New Delhi: Feb 28, 2011

As the Union Budget draws near, activists have demanded increase in the spending on children. Consider this: two million children under 5 years die every year in India, almost one out of three malnourished children live in India and 45.9% children under 3 years are underweight. Spending on health care in India remains low in comparison to many developing and developed countries. Most European countries spend about 9%-11% of their GDP on public health. Government expenditure as a share of the total health expenditure in India is less than what Asian countries such as China and Indonesia spend on health care.

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Jaipur: Feb 28, 2011

A “Dignity of Girl Child Foundation” was launched in the presence of two State Ministers in Jaipur with a call for affirmative action for girls, restoration of their value in the society, complete ban on sex determination tests and female foeticide and renewed efforts to check the declining sex ratio in Rajasthan. A conglomerate of three non-government organisations – Urmul, Swach and Vihaan – joined hands for the unique initiative with the support of Awake Foundation and Gyanodaya Trust. The three NGOs have been working for the past five to six years in the far-flung areas of five districts – Jaisalmer, Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Jhunjhunu and Alwar – to meet the challenge of sharp fall in the number of women in the population.

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Bhubaneswar: Feb 28, 2011

With measles continuing to be leading cause of childhood and disability, the State government has approved for introduction of second dose of measles vaccine in the State. In a notification issued on Friday, the Health and Family Welfare Department says, “measles vaccine has been introduced in the country for more than 40 years and has a good track record of safety. It is already in the vaccination schedule of the State.” Measles is a vaccine preventable disease which is an important cause of under five mortality in the State . Currently, the vaccine for measles is part of the universal immunisation programme and is given at nine months as a single dose.

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New Delhi: Feb 28, 2011

India's health allocation has been hiked by 20 per cent to Rs 26,760 crore for the sector with special focus on research, insurance cover for marginal workers and medical education. "For health, I propose to step up the plan allocations in 2011-12 by 20 per cent to Rs 26,760 crore,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while presenting budget. He also said the Rashtriya Swasthya Beema Yojana has "emerged as an effective instrument for providing health cover to marginal workers". 

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New Delhi: | Feb 26, 2011

More than half of adolescent girls in India are anaemic, a recent report from UNICEF says. Malnourishment among India’s adolescent population is found to be higher than even some of the least developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The future of adolescent girls in the country seems dismal with a vicious cycle of underweight adolescence, child marriage and maternal mortality. More than half of them (56%) are anaemic and 43% are married off before the age of 18.The appalling nutritional figures for adolescents put India in the company of least developed nations such as Congo, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

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Jodhpur: Feb 25, 2011

At least 12 pregnant women died of excessive bleeding at a government-run hospital here after they were allegedly administered contaminated IV fluids. A probe has been launched into the incident. Though the authorities were tight-lipped about the incident, sources in the Umaid Hospital told that the authorities had begun an inquiry into whether the contamination was hospital-acquired or had come from the manufacturer. The Rajasthan Government on Sunday suspended a drug inspector and an employee of the Hospital and announced an ex-gratia assistance of Rs.5 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased, besides blacklisting two pharmaceutical and surgical equipment firms.

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New Delhi: Feb 23, 2011

The government has approved a special programme for providing proper healthcare facilities for the elderly. "Government of India has approved the National Programme for Health Care of Elderly (NPHCE) to improve health services for the elderly," Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. The plan includes setting up eight geriatric care centers across the country. Geriatric units will also be opened at 100 district hospitals in 21 states, and units will also be created at community and primary health centres. Development of manpower for this is among the highlights of the plan. 

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Erode: Feb 22, 2011

There is an alarming decline in the child sex ratio in the district. Currently, Erode has a child sex ratio (0-6 years) of 932 girls per 1,000 boys, which is far below the national average and the internationally accepted levels. Social activists now fear that the scant attention paid by the health officials in the district in monitoring the ultrasound scan centres and their failure in the strict enforcement of Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex selection) Act may lead to severe consequences in the years to come. The foetal sex determination and female foeticide, according to highly-placed official sources, happens at all levels in society. 

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Ranchi: Feb 21, 2011

About 11.44 lakh families, who have recently added to the list of below the poverty line (BPL) by the State government, may soon have the reason to rejoice. The State government has decided to provide them free health insurance facility at par with those already classified as BPL by the Centre. While those listed as per the Central criterion already have the facility, the State government has decided to set a trust with corpus fund of Rs 25 crore to manage the payment of premiums for the free health insurance scheme of the newly included families. 

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Kolkata: Feb 20, 2011

At the ninth Kolkata Group workshop, chaired by Professor Amartya Sen, 45 participants from different walks of life, including social scientists, policy makers and development experts, convened to assess the dimensions of social equity in India, especially as related to poverty, elementary education, and health. The participants assessed that the benefits of economic growth over the past two decades, while substantial, have not translated into health security for people. Many countries in Asia, including even those with lower per capita income, are tending to outperform India in health and healthcare. Influential policymakers in India seem to be attracted by the idea that private healthcare, properly subsidised, or private health insurance, subsidised by the state, can meet the challenge.

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