Stage Set for National Health Awards’17 in New Delhi

Dear Readers,
As you are aware, Double Helical is engaged in the dissemination of knowledge and awareness about issues confronting the health and well-being of people and the challenges before the healthcare sector. Further, to acknowledge the extraordinary achievements of the outstanding doctors, medical institutions and allied professionals, we also organize national and state level awards pan-India.
We are pleased to announce that we are going to hold Double Helical National Health Awards in May, 2017 in New Delhi, for which we seek your support and blessings to make the event a success for the further advancement of this noble profession and betterment of the suffering humanity.
In keeping with our mission to regularly update you with the latest health news and views, you will read comprehensive and authentic coverage of health issues in the current issue. As part of World Kidney Day Special, this time we are covering the state of kidney treatment in India.
Every year nearly two lakh patients die due to kidney-related diseases in India with the number of kidney transplants in India averaging in the range of 3,000-3,500 per year whereas about 150,000 patients require kidney replacement. Transplant of one organ from one human being to another has always been a rigorous process which needs a lot of care.
There is an acute shortage of organs, and the gap between the number of organs donated and the number of people waiting for a kidney transplant is getting larger. The need of the hour is to establish more detection clinics and take steps to arrest deaths due to kidney failure.
As a Special story, Double Helical this time provides you exclusive coverage on National Family Health Survey-4, which aims at achieving the goal of a healthier India. The NFHS-4 has shown encouraging outcomes of concerted efforts and focussed interventions in the health sector in India. For instance, Infant Mortality Rate substantially declined over the period from 79 per 1,000 live births in NFHS-1 (1992-93) to 41 per 1,000 live births in NFHS-4; fewer children under five years of age are now found to be stunted and underweight, showing intake of improved nutrition, and households are now more inclined to use improved water and sanitation facilities.
The survey showed that almost all mothers now receive antenatal care for their most recent pregnancy and increasing numbers of women are receiving the recommended four or more visits by the service providers. More and more women now give birth in healthcare facilities and rates have more than doubled in some states in the last decade. More than nine in ten recent births took place in healthcare facilities in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Puducherry, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, providing safer environments for mothers and new-borns.
But married women are less likely to be using modern family planning in eight of the First Phase states/Union Territories. There has been any increase in the use of modern family planning methods only in the states of Meghalaya, Haryana, and West Bengal. The decline is highest in Goa followed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Despite the declines, about half or more married women are using modern family planning in eight of the 15 states/Union Territories.
Very interesting gender related indicators under the NFHS-4 have shown improvement over the years. The Health Ministry has launched a number of E-initiatives to help women improve their health and enjoy safe childhood as well as motherhood. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has released the results of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16.
Over the past decade, gender equality and women’s empowerment have been explicitly recognized as the key not only to the health of the nation, but also to social and economic development. India’s National Population Policy 2000 has ‘Empowering Women for Health and Nutrition’ as one of its recurrent strategic themes. Additionally, the promotion of gender equality and empowering of women is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to which India is a signatory.
On World Hearing Day 2017, we provide you updated information on the latest trends in ear care. The Society for Sound Hearing is making a significant contribution towards effective delivery of primary ear and hearing care by organising frequent awareness and screening camps. An ear awareness and screening camp was recently organized by Society for Sound Hearing in collaboration with Department of Community Medicine and Department of ENT, Maulana Azad Medical College, Lady Harding Medical College, New Delhi and ALPS International and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India at Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi.
There are many more interesting and thought-provoking stories in the March 2017 issue of your favourite magazine Double Helical. Happy reading!
Warm regards,
Amresh K Tiwary,
Editor-in-Chief