Health & Well Being
Right to Health: A Holistic and Empathetic Approach
‘My health, my right’, is the theme for this year’s World Health Day, to ensure that everyone gets good health services, drinking water, air and nutrition, among other things. Here is how we can make it work.
Boat ambulance brings solace to isolated villagers in Odisha
No bridge, bring boat. This old saying encapsulates both the challenge and the solution for over 20,000 residents of 138 villages in Odisha's Koraput district, separated from the district headquarters town by the Kolab reservoir.
Rare diseases in India, and the way forward
India has over 7 crore patients with a rare disease, 95% of which are incurable. This Rare Disease Day, Prasanna Kumar Shirol, co-founder of Organization of Rare Diseases India, talks about the challenges and the way forward.
Jharkhand’s first breast milk bank for premature babies
Rani Hospital in Ranchi offers a lifeline for vulnerable newborns, ensuring pasteurised breast milk for them, promoting health, reducing infections and fostering a community of selfless donors.
Women ‘rise up’ to fight drug menace in Kerala
Distressed by the rampant drug abuse and alcoholism among local youth, women of Vattappankadu village get together to run a counselling programme to wean them away.
‘Stigma, isolation aggravate mental health problems’
Access to mental health is a big challenge in rural India, particularly for the LGBTQIA+ communities and persons with HIV, says Rajesh Srinivas of Sangama, an organisation working for the cause.
Gypsum jam: Rampant mining troubles Kashmir villagers
Villagers in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir continue to suffer from health issues related to air and noise pollution even as complaints to officials against gypsum mining lie unattended.
Earth Overshoot Day: A call for sustained conservation efforts
The World Overshoot Day today once again serves as a reminder that human demands on nature surpass the planet's biocapacity. The effects are for everyone to see, especially in rural areas.
Medical access remains a challenge in rural India
Even as healthcare becomes more accessible to rural Indians through government schemes such as Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY and E-Sanjeevani, several challenges still remain, shows a survey report unveiled during TRI’s ongoing India Rural Colloquy.
Why the golden hour of breastfeeding is important
Breastfeeding may be a culturally encouraged practice in India, but feeding breast milk to the newborn within the first hour of birth needs to gain more acceptance in many parts of the country.
Is rural India on the brink of a renaissance?
Will Indian villages be part of the country's galloping growth? A leading development conference holds over 100 conversations to find out.
Why are most women in Sundarbans anaemic?
A survey conducted on 164 women and adolescent girls in the Basanti and Gosaba blocks of Sundarbans found that 97 percent of them suffer from a severe deficiency of healthy red blood cells.
‘India accounts for 9% of global maternal mortality’
What does reach of mobile phones and internet mean for public health in India? Kruti Dalal of ARMMAN, which works to provide pregnant women access to medical services and information, talks about how technology can impact maternal and child health.
Cut off from forests, Odisha’s tribe struggles to survive
Once known for its intricate relationship with the forest, the Hill Kharia tribal community in Odisha now battles malnutrition and other serious health issues.
Millet mantras: Your guide to a healthy platter
Here's a quick go-to guide for all that you need to know about millets, from what these super-grains look like to why they are important for us and even how to cook them.
‘We’re good at making laws, not implementing them’
Dr Sabu George, who has been working against female foeticide for four decades, tells us why civil society organisations, courts and media have to join forces to tackle the issue
Mewa Rani’s journey for a healthier Haryana
India has over a million local community health workers in the country. In Malab village of Nuh district of Haryana, Village Square met 32 years old health worker Mewa Rani at an Anganwadi centre.
Add these local superfoods to your meals
Why spend all your money on expensive global superfoods when you can buy local alternatives at less than half the cost?
Maharashtra village switches off TV and mobiles to ‘detoxify’
Villagers of Mangaon in Kolhapur district are staying away from TV and phones for 90 minutes every evening so that children can study and elders can socialise without distractions.
Bengal village gasps for air – blames Bhutan
Indian residents near a Bhutanese industrial township are suffering from respiratory and heart diseases, and even cancer, because of air and water pollution from the factories.