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19-11-2009
World Toilet Organisation head, on his India visit to celebrate the World Toilet Day, says there is need to raise global awareness on sustainable sanitation. He points out privatisation can help toilets in India to catch up with growing standards of living.
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Image: Most public toilets in India are unhygienic/ Photo credit: Guardian
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05-11-2009
Scientists have announced that they are on the threshold of inventing a malaria vaccine. Researchers, however, are skeptical of Africa’s readiness to make use of it, where most of malaria-related deaths happen.
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Image: Malaria accounts for 20% of deaths of children under five in Africa; a new vaccine targeting this age group has entered the final stages of testing/ Photo credit: Julien Harneis/ Wikicommons
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03-11-2009
Lack of facilities for treating blindness and low-vision are preventing children from attending schools in Pakistan. Both public and private sectors’ efforts are proving insufficient to tackle the problem. Clinical deficiency of Vitamin A is a major reason for childhood blindness, say health officials.
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Image: Patients wait to get their eyes tested/ Photo credit: IRIN
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03-11-2009
Last week’s fire at an oil depot in a western Indian city is posing serious health hazards for people living in its vicinity. Experts fear that spreading smoke may also hit agriculture in the surrounding villages that supply vegetables and food grain to Jaipur.
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Image: Black smoke from the burning IOC depot hangs over Sitapura, Jaipur/ Photo credit: The Hindu
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21-10-2009
India’s former health minister in a letter to the Prime Minister has asked the government to put a 10-year moratorium on the environmental release of all GM crops. He has also opposed any commercial release of Bt Brinjal.
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20-10-2009
Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research, in partnership with UNICEF, has introduced a boat ‘Akha’ to bring healthcare to the remote islanders of northeast India. The medical ship with a 10-member crew will contribute towards better maternal and childcare, as well as support community-based school initiatives.
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Image: The Akha boat prepares to leave Dibrugarh town on Chokhia Island, Assam, India/ Photo credit: UNICEF
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19-10-2009
Landmines continue to pose serious threat to the lives of civilians living close to Indo-Pak border. The repeated assurances by the army have failed to allay the fears of people in Punjab, who are now struggling with disability and poverty in a region known for its soil fertility.
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15-10-2009
Amidst much controversy and protests, the genetically modified Bt brinjal has been cleared by a government panel for commercial cultivation. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, however, has said that the government is yet to take a final call on the recommendation.
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Image: Activists of 'I Am Not A Lab Rat' campaign shout slogans against Bt brinjal in Chandigarh earlier this year/ Photo credit: Akhilesh Kumar/ The Hindu
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14-10-2009
In Myanmar, an overwhelming majority of people use traditional medicines as these are affordable and widely available. With the government recently formalising its role in the healthcare system, these medicines that are in use since 600 BC have got a fresh lease of life.
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Image: A sample of Burmese traditional medicine tablets/ Photo credit: IRIN
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09-10-2009
Bangladesh is in the grip of an unusually late and prolonged monsoon season. A sudden rise in dengue patients is prompting fears of an outbreak of the viral disease in the capital city Dhaka.
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Image: A patient suffering from dengue hemorrhagic fever/ Photo credit: IRIN
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