Health

On January 6th, the state of Tamil Nadu recorded a total of 6,983 new positive cases of COVID-19. Out of these, 3,759 cases, which is around 54%, were recorded in the state capital of Chennai, which has been contributing to the most number of COVID cases in the state, followed by the districts of Chengalpattu and Coimbatore. Expectedly, people are now questioning whether we are now in the middle of the third COVID wave that the city had been fearing. Just about a month ago, on December 6 2021, Chennai recorded just 128 new positive cases, with the total number of…

The onset of COVID -19 cases and the subsequent lockdown that gripped the nation almost two years ago demonstrated the vast inequalities present in our society. While the pandemic disrupted the lives of every individual, the predicaments of already stigmatised/marginalised communities were aggravated. They have had to survive as financial burdens increased and opportunities for work deteriorated. India’s nine lakh sex workers, who were out of work, steeped in debt and at risk of contracting the virus, faced the brunt of the pandemic explicitly. The stigma and discrimination during the pandemic added to their existing challenges that included violence, abuse…

2022 was expected to be a year of hope. A year when the COVID pandemic that had killed millions and wrecked economies around the world, would come to an end. But then arrived Omicron, a heavily mutated new variant. First detected in South Africa in November, it triggered a new wave of COVID-19 in Africa, Europe, and America. And in India, as the new year dawned, cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Bengaluru, and Delhi started seeing ever-increasing single-day spikes in COVID cases in nearly seven months. There were also wide variations in Test Positivity Rates (TPR) across the country likely caused…

An independent project monitoring wastewater in 46 locations in Bengaluru has interesting data that could potentially work as a city-wide early warning system for COVID-19 outbreaks. The platform called Precision Health has been actively collecting and analysing wastewater samples from Bengaluru since April 2021 to detect and monitor the presence of SARS-CoV-2.  The data from Precision Health mirrors the peak of the second wave in May, and the recent uptick in cases, in terms of the percentage of samples that were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The current findings from wastewater testing show that at the ward level, around half the wards…

On the face of it, the latest National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5) data appears to tell a straightforward story about sanitation in Mumbai - that of progress. More than 90% of the population now have better sanitation facilities, drinking water access and menstrual protection, according to the survey. With the exception of 0.01%, nearly everyone (99.99%) gets their drinking water from an 'improved' source, which prevents external contamination. The situation did not require a huge leap, as the percentage in the NFHS-4 conducted in 2015-16 stood at 99.8%. Piped water taps (within premises, or in the neighbourhood, or public),…

2021 saw Bengaluru’s public healthcare systems totally collapsing in the face of the second wave of COVID-19. What could the city have done better? What needs to change? In this article, public health researcher Adithya Pradyumna puts out his wishlist for public healthcare in the city for the new year. Adithya is a co-author of the report ‘Health Care Equity in Urban India’, published this December. The report was based on a project undertaken this year by Adithya and his colleagues from Azim Premji University, which also included a case study of Bengaluru. Urban healthcare in India is generally messy.…

There are two kinds of childbirths, a ‘normal’ childbirth - vaginal  - and a ‘lower section caesarean section’, more commonly known as a C-section.  A C-section is a surgery performed to deliver the baby through an incision made on the stomach and the womb. It involves expensive medical bills and the possibility of a medical emergency. The choice between a normal childbirth and a C-section is a burden on every expecting woman for many reasons, primarily, the side effects, the risks and the costs. In 2019, experts said that India may soon have the ‘most caesarean births in the world.’…

Officials claim that they’re constructing public toilets in the city and allocating funds, but previously built toilets in Mumbai are inaccessible and pose risks to diseases.  In October, Jagdeep Desai, wrote on twitter, about a public toilet constructed in Talvali Gaon, Navi Mumbai by the NMMC, claiming it has low ceilings, narrow doors and entrances, and no water. “The lack of consideration in making these roadside restrooms is apparent. Some are made only so they (the authorities) can audit the budgets assigned to them.” Jagdeep said. Short and narrow public toilet in Talvali gaon. Photo: Jagdeep Desai The cost of…

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has allocated funds to build more public toilets in the city between 2021-22. However, promises made in the previous years remain unfulfilled and public sanitation services in Mumbai are largely inaccessible. What are some of the conditions impacting the construction of public toilets?  In 2020, civic authorities had cleared proposals for 22,770 toilets across the city, but only 20 percent were built till August-September of the same year.  That didn't stop the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from allocating  Rs 323 crore towards building 20,000 more public toilets in February 2021. Public toilet at Akurli road.…

India has, over the years, seen several schemes that promised free or subsidised medicine. In 2008, the then UPA government proposed a Jan Aushadi scheme for nationwide subsidised supply of generic drugs. However, there were not many takers for the scheme at the time. While some chalked it up to poor supply chain management, others believe heavy pressure from the pharmaceutical industry was the reason the scheme failed to take off. Tamil Nadu had already established government stores in 1994 that provided certain drugs at reduced rates. But other states were slow to follow. Only some states like Rajasthan (2011)…