Full coverage: Health

31.08.2006 When it comes to responding to HIV and AIDS, Muslims are neither better nor worse than anyone else, but in its progressive form, Islam is certainly better prepared to respond than the Vatican.

30.08.2006 Telemedicine has opened up the possibility of reaching out to rural and backward areas in the country in a most cost-effective manner, said Panabaka Lakshmi, Union Minister of State,Kerala for Health and Family Welfare.

30.08.2006 The World Bank has resumed its lending to health sector in India. Three projects totaling $662 million, which were held up for more than a year, have now been approved by the Board of executive directors of the World Bank, a finance ministry statement said here.

30.08.2006 The Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA),SriLanka has called on the Government and all relevant authorities to intervene to improve the quality of the State Health Service. They also demanded drastic changes to the higher education policy framework in keeping with changing needs of society.

30.08.2006 Under considerable pressure for its perceived lack of clarity on the issue of pesticide residue in carbonated drinks, and lack of urgency in formulating norms to regulate their safety, India’s health ministry has promised that norms for these products will be in place by January 2007.

30.08.2006 The Indian government’s AIDS awareness drive has clearly not made its mark on the lawmakers themselves, reveals a new survey of parliamentarians. Although 95% of them knew about the existence of HIV/AIDS, most were unaware about how HIV is transmitted

29.08.2006 A Press Release by Delhi NGO Toxics Link says that mercury which has known health impacts is present in idols of gods that Indians keep in their homes. The NGO refuted a statement made by Indian minister for environment that mercury was not present in the idols and said that such a stance by the government will go against the proposed mercury policy.

28.08.2006 Aid agencies are launching initiatives to stem the spread of debilitating water-borne diseases in earthquake and flood-ravaged parts of Pakistan.

28.08.2006 A vaccine to prevent avian flu developed by a Bhopal-based research institute could be available for as cheap as 35 paise per dose, official sources said.

28.08.2006 In the run-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Delhi government has decided to construct 36 hospitals.

28.08.2006

educating young girls in Nepal

From 2004 to 2006, CEDPA joined with local partners in the Baglung, Mohottari and Udayapur districts of Nepal to improve adolescent girls’ lives and create health awareness in them through a non-formal education program.

28.08.2006 Fertility rates have dropped in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, according to the preliminary findings of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), from 2005-06.

28.08.2006 After being sent two legal "threats" by the pesticide industry, the New Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has dared the industry to take it to court. In a statement the CSE has said that the industry is "behaving like a bully" ever since the release of its report on pesticides in soft drinks.

28.08.2006 The main message the Conference delivered may be that in spite of the progress over the last 25 years, there was no room for complacency. It is time to deliver! There are almost 40 million people living with HIV, including 24.5 million in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2005, 2.8 million people died of AIDS.

25.08.2006 he past seven years have been a period of marked improvement in a number of health indicators in Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, according to the third National Family Health Survey

25.08.2006 Indian NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has said that the science used by the health ministry experts to give cola companies a clean chit is complete junk. In a detailed, point-by-point response to the government’s report the CSE has said only two bottles were tested by the government and the report of these tests has not been made public.

25.08.2006

AIDS

Although Sri Lanka is categorised as a low HIV/ AIDS prevalence country, its geographical positioning makes it a future ‘high risk’ nation that may see an AIDS epidemic in the future says Dr. Sujatha Samarakoon,Venereologist and National STD/ AIDS Control Programme.

24.08.2006 In a bold move India is backing moves to promote a national needle exchange and drug substitution programme for intravenous drug users in order to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS in this high-risk and vulnerable group.

24.08.2006 New Delhi, August 22, 2006: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) responded sharply to the recent statement in Parliament by Anbumani Ramadoss, Union minister of health and family welfare, which questioned the validity of CSE’s findings. “The minister of health is clearly more concerned with industrial health -- and not people’s health,” said CSE.

23.08.2006 The first phase of the polio drop administering campaign will be launched in the Nepal from September 2 to 4, Dr Yasobardan Pradhan, director of the Child Health Division Office, said at a press conference organised by the Global Network of Health Journalists.