Rural areas should get benefit of health, education: PM

October 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The American College of Chest Physicians has elected Dr Kalpalatha K Guntupalli, the only woman president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin, as its first Asian American woman president. Hyderabad-born Guntupalli is currently tenured full professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, considered one of the top 10 medical schools in the US, and also chief of pulmonary/critical care and sleep division at BCM.

October 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Practicing yoga or tai chi 20 minutes each morning can help reduce stress, improve strength, limberness, provide better immune function and lower blood pressure. The major benefit of yoga and tai chi is that they combine key elements of exercise - aerobic, strength training, core stability, flexibility and balance - into unified approaches.

October 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Rural women exposed to DDT - sprayed to reduce malaria - are likely to give birth to boys with urogenital birth defects (UGBD), say researchers. The research led by the University of Pretoria in South Africa showed that women who stayed at home in sprayed villages, rather than being a student or working, had 41 per cent more baby boys with UGBDs, such as missing testicles or problems with their urethra or penis.

October 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Are higher levels of exposure to pesticides to blame for the rising tide of suicides among farmers in poor countries? A new study seems to suggest so. The study was carried out by Robert Stewart from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, and scientists from Tongde Hospital in Zhejiang Province, China.

October 23rd, 2009 BANGALORE - Music passes the message quick and well, and Karnataka intends to do just that by using state's popular folk art to spread awareness among the masses about HIV-AIDS and to wash the stigma attached to it. "People of the state have traditionally been inclined towards art and culture.

October 22nd, 2009 Education reformer Theodore Sizer dies at 77BOSTON — Theodore Ryland Sizer, a leader in education reform who led Ivy League education departments, has died after a long battle with colon cancer. He was 77. His wife, Nancy Sizer, says the author and educator died at home in Harvard, Mass., on Wednesday night.

October 1st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The Orissa government Thursday launched a school health programme which is expected to benefit more than 580,000 students in the state. The scheme, launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Kandhamal, aims to provide health cards to more than 580,000 students in the 60,000 schools of the state.

September 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A group of voluntary organisations Friday met President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari to demand an increase in education and health spending to achieve millennium development goals as laid down by the United Nations. The group-led by voluntary organisation Oxfam presented a seven-point charter on education and a nine-point charter to improve the health scenario in the country.

September 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - As HIV infections among India's rural women show an increasing trend, the government is reaching out to them to reduce their vulnerability to AIDS, targeting 40 districts identified across nine states. "There is an increasing prevalence of HIV among women, especially rural women.

September 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Young drivers living in rural areas are more likely to be involved in serious crashes than those living in urban areas, according to a new study. The survey involving more than 20,000 young Oz drivers revealed that young rural drivers are at a far greater risk of single-vehicle crashes, which are more likely to result in serious injury than other crash types.

September 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The union health ministry Thursday made a number of major announcements with the aim of providing quality healthcare to all in the country. The following are some of the steps - * Doctors to get more payment for rural postings.

September 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In a far-reaching move to improve healthcare services in rural India, doctors who opt to work in rural areas will be compensated with extra money and 'weightage' points that will help them when they apply for higher studies, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced Thursday. "The only way to attract the attention of doctors to work in difficult, most difficult and inaccessible areas is through incentives.

September 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Doctors who opt to work in rural areas will be duly compensated with extra money and weightage points that will help them while going for higher studies, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced Thursday. "The only way to attract the attention of doctors to work in difficult, most difficult and inaccessible areas is through incentives.

September 16th, 2009 GUWAHATI - The Assam government Wednesday appointed nearly 800 doctors in a recruitment drive that is expected to revolutionise the region's rural healthcare sector. The recruitment campaign has a catch though, as the appointments were made for a one-year period as part of the government legislation that makes it mandatory for all MBBS graduates to serve for a minimum of one year in rural health centres.

September 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Admitting that the government expenditure on healthcare has been less than desired, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Monday said underfunding by the public sector over the years has made it expensive and less accessible. Years of prolonged underfunding of the public health system and dependence on the private sector has pushed the cost of healthcare and also affected access, Azad said while addressing a conference organised by the industry lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here.