Page 29 - Healthcare

India refrains from signing the COP28 Health and Climate Declaration

India on Sunday refrained from signing the COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health, with sources pointing out that curbing greenhouse gas use for cooling in the health sector, which is one of the points in the document, may not be practical or achievable within the country's healthcare infrastructure in the short term. The declaration calls for climate action to achieve benefits for health from deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including from just transitions, lower air pollution, active mobility, and shifts to sustainable healthy diets. On the occasion of the first Health Day at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) on Sunday, the declaration expressed grave concern about the negative impacts of climate change on health. The declaration is signed by 124 countries till now with the US and India, which are among the top greenhouse gas emitters, absent from the list of signatories. The declaration, aimed at addressing the critical intersection

Practro aims profitability next fiscal, IPO in works: CEO Shashank ND

Tencent-backed healthcare and diagnostics app Practo is aiming to turn profitable in next fiscal and is looking at a stock exchange listing with an initial public offering (IPO) soon, its co-founder and CEO Shashank ND said. Practo is looking to enhance presence in smaller cities and towns and leverage AI to analyse data and provide much better analysis and outcomes in healthcare. In an interview with PTI, Shashank said the startup is already cash flow positive. "This year we will grow by a good healthy margin... Our EBITDA would have improved dramatically from last year. We will be near break-even this year and next year is when we really will be able to show significant profits." Founded in 2008, Practo connects doctors with patients and offers several ancillary services such as telemedicine. Income from diagnostic and consulting services formed 50 per cent of the total operating revenue. In the 2022-23 fiscal (April 2022 to March 2023), the Bengaluru-headquartered firm halved it

World AIDS Day 2023: History, date, theme, preventive measures and more

The world celebrates World AIDS Day every year on December 1. This year, the theme for World AIDS Day is 'Let communities lead'

China illness surge: Multiplex PCR tests to begin at 2 Delhi govt hospitals

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday said multiplex PCR tests will be started at two government hospitals to detect any new pathogens and asserted that there was no need to panic, amid a surge in respiratory illness in children in northern China. Bharadwaj held a meeting earlier in the day to review the preparedness of hospitals and also directed that an anti-viral drug for children that is administered in such cases should be procured. Talking to PTI Video, he said, "Following the Centre's advisory, we held a meeting with the Delhi government experts, including pulmonologists, pediatric pulmonologists who have been seeing the situation. Till now no new pathogens have been detected. But as a precautionary measure, pediatric departments have been directed to run broad spectrum tests on children admitted with symptoms to detect any new pathogens." Later in a post on X, he said that multiplex PCR tests will be started in Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and Chacha

Reports of China respiratory illness surge: Haryana reviews readiness

The Haryana government has issued directions to all civil surgeons "to strengthen surveillance on influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory infections" after recent reports indicated a surge in respiratory illness among children in northern China. In a letter on Tuesday, the state's director of health services further ordered the civil surgeons to report "any clustering of unusual respiratory illness". The Union Health Ministry has advised states to immediately review their public health preparedness following the reports of a surge in respiratory illness among children in northern China. In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said it decided to proactively review preparatory measures against respiratory illnesses as a matter of caution. The letter to the civil surgeons stated that the Centre had directed to ensure availability of requisite hospital beds, testing, medical countermeasures and infection control practices in health facilities and implement "operational ...

Healthcare infra must adapt to requirements of citizens above 60: Report

India's healthcare infrastructure needs to adapt to the requirements of the aging population as the number of citizens above 60 years age is projected to rise to 193 million by 2031, according to a joint report by PwC and Association of Senior Living India (ASLI). "The population above the age of 60 accounts for approximately 9.8 per cent of the total Indian population, and this number is projected to increase from 138 million in 2021 to around 193 million by 2031," the report said. The United Nations projects that India will become home to one of the world's largest elderly populations by 2050, with an estimated 319 million individuals aged 60 and above, it added. The report said the elderly population is highly susceptible to chronic diseases, infections, age-related health issues and cognitive decline, making their healthcare needs more complex. "India's healthcare infrastructure needs to adapt to the requirements of this aging population. There is a pressing need for geriatric

