Screening of newborns for genetic disorders is important, but so is educating parents to ensure that they give the proper consent. (Editorial)

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v475/n7355/full/475139a.html

India has played a key role in drawing up the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that was initiated by the World
Health Organisation and the country has ratified it. Ironically,
the government’s Indian Tobacco Board is expected to promote
Indian varieties of tobacco and the development of the tobacco

The objective of this study was to examine the association between Brazil’s Bolsa Familia programme (BFP), which is the world's largest conditional cash transfer programme, and the anthropometric indicators of nutritional status in children.

Original Source

Five per cent of the clinical trials conducted across the world will be in India by 2012. They are vital for confirming the efficacy of a new drug, but compromise on ethics. While doctors and organisations conducting trials make big bucks, the rights and safety of the subjects are often overlooked.

The article “‘Medicines for All’, the Pharma Industry and the Indian State” by S Srinivasan (EPW, 11 June 2011) should be commended for its painstaking
research and lucid presentation of facts. (Letters)

A close examination of the ongoing debates on universal access to healthcare, both in national and international fora, reveals a plurality of ideological perspectives and motivations on how universal access can be achieved. This statement, issued at the end of a recent meeting of “participant observers”, brings their insights and concerns about universal access to healthcare.

When we consider that expenditure on medicines in India accounts for 50% to 80% of treatment costs, India’s pharmaceutical success has clearly not translated into availability or affordability of medicines for all. As part of Universal Access to Healthcare, good quality healthcare should be accessible, affordable, and available to all in need.

Introduction of Haemophilus Influenza type B (HiB) containing pentavalent vaccines in the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) was a far sighted decision taken in 2009 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. This decision was based on the recommendations of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and was aimed at reducing the burden of HiB related infections.

Original Source