Daily Hindu Editorials

What was perhaps the biggest announcement in the Budget didn’t actually involve any money. The National Health Protection Scheme, touted as the world’s largest healthcare programme, envisages providing medical insurance cover of up to Rs. 5 lakh each to 10 crore families. Assuming an average family size of five members, this translates to 50 crore people, or nearly 40% of the population. This is a stupendous goal by any yardstick, and the first near-universal welfare measure in the health sector since possibly the 1980s, when governments, constrained by tightening resources and burgeoning populations, switched focus to targeting just the vulnerable sections of society, while leaving it to the private sector to take care of the rest. And, as many have pointed out already, the Finance Minister did not allocate any money for this; he only promised to raise the resources when required. A good idea? I, for one, am willing to take Arun Jaitley at his word. I am willing to gran...

Findings from an animal study could lead to a new form of birth control A new finding by scientists at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad could pave the way for the development of a new type of contraceptive. Enzyme role The study, conducted on mice, has found that the presence of an enzyme called IP6K1 played an important role in the formation of sperm cells in male mice. Sperm formation is a multi-step process. In one of the stages, the nucleus of the cell has to condense and become elongated, a process that requires expression of two key sperm-specific proteins called TNP2 and PRM2. The study has found that IP6K1 is required to ensure that these two sperm proteins get expressed properly. When the researchers knocked out the gene that produces IP6K1, they discovered that sperm proteins were getting synthesised prematurely and, as a result, sperm failing to develop completely. The leader of the study team, Dr. Rashna Bhandari, noted that the findi...

In a controversial move, New York city is considering safe sites for drug users, to help with cutting deaths from overdose In 2016, the opioid epidemic claimed 1,374 lives in New York City. That’s roughly four drug overdose deaths each day. One death every seven hours. It’s a harrowing statistic that continues to soar, and New York City officials are floating an idea that has not been tried in the United States: sanctioned locations where drug users can shoot up under the supervision of medical staff ready to revive them if they overdose. They are called safe injection facilities, and the city has been eyeing them for more than a year, despite potential federal opposition. In 2016, the City Council allocated $100,000 for the city health department to study the feasibility of the facilities, which exist in Canada and Europe. Mayor Bill de Blasio hinted in late January that the report would soon be released. The two sides At community meetings and among officials, the me...

In the public health context, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have been consistently and alarmingly under-emphasised despite being widespread among low-income populations in developing tropical regions (Africa, Asia, and the Americas). The diseases that are most prevalent in India include lymphatic filariasis, soil transmitted helminthiases, trachoma, visceral leishmaniasis, dengue, rabies, cysticercosis and Japanese encephalitis. India also bears a high burden of intestinal worm infections (hookworms, whipworms and Ascaris worms). Extensive activities under two significant public health campaigns will roll-out in February and address the problems of intestinal worms (or soil-transmitted helminth) and lymphatic filariasis. While on National Deworming Day (February 10) children between ages 1 to 19 through schools and anganwadi centres would have been dewormed in order to improve their nutritional status and well-being, the Lymphatic Filariasis Programme will reach out to those abov...

Amazon and two other U.S. titans are trying to shake up health care by experimenting with their own employees’ coverage. But by Chinese standards, they’re behind the curve. Technology companies such as Alibaba and Tencent have made health care a priority for years, and are using China as their laboratory. After testing online medical advice and drug-tracking systems, they are now focussed on a more advanced tool: artificial intelligence (AI). Their aggressive push underscores the differences between the health care systems in China and the U.S. Chinese hospitals are overburdened, with just 1.5 doctors for every 1,000 people — barely half the figure in the U.S. Along with a rapidly ageing population, China also has the largest number of obese children in the world, as well as more diabetes patients than anywhere else. The companies’ technological push is being encouraged by the government as Beijing has said it wants to be a leader in AI by 2030 and pledged to tak...