India needs 2 bn sq ft of additional healthcare real estate: Knight Frank

India is facing a deficit of 2.4 million beds to achieve the standards set by the World Health Organization

BMC allocates Rs 1,500 crore for the upcoming healthcare schemes

BMC has also revealed that they are allocating Rs 3,500 crore for capital expenditure in the next couple of months and are planning to recruit 3,000 healthcare professionals

Mysterious pneumonia outbreak in China: Here is what we know so far

The World Health Organisation asked China for detailed information on the increase in the cases of respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children

Disturbing health crisis among women in Afghan prisons: UN report

According to the survey, the majority of jailed women in Afghanistan express concerns about their children's future and the impact on their families

IT major Wipro, Nvidia collab for artificial intelligence in healthcare

IT major Wipro on Tuesday announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to help healthcare companies accelerate the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Wipro will leverage NVIDIA's AI software for enterprises for the production of AI across its current portfolio of healthcare solutions in the affordable care act (ACA), Medicare, and Medicaid, the company said in a statement. Wipro Enterprise Futuring President and Managing Partner Nagendra Bandaru said the collaboration will allow the companies to deliver AI-enabled innovation for the healthcare industry at scale and drive healthcare solutions with advanced computing capabilities. The integration of these technologies with Wipro's Enterprise Generative AI (WeGA) framework will enable Wipro to co-develop and deploy custom models for speech and translation AI, as well as other LLMs.

Fragmentation of efforts leaves people to fend for themselves: Health min

The inadequacy and fragmentation of efforts in the health sector leaves populations to fend for themselves and it is deeply concerning that the ongoing crises have exacerbated unequal access to health care and education, Union Health Minister Manuskh Mandaviya said on Friday. Manadaviya made the comments while addressing the second edition of the Voice of Global South Summit, hosted by India. "It is imperative to recognise that the majority of epidemics and pandemics threatening global health -- from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome to COVID-19 -- have roots in zoonotic origins. Committees of the International Health Regulations have consistently highlighted the inadequacy and fragmentation of efforts, leaving populations vulnerable to fend for themselves," Mandaviya said. "It is also deeply concerning that the ongoing crises have exacerbated unequal access to health care and education," he added. The health minister noted that the National Centre for Disease Control is at the ...

RBL Bank launches free mobile healthcare vans for support, domestic workers

Through the initiative, RBL Bank aims to address the healthcare requirements of the underprivileged in an easily accessible way

Smoking killing 1.3 million in 7 countries including India annually: Lancet

Over 1.3 million lives are lost every year to cancers caused by smoking tobacco across seven countries, including India, according to a study published in The Lancet's eClinicalMedicine journal. Researchers found that together, the seven countries -- India, China, the UK, Brazil, Russia, the US and South Africa -- represented more than half of the global burden of cancer deaths every year. They noted that smoking, as well as three other preventable risk factors -- alcohol, obesity, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infections -- caused almost two million deaths combined. The study, carried out by researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and Kings College London, UK, also analysed the years of life lost to cancer. The researchers concluded that the four preventable risk factors resulted in over 30 million years of life lost each year. Smoking tobacco had by far the biggest impact - leading to 20.8 million years of l

50% surge in diabetes in individuals under 40 yrs of age, say experts

India is often dubbed as the diabetic capital of the world where nearly 11 per cent of the population is grappling with the disease

Karnataka aims to attract Rs 40,000 cr, generate 80,000 jobs in new city

The new investment region will be spread over 2,000 acres within 60 km from Bengaluru and developed in a phased manner

Air emergency: Health advisory for schools call for use of public transport

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) pegged the city's overall AQI at 398 at 10.30 am on Friday

Philips ramps up investments in India with new innovation hub in Bengaluru

The latest centre of Philips in Bengaluru marks a significant landmark in the company's global footprint, alongside, playing a vital role in "revolutionising" healthcare in India and beyond

Imaging satellites to AI healthcare: Nasscom recognises India's tech cos

The aim of these deep tech startups is to solve some of the world's most pressing challenges and address critical global issues

Max Healthcare Q2 results: Net profit falls 39.5%; revenue up 19%

International patient revenue also grew by 25 per cent Y-o-Y