Unregulated fertility clinics indulge in medical malpractices, including physical and economical exploitation of women, a study has shown. Shockingly, preference for male children and demand for ‘same caste’ surrogates are prevalent in India.
“Some couples, say about 5 per cent, who come to my clinic demand surrogates from their own caste,” says Nayna Patel, of the Akanksha Fertility Clinic in Anand, Gujarat that has come up as a major centre for surrogacy in India.
A recent study has shown that the current available data on human papillomavirus (HPV) type and cervical cancer incidence do not support the epidemiological claims made by the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) regarding India having a large burden of cervical cancer.
In April 2010, the Indian Council of Medical Research suspended research on the feasibility and safety of HPV vaccine in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat amid public concerns about its safety. The study was being done for two pharmaceutical companies by PATH and was supported by the ICMR.
WHO panel proposed treaty requires all governments to share cost
India supports a proposed legally binding global instrument that requires all governments to share the cost of research and development (R&D). The treaty, recommended by a World Health Organisation panel, will boost access to countries least able to pay for medical innovations but need it most. This would also delink profits from medical discoveries.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has put in place a mechanism to define counterfeit medical products.
The set of definitions of sub-standard, spurious, falsely labelled, falsified and counterfeit products will be globally accepted and help to bring about uniformity in identifying such drugs, without interrupting worldwide supplies. The decision to establish a member state mechanism was taken at the World Health Assembly, the WHO's policymaking body, at a meeting held recently.
Recommending scrapping of two controversial hydro-power projects in Karnataka and Kerala that had run into difficulty due to opposition from environmentalists, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) has suggested setting up of a statutory authority to protect the Ghats.
The report of the panel, headed by Madhav Gadgil, formerly with the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, has called for cancellation of Karnataka's Gundia and Kerala's Athirapally hydro-projects, and gradual phasing out of mining activities in ecologically highly-sensitive areas of Goa by 2016.
Steps for resolution of issues raised by him to be discussed
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has deputed a senior official from his office to meet Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand to discuss further measures that could be taken for an early resolution of issues raised by the Ganga Seva Abhiyanam. The Swami is on a hunger strike to save the Ganga. In a statement issued here on Friday, the Prime Minister's Office said the government is committed to improving the ecological health of the river, to make sure that there is continuous and pollution-free flow of water.
There will be no compromise on the safety of atomic plants and it will be harmful to close the additional source of energy. It will be harmful for the country to pass ordinance on denial of nuclear power, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
After the Fukushima accident in Japan in March 2011, the Prime Minister said, he ordered a complete review of the 20 operating nuclear reactors across the country and none of them reported any incident. “Our view is that when it comes to safety, there will be no compromise.”
Countries in Asia and the Pacific must strike a balance between rising prosperity and rising emission as their success or failure will have repercussions worldwide, a latest report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has said.
"The Asia-Pacific region must continue to grow economically to lift millions out of poverty, but it must also respond to climate change to survive. Growing first and cleaning up later is no longer an option, according to "One Plant to Share: Sustaining Human Progress in a Changing Climate" released by the UNDP on Thursday.
Even as some States have reported outbreak of A(H1N1) influenza, the Centre has said that since the virus is circulating in the community, border control measures, such as entry screening at airports, ports and railway and bus stations, is not essential.
The influenza has been reported from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, and some of these and their neighbouring States are resorting to screening at entry points.
With some States defaulting on payment of their share of funds for providing meals to children in government schools, adversely affecting the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Centre has now asked all States to consider adopting Andhra Pradesh's model ‘Green Channel Scheme.' The A.P. model makes funds available throughout the year.
