Global funding for research and development on neglected diseases reached a historic low in 2015, driven by declining public sector investment. The G-FINDER report by Australia-based independent group, Policy Cures Research, says that the decline is due to the lack of funding by rich countries. According to it, this is the lowest-ever funding on record by the US. Same can be said of the UK. The G-FINDER analysis tracks public and private investment in diseases that affect people in the developing countries. Over 1 billion people in 149 countries worldwide suffer from one or more neglected diseases, and they are now included in the Sustainable Development Goals.

India is committed to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50 per cent by 2020. However, road safety levels have taken a serious hit with the country witnessing one of the highest growth rates of vehicles in the world and rapid urbanisation over the years.

It is even more disconcerting to know the road accidental deaths of young people in the productive age group, causing substantial loss of productivity to the nation.

This recently released NASA simulation of the global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle offers a powerful counterpoint to the Trump team’s push to marginalize climate change research. The visualization conveys the message that rising concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide on Earth will produce thermostat-like effects. It also seeks answers to questions such as how land and ocean absorbs the greenhouse gas and what will happen when it reaches a point of saturation. It shows 50 percent of human-made emissions staying in the atmosphere, while 25 percent goes to the oceans with the other 25 percent being absorbed by land vegetation.

Swachh Bharat Mission has gained quite a momentum in the past two years. The NDA government’s flagship campaign aims at covering 1.04 crore households, providing 250,000 community toilets, 260,000 public toilets, and a solid waste management facility in each town.

The shortage of urban housing across the country will increase to an estimated 3.41 crore units by 2022, mainly on the back of demand-supply gap and rising levels of income among the working class seeking to purchase houses. 

At least 10 million people globally do not have citizenship of any country, according to the UN. Without nationality, stateless people cannot vote and can find it difficult or impossible to gain access to healthcare, education and employment.