Tag: rural health

Covid-19 · Culture & Life · Medicine & Doctors · Public health

COVID-19 in India – Society and Culture – March 17 Diary

Kiran Kumbhar2 Comments

[Throughout history epidemics have served as excellent windows into social and cultural beliefs and norms. While this contagion-catalyzed uncovering of a society’s implicit and explicit thought processes helps historians understand past societies in better ways, for present societies it can potentially be utilized as a way to understand our hidden biases, prejudices, and even kindnesses.… Continue reading COVID-19 in India – Society and Culture – March 17 Diary

Medicine & Doctors · Public health

Why the MTP Bill 2014 favors AYUSH docs and nurses as abortion providers

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This was published in The Swaddle on September 3. Here is the link, and below is an extract. “One way to do that is to expand the number of trained abortion practitioners. Women in India undergo unsafe abortions for several reasons, but a major factor is the unavailability of safe and legal abortion services in most… Continue reading Why the MTP Bill 2014 favors AYUSH docs and nurses as abortion providers

Culture & Life

The ‘Nirman’ Initiative: The Happy Pursuit of Meaningfulness

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This was published in The Wire on Sept 2, 2017. Here is the link, and below is an extract. “Our conventional education system… is mainly geared towards filling job vacancies, not sociopolitical vacuums. It is this serious deficiency that doctors and public health scientists Rani Bang and Abhay Bang decided to address about a decade… Continue reading The ‘Nirman’ Initiative: The Happy Pursuit of Meaningfulness

Culture & Life · Medicine & Doctors · Politics · Public health

Doctors, Academics, and Artists Bear the Brunt of Mob Violence in India: Here’s How They Can Help Each Other

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This appeared in theWire.in on 15 March 2017. Here is the link. Below is an excerpt: While the medical community regularly (and rightfully) demands and expect protection from mob violence, is it morally justified that it looks the other way when other citizens are subjected to similar violence? Mob bullying and violence are among the most deplorable aspects… Continue reading Doctors, Academics, and Artists Bear the Brunt of Mob Violence in India: Here’s How They Can Help Each Other

Medicine & Doctors · Politics · Public health · Recommended movies, books etc.

‘The Private Insurance Trap’ – Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze

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Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze are vehement advocates for universal health coverage. In their fine 2012 book An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions, they devote an entire chapter to ‘India’s Health Care Crisis’. One of the important topics they discuss is the proliferation of govt-sponsored insurance schemes (relying on private insurance companies) over the past… Continue reading ‘The Private Insurance Trap’ – Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze

Cinema & Bollywood · Medicine & Doctors · Public health

These Movies Show How Sending Doctors To Villages Isn’t The Cure For Rural Healthcare in India

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This article was published in HuffPost India on 27 June 16. Here is the link. Below is an excerpt: In many community health centres and district hospitals, for example, surgeons frequently cannot operate because surgical and radiological facilities are not modernized, and obstetricians are often compelled to refer patients elsewhere (generally expensive private hospitals) because… Continue reading These Movies Show How Sending Doctors To Villages Isn’t The Cure For Rural Healthcare in India

Politics · Public health

Snake Antivenom: Making ‘Make In India’ Relevant for Rural India

Kiran Kumbhar1 Comment

This article was published in HuffPost India on 02 June 2016. Here is the link. Below is an excerpt: In fact, each hour snakes bite dozens of people and kill around five Indians (they kill about 45,000 annually). Tens of thousands lose limbs or are disfigured and disabled permanently. In comparison, there were 100,000 dengue… Continue reading Snake Antivenom: Making ‘Make In India’ Relevant for Rural India

Fiction · Medicine & Doctors · Public health

India’s Maternal Care System, Presented via Facebook

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Using hypothetical Facebook conversations and some satire, I have attempted to highlight the challenges faced by India’s poor in maternal care. 1. Almost 70% of Indians live in villages, and a majority of villages have poor govt health infrastructure and unreliable electricity supply. People manage somehow, but these ‘jugaads’ are dangerous & unsustainable. Besides, the… Continue reading India’s Maternal Care System, Presented via Facebook