Health

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November 6, 2022 In 2020, 559 million children were affected by four to five heatwaves a year; numbers could increase four-fold by 2050, as per a report by UNICEF
Heat-related mortality is four times higher among children under 1 year of age than in persons aged 1–44 years (Image: Taqver, Wikimedia Commons)
September 26, 2022 This study found that the sanitary quality of neighbourhood drains, in addition to toilets, affected sanitation and hygiene and incidences of ill-health in rural households.
Dirty drainages, harbingers of illhealth. Image for representation only (Image Source: SuSanA Secretariat via Wikimedia Commons)
September 9, 2022 Highlights from a new report released by iFOREST
An old coal-fired power plant has been dumping vast quantities of ash out in the open for many years. (Image: Lundrim Aliu/ World Bank; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
August 19, 2022 Better access to clean water coupled with health education to bring about changes in behaviour are critical to prevent exposure to dangerous cholera bacteria that lurk in untreated waters.
The hidden threat of cholera in India (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
July 20, 2022 This study found a high concentration of trihalomethanes (THMs) in water treatment plants in Delhi that were associated with increased risk of cancer.
What's in your tap water (Image Source: India Water Portal)
July 5, 2022 Studies reveal that children are the most vulnerable to the health risks associated with groundwater contamination due to nitrate and fluoride, highlighting the need for urgent remedial measures.
POisoned waters, dangerous outcomes (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Advisory on how to prevent Covid-19
Those who need to work to survive cannot stay home. What can they do during such times? Posted on 02 Apr, 2020 06:50 PM

COVID-19 (novel coronavirus disease), an acute respiratory disease emerged in late 2019 and has been spreading rapidly across the globe. The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic. It is marked by respiratory problems that are usually mild (coughing, fever) but can be severe (pneumonia, trouble breathing).

The fear is that Covid-19 would almost certainly spread within communities in India, just as it had started to do in Italy, South Korea, and Iran. (Image: Trinity Care Foundation)
Joining the battle against Covid-19
As corona virus 'travels' to rural areas, PRADAN ramps up its response by training tribals and marginalised women. Posted on 02 Apr, 2020 10:48 AM

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared coronavirus disease a pandemic. Originating from Wuhan in China, it has traversed almost the entire globe, and claimed more than 41,000 lives, while over 8 lakh people are infected already. That’s largely the urban population.

Keeping the communities abreast of best practices for a safe and healthy living (Image: PRADAN)
Clean drinking water: Still a pipe dream for Maharashtra?
While water supply coverage has improved over the years in Maharashtra, why does safe and continuous water supply still remain a distant dream for the state? Posted on 30 Mar, 2020 04:34 PM

Latur in Maharashtra has been facing acute drinking water scarcity over the last month and has been in news again, and that too, inspite of having piped water connections and a good monsoon this year!

Har nal me jal, a pipe dream? (Image Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Vulnerability in the times of Corona
When a pandemic strikes, it pushes the burden on the weakest in an unequal society. Posted on 25 Mar, 2020 10:54 AM

Disasters have the ability to disrupt everyday life. However, it is not often that we probe about what constitutes a disaster? How do we define it? Well, a disaster varies in definition for different agencies.

Image: Muffinn, Flickr Commons
Water, the first line of defence against climate change
A report by WaterAid calls for a tenfold increase in current levels of climate finance that goes to WASH services. Posted on 22 Mar, 2020 09:50 AM

Water insufficiency is a challenging problem globally with 1 in 10 people lacking a basic water pump or covered well close to home.

Shantilata uses a cloth to filter out the high iron content in the salty water, filled from a hand pump, in the village Sitapur on the outskirts of Bhadrak, Bhuvaneshwar, Odisha (Image: WaterAid/ Anindito Mukherjee)
Clean water, a crucial weapon to combat COVID -19
The recent COVID -19 pandemic highlights the important role that access to clean water can play in dealing with such diseases in the future. Posted on 21 Mar, 2020 04:32 PM

This month has been seeing a different kind of a scare world over, that of the deadly corona virus pandemic that has been spreading rapidly, infecting people and leading to a rising number of deaths in numerous countries.

Is our tap water really safe? (Image Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Tap water to all
What can be learnt from past experiences on scaling up coverage of piped water supply? Posted on 20 Mar, 2020 01:47 PM

Efforts are underway by both state and central governments to improve access to safe and adequate drinking water to people, and nationally, as on 31 December 2018, 79% of rural habitations had been covered at 40 litres per capita per day (lpcd) but only 47% at 55 lpcd.

Child drinks water from a tap (Image: Imal Hashemi/Taimani Films/World Bank, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Outreach of current disaster-related apps in India poor
Technology and crowdsourced data need to play a greater role in disaster management in India. Posted on 17 Mar, 2020 11:17 AM

With the rise in frequency and intensity of unexpected disasters, the need for effective communication technologies such as the use of social and mobile tools seems to be growing for responding to disaster situations in emergency, rescue and relief efforts.

Floods in Uttarakhand in 2013 severely damaged hundreds of villages across Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Tehri regions (Image: Oxfam International, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Poisonous encounters: Nitrates in drinking water
A study finds that long term exposure to high levels of nitrates in drinking water can lead to health effects such as shorter height or stunting. Posted on 16 Mar, 2020 10:07 AM

Nitrogen pollution of water can lead to severe consequences not only for the environment, but also to human health. Current evidence shows that nitrogen pollution of water is on the rise not only in developing, but also in developed countries.

Polluted drinking water, a grave health hazard (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Jal Jeevan Mission: Will piped water to every household no longer be a pipe dream?
There is a need to focus on the “first mile” i.e. communities across rural India to be able to ensure sustainability and scalability for piped water supply. Posted on 14 Mar, 2020 04:26 PM

Millions of Indian women can take up to six trips a day to gather and transport water, which takes up a major part of their day. During scorching summers when many sources dry up, their drudgery gets even worse.

A school boy from Tilonia in semi-arid region of Rajasthan drinks from a tap from a rainwater harvesting tank that provides clean drinking water. (Image: Barefoot photographers of Tilonia)
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