pudottavat tuottavuutta maailmanlaajuisesti 15 miljardin dollarin edestä joka vuosi, huomautti YK:n väestörahaston UNFPAn apulaisjohtaja Hedia Belhadj Helsingissä tiistaina.

22.04.2008 Tom Hadfield famous for selling a soccer website at the age of 17 is now launching a social networking site to help fight malaria that kills a million people a year. The site will not just be a fund raising tool but also connect researchers working on its prevention and treatment.

22.04.2008 Last week policymakers from South Asia gathered at Bangladeshi capital to discuss social protection strategies for children on health and basic education. Government representatives, international NGOs, researchers and experts shared initiatives and identified methods to secure the future of children.

21.04.2008 SAN FRANCISCO, Apr 21 (OneWorld) - About 300,000 U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or major depression. Another 320,000 veterans likely suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI), a type of physical brain damage often caused by explosions from roadside bombs.

21.04.2008 A community radio show by college students in Chennai in southern India is bringing alive characters from neighbouring slums to help women deal with issues of health and education. The use of local Tamil dialect is just one of the ways to reach out to its audience in the slums.

21.04.2008 Animal Angels Foundation, a Pune-based NGO in western India, works on the unique concept of using pets to bring about emotional stimulation among autistic children. This form of therapy has just begun to take roots and may eventually become part of mainstream healing procedures.

19.04.2008 Figures compiled by WaterAid disprove the government's claims of providing safe drinking water to over 90% of population. India has yet to do more to reach the Millennium Development Goals in this sector as millions continue to suffer from contaminated water-borne diseases.

18.04.2008 Co-authored by UNICEF, UNAIDS and WHO, Children and AIDS: Second Stocktaking Report, is a review of progress on how AIDS affects children and young people. Focusing on low and middle income countries, the report reveals that there is a strong need for more evidence-based information for HIV/AIDS prevention efforts.

18.04.2008 Female community health workers are saving young lives in the country by providing key services and interventions to pregnant women and children. While NepalÂ’s success in reducing child mortality puts it on track to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4, neonatal mortality remains a challenge with over 50% less than one month old babies dying.

14.04.2008 In India's business capital, an NGO Sanmitra helps HIV positive women ensure a life of independence and dignity by making them re-enter the mainstream workforce. The organisationÂ’s thrust is on HIV prevention, care and support to the affected and infected people.

14.04.2008 Indian Institute of Health Management Research, in collaboration with WHO and UNFPA, is organising a training course on ‘Programming for HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health of Young People in South and South-East Asia’ in Jaipur, India. The programme, aimed at strengthening management capabilities, addresses the concerns of younger generation about the disease.

13.04.2008

09.04.2008 Despite IndiaÂ’s ambitious National Rural Health Mission in action, rural health services remain poor, lacking infrastructure, staff and essential medicines, with funds pouring into private healthcare. At a recent meet at the capital, policymakers, experts, activists and the media examined the lacunae and discussed future strategies.

08.04.2008 Under Indian governmentÂ’s Integrated Child Development Services, Lakshadweep, a centrally administered archipelago, has decided to digitise all its 87 anganwadi centres. The move aims to monitor women and child development programmes in the geographically isolated islands.

08.04.2008 Increasing resistance to antibiotic drugs around the world has many factors from overuse to poor diagnostic capability to faulty prescribing practices to abundance of fake drugs. Authorities, doctors and patients all have a role to play in fighting it, says Jia Hepeng.

07.04.2008 A little-known mobile helpline can help you find a blood donor in times of crises. All it takes is an SMS. The messages access an online database of 45,000 blood donors in 300 Indian towns and cities.