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Another International Day of Forests was observed on March 21, and beyond symbolic gestures, it is time to acknowledge the role of forests in mitigating the planetary poly-crises of the Anthropocene. Forests are often called the lungs of the planet, but they are also its hidden kitchens. Yet, across the world, indigenous food systems that … Read more
‘In India, an estimated 78 million tonnes of food are discarded each year, even as over 20 crore Indians go to bed hungry’ | Photo Credit: AP The United Nations Environment Programme’s Food Waste Index Report (FWIR) 2024 reveals that in 2022, the world wasted 1.05 billion tonnes of food, equating to nearly 20% of … Read more
A new broom sweeps clean, but reckless change serves little purpose. After targeting health care — pulling the United States out of the World Health Organization and paralysing USAID — U.S. President Donald Trump has turned to another cornerstone of the state: education, whose long-term significance to any nation is indisputable. Last week, he signed … Read more
A doctor examines a tuberculosis patient at a TB hospital in Guwahati. File | Photo Credit: AP With an estimated 2.8 million new cases a year, India contributes to more than 25% of the world’s Tuberculosis (TB) burden. More than half the TB patients in India seek private medical care. The current system of treatment … Read more
Himani Verma from Chhattisgarh, Kailash Chandra Mishra from Odisha, G. Poongodi from Tamil Nadu (T.N.), and Sudeshwar Kumar Singh from Bihar are all Tuberculosis (TB) survivors-turned-champions, which means they are actively working to support communities affected by TB. They are founding members of their respective State-level TB survivor-led networks. These are excerpts from interviews with … Read more
‘TB is a simple, yet complex, disease impacting a person’s physical and mental health’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Rani had had a cough for over 10 days. Cough syrups and antibiotics had not made her feel any better. Her doctor advised her to test for Tuberculosis (TB). A shocked Rani reluctantly gave her sputum … Read more
In two operations in Bastar, Chhattisgarh on Thursday (March 20, 2025), 30 alleged “Maoists” were gunned down taking the number of Maoists killed in operations, according to security forces, to over 100 this year. In its 20-plus years of existence as a unified political force, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) finds itself in its … Read more
India has made substantial and tangible progress in Tuberculosis (TB) care, adopting new strategies to detect, treat and prevent TB. Some key areas of progress include the expansion of molecular testing for rapid detection of TB and drug-resistance; the introduction of the shorter, all-oral BPaLM regimen (a combination of four drugs Bedaquiline (B), Pretomanid (Pa), … Read more
The impressive gathering in Chennai, on March 22, 2025, which brought together leaders from several States — including four Chief Ministers — for the inaugural meeting of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) on Fair Delimitation, sent a clear message: any delimitation exercise based solely on the current population figures is unacceptable. The meeting’s primary demand … Read more
The TB bacillus can reside in humans in a latent state for life, and ‘reactivate’ when immunity is compromised. | Photo Credit: REUTERS India set an ambitious goal of eradicating tuberculosis (TB) by 2025 during the “End TB Summit” held in New Delhi in March 2018, advancing by five years the target set in the … Read more