A child with rickets who has received varied, sporadic treatment over two years presents with the inability to walk and a short stature. A 55 year old widow diagnosed with hypertension meticulously preserves prescriptions from follow-up visits to the clinic, fully aware that she will purchase these medicines only when she has a good harvest. […]
Tag: India
Leena Menghaney: India’s patent law on trial
This month, two critical legal battles between multinational pharmaceutical companies and the Indian government are taking center stage in an ongoing struggle over India’s medicines patent law. The potential consequences could be dire for governments and people in developing countries that rely on affordable, quality generic medicines produced in India. For example, more than 80% […]
Joseph Malone: Bhopal—a constant reminder
In the summer of 2010, fresh from my 3rd year of medical school, myself and another student chose to take a six week elective in Bhopal, India. Our motivation to choose the capital of India’s most central state? An opportunity to learn first hand about an ongoing industrial disaster—the biggest in history. This came about […]
Richard Smith: Can Devi Shetty make healthcare affordable across the globe?
It’s impossible not to be impressed by Devi Shetty, heart surgeon and the “the Henry Ford of healthcare.” We can be impressed by his surgical skill and his refusal to turn away the poor. But perhaps even more impressive is his entrepreneurship and his vision of making healthcare affordable for everybody. […]
Devi Shetty: India will become the first country in the world to dissociate health care from affluence
I believe the economy of the 21st century will be driven by the health sector. The economy of the 20th century was driven by machines which addressed human toil. The health sector can create millions of jobs for the extremely skilled, semi skilled, and unskilled workers. These jobs are vital for the stability of society. Lack […]
Veena Rao on addressing undernutrition in India
My previous blog was about the Indian finance minister’s 2012 budget speech, which marked a significant moment for the much awaited, much required, paradigm shift in the government’s approach to reduce undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency. An inter-sectoral strategy to address undernutrition in India, however complex it initially appears, is not that difficult to implement. Professor […]
Richard Smith: Can polio be eradicated or will it flare again?
In 1988 the World Health Assembly passed a resolution calling for the eradication of polio by 2000. There were 350 000 cases in 1988, and by 2000 the number had been reduced by 99%—to around 600. Since then the number has stuck at around 600, and there is anxiety that the last 1% of cases […]
Chesmal Siriwardhana on science communication
As this blog is built around my personal experiences during the past few months, I would first of all like to introduce myself. I am medical graduate and a medical researcher from Sri Lanka, and I love writing in all its forms: creative writing, journalism, professional writing, etc. […]
Trish Groves on research in India
Just back from my first visit to India, which the Lonely Planet guide rightly says is much more of a continent than a country. Three days in Delhi and three in Mumbai barely scratched the surface, but left me resolved to return there for longer. The day before we left home Delhi was bombed by […]