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AB-HWCs recorded over 2.1 bn footfalls till Oct 24: Mansukh Mandaviya

The Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) have recorded over 211 core footfalls till October 24 and people have availed free drugs over 1,83 crore times, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Monday. Addressing the 76th session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for South-East Asia, Mandaviya lauded the progress of AB-HWCs, saying these have played an instrumental role in providing a comprehensive array of primary healthcare services. "As of October 24, AB-HWCs have recorded over 2,110 million footfalls. The impact is resounding with individuals availing free drugs over 1,830 million times and diagnostic services over 873 million times," he said. The minister added that "26 million wellness sessions have been conducted engaging more than 306 million people". Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of WHO, attended the event virtually. Mandaviya was also unanimously elected as chairperson of the 76th session of the regional ...

Food should not become instrument in war, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The finance minister urged countries across the world to consider regional balance in sourcing their food supplies, especially staple, and essential products

WHO plane carrying medical supplies for people of Gaza lands in Egypt

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated his call on Israel to reconsider its decision to evacuate 1.1 million people in Gaza

No bitter finding yet on non-sugar sweeteners, says food regulator FSSAI

The WHO guidelines had recommended against the use of NSS to control body weight or reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)

R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine: What it is, and when will it roll out?

The R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine is an easily deployable vaccine that can be manufactured at a mass scale with a modest cost

WHO recommends Oxford-Serum Institute malaria vaccine for global rollout

India roll-out timelines not known immediately

India acts to eliminate trans-fatty acids from national food supplies: WHO

One in four adults in the region has raised blood pressure, while one in ten has diabetes, and less than 15 per cent are on effective treatment coverage

Kerala to conduct seroprevalence survey on Nipah outbreaks in Kozhikode

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the state will conduct a seroprevalence study on the Nipah virus being repeatedly found in Kozhikode district

ISC raises concern on WHO report suggesting nutrition-based tax on food

Indian Sellers Collective has raised concerns over a recent WHO Report, which suggested the implementation of a taxation system based on nutritional content. The WHO report titled 'The growth of ultra-processed foods in India: An analysis of trends' suggests increasing tax on non-packaged and unlabelled foods, which are currently taxed at 5 per cent under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. It also advocated for the implementation of point-of-sale marketing restrictions, curbing of freebies and discounts offered by small grocers or Kirana stores, and a crackdown on the unorganised food manufacturing sector, said a statement from Indian Sellers Collective. Moreover, the report also said that zero-sugar carbonated drinks should not be classified under the same GST category in line with carbonated drinks, currently taxed at the highest 40 per cent, which consists of a GST rate of 28 per cent along with a sin tax of 12 per cent. Opposing the report, the Indian Sellers Collective s

Must adopt differential approach to reduce maternal, new-born deaths: WHO

Since 2014, the region has been focusing efforts to reduce maternal, newborn and child deaths, as a flagship priority, by implementing evidence-based strategies and actions

WHO chief urges China to give full access to probe origins of Covid: Report

These comments from the WHO chief come as health authorities update vaccines in response to a surge in Covid-19 cases

WHO's good manufacturing norms to be made compulsory for all drug firms

Only 2,000 of the 10,500 manufacturing units in the country have the World Health Organization's GMP certification

WHO chief pushes China for 'full access' to determine Covid's origins

Ghebreyesus has for long been pressing China to share its information about the origins of Covid-19, saying that until that happened all hypotheses remained on the table

Health ministry plans drug licensing changes to ensure drug safety

Proposals aim to standardise drug manufacturing practices after a few Indian medicines were flagged as 'substandard' by the WHO

Celebrating India's emergence as a global leader in traditional medicine

Collaboration with WHO in establishing the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine underscores the country's commitment to traditional medicine

WHO warns of a spurious rare disease drug Defitelio floating in India

The WHO said that the genuine manufacturer of Defitelio has confirmed that the product referenced in the alert is falsified

WHO 'Gujarat Declaration' reaffirms commitment to traditional medicine

World Health Organisation (WHO) has released the outcome document of the first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit 2023 in the form of the "Gujarat Declaration," said the Ministry of AYUSH

WHO appeals for budget of $125 mn for funding of Afghanistan's hospitals

The organisation also noticed a decrease in the size of its local health teams, which went from 513 to 453 people

Highly mutated Covid-19 variant BA.2.86 detected in two more countries

BA.2.86 was first spotted in Denmark on July 24 when it infected a patient at risk of severe illness. Subsequently, it has been detected in symptomatic patients and wastewater samples

Pandemic emergency ended but Covid-19 virus still around, says WHO

ore data are needed to understand this COVID-19 variant and the extent of its spread, but the number of mutations warrants attention. WHO will update countries and public as we learn more," WHO said