Heena Sharma Blog

From a continued decline in infant and maternal mortality to inadequate funding for healthcare, from poor nutrition to an acute encephalitis syndrome outbreak, and from success in malaria prevention to below-par performance on leprosy control and tuberculosis elimination, here’s a look at 2019’s biggest health stories. Decrease in maternal mortality, infant mortality Fewer mothers died during childbirth as India’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR)--maternal deaths per 100,000 live births--fell 27% from 167 in 2011-13 to 122 in 2015-17, according to the Sample Registration System bulletin. However, India is still a long way from the Sustainable Development Goal for MMR: a target of 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. Three Indian states have already achieved this--Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. India’s infant mortality rate--deaths per 1,000 live births--also fell from 42 in 2012 to 33 in 2017, as IndiaSpend reported in June 2019. This rate is higher than the glo...

Poor diet leads to hundreds of deaths in India annually, according to a Lancet study which found that globally one in five people die due to the lack of optimal amounts of food and nutrients on their plates. The report, which tracked trends in consumption of 15 dietary factors from 1990 to 2017 in 195 countries, showed that almost every region of the world could benefit from rebalancing their diets. The study estimates that one in five deaths globally -- equivalent to 11 million deaths -- are associated with poor diet, and diet contributes to a range of chronic diseases in people around the world. In 2017, more deaths were caused by diets with too low amounts of foods such as whole grains, fruit, nuts and seeds than by diets with high levels of foods like trans fats, sugary drinks, and high levels of red and processed meats. Low intake of whole grains -- below 125 grammes per day -- was the leading dietary risk factor for death and disease in India, the US, Brazil, Pakis...

'100 gram of a popularly advertised pack of Horlicks Delight, contains 78 gram of carbohydrates of which 32 grams is sucrose sugar,' experts Current Affairs News : A group of public health experts have urged superstar Amitabh Bachchan   to dissociate himself from promoting Horlicks, a multinational brand that has extended support to the Centre's recently launched National   Nutrition Mission aimed at addressing the issue of   under nutrition   in the country. The experts under the banner of the   Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest - India   (NAPi) in a letter to the actor said, "Horlicks   is a high   sugar   product, as 100 gram of a popularly advertised pack of   Horlicks Delight, contains 78 gram of   carbohydrates   of which 32 grams is sucrose sugar". "This is harmful to children as it may contribute to childhood   obesity   and non-communicable disease in later life," the experts said. ...