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)
Air pollution: Filling the gaps
Controlling air pollution needs long-term holistic solutions such as a reduction in the usage of biomass, coal and lignite, and agricultural residues. Posted on 22 Dec, 2020 12:34 PM

Air pollution killed 16.7 lakh Indians and led to an economic loss of Rs

All Indian cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad surpass the air quality standards by a significant margin (Image: United Nations; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Lost to fluorosis
Fluoride contamination is leaving villagers in Barhet block of Jharkhand crippled, while authorities struggle to find solutions. Posted on 21 Dec, 2020 12:33 PM

“What should I do? I have been bedridden for two years now. My hands and feet do not work.

The state needs to play a key role in identifying fluorosis as well as in developing and executing an action plan to control it. (Image: Rab Nawaz Alam)
New packaged drinking water rules to apply from January 1, 2021
Policy matters this week Posted on 09 Dec, 2020 12:43 PM

Revised standards for packaged drinking water to apply from January 1st, 2021

Filtration plants in a packaging water units (Image source: Tushar Trivedi)
What India needs for effective waste management in times of the pandemic
The pandemic has exposed the flaws in our waste management system. Posted on 04 Nov, 2020 08:35 PM

 

Image: Roksana Helscher, Pixabay
Generating demand for sanitation infrastructure
How to steer conversations and processes that help boost the motivation of community leaders to encourage better sanitation behaviour? Posted on 19 Oct, 2020 02:06 PM

Radharamanpada is an unauthorised slum in Angul with 300 houses. The president of the slum sanitation committee Janaki Sahu, a 28-year-old mother of four, runs a street food stall on the main road. There are seven women in the committee of eleven, working on sanitation solution for populations that remain underserved.

Project Nirmal uses appropriate communication inputs that help generate awareness about the impact of poor containment, collection, transportation and treatment systems on the environment among all stakeholders. (Image: SCI-FI, CPR)
Women hold the key to dietary diversity
A study finds that women's control over income and better decisionmaking power can go a long way in improving dietary diversity and tackling malnutrition in rural India. Posted on 17 Oct, 2020 04:04 PM

Evidence world over shows that small scale agricultural production does very little to deal with malnutrition and food insecurity among rural poor.

Empowering women to improve nutritional outcomes (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Architecture of community program organisations and their data systems
A simple explanation is all you need to get your head around issues related to software technology and its use in community programs. Posted on 17 Oct, 2020 12:48 PM

Samanvay Foundation has developed a knowledgebase for leaders working in nonprofit organisations, on issues related to software technology and its use in community programs. It covers strategy, management, economics, and appropriateness of software technology.

Image courtesy: Pete Linforth from Pixabay
Rapid hygiene study: Hand hygiene for COVID-19 and beyond in India
A study by WaterAid India calls for building the capacity of community networks to promote and support hygiene behaviours. Posted on 15 Oct, 2020 09:33 AM

This year, Global Handwashing Day (observed annually on October 15) is particularly significant given the COVID-19 pandemic. While vaccine trials are ongoing, protective actions such as handwashing with soap is a critical first line of defence and cost-effective public health intervention.

Effect of a behaviour-change intervention on handwashing (Image: Climate Centre)
A rainbow recovery post-COVID
The movement towards radical ecological democracy needs to combine the practical and policy-level grassroots work with broader mobilization. Posted on 08 Oct, 2020 12:27 PM

There is a disquieting hush across the world as the linkage between the planet’s health and human well-being became pronounced during the times of the pandemic. The deepening socio-economic and ecological crises caused by patterns of production and consumption are being increasingly recognised.

The women of Deccan Development Society sanghams move towards more localized natural resource management (Image: Deccan Development Society, Facebook Page)
Forests, the fast disappearing treasure troves of forest dwellers
Rapidly disappearing forests are not only a threat to the biodiversity, but spell death knell for the livelihoods of forest dwellers who depend on them for food and survival. Posted on 08 Oct, 2020 08:08 AM

Forests are disappearing at a fast rate in India.

Dried mahua flowers (Image Source: Pankaj Oudhia via Wikimedia Commons)
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