India cuts number of unvaccinated children by 43% in a year: WHO report
UNICEF's South Asia Regional Director, Sanjay Wijesekera, called it a proud moment and credited health workers and better planning for the success. However, he also stressed that efforts must continue to reach children in remote and underserved areas.The report also highlighted that measles vaccination has improved in the region. About 93% of infants received the first dose, and 88% got the second, helping to reduce measles cases by 39% in 2024. But experts say 95% coverage is needed to prevent outbreaks of this highly contagious disease.Globally, more than 14 million children still missed all vaccines last year, about the same as in 2023, and nearly 6 million more got only some doses, leaving them only partially protected. India is one of nine countries that account for over half of these unvaccinated children, alongside Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, and others.The report warns that access to vaccines remains unequal, especially in areas facing conflict or humanitarian crises. It also raises concerns about misinformation and cuts in international aid, which may reverse the gains made so far. WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that false claims about vaccine safety and reduced funding could undo decades of hard work.'The latest estimates highlight a really concerning trajectory,' Dr. Kate O'Brien, director of WHO's Department of Immunisation, Vaccines and Biologicals, said in a news briefing.'The global vision is for everyone everywhere to benefit from lifesaving vaccines,' she said. 'But we've hit this very stubborn glass ceiling, and breaking through that glass to protect more children against vaccine-preventable diseases is becoming more difficult.'Encouragingly, India and Pakistan are expected to begin their HPV vaccination campaigns later this year, aiming to protect girls from cervical cancer. Other countries like Bangladesh have already vaccinated over 7 million girls.While the progress is promising, experts say the mission is not over. More than 2.9 million children in South Asia are still un- or under-vaccinated. Continued effort, awareness, and support are crucial to ensure that every child is protected from preventable diseases.- EndsMust Watch
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Shun 'sterlisied living', reconnect with nature to tackle Covid-like pandemics: Renowned scientist
New Delhi: Shunning today's "sterilised" and "hyper-clean" lifestyle and reconnecting with natural elements like soil, rivers, fresh air can strengthen people's immune system and better prepare them to face Covid-like pandemics in future, renowned scientist Ajai Kumar Sonkar has said. In an exclusive conversation with PTI, Sonkar, whose development of pearl-making techniques through state-of-the-art tissue culture surprised the world, used an analogy comparing the human body to a mobile phone. "By coming in touch with nature, the human body gets information about bacteria and their evolving forms just like a mobile phone needs regular software updates to function properly," he said. "Like Covid , any future pandemic will not occur merely due to bacteria and viruses, but because of our own biological mistakes. To deal with such a nightmare, we must reconnect with nature ," said Sonkar, who was awarded Padma Shri , India's fourth-highest civilian award, in 2022. Sonkar, who has conducted in-depth research for years on microbiology and aquatic biology in India and abroad, said, "Modern humans have become so sterilised (artificial and chemical cleanliness shields) that now their bodily immune system is unable to even recognise environmental pathogens." "As long as humans were in contact with soil, rivers, and natural air, their immune system continuously received information about bacteria and their evolving forms (microbial updates), just like how mobile phones receive regular software updates," he added. Sonkar said today's "hyper-clean" culture has distanced the people from this natural protective shield. "We have not only sterilised our homes but have also separated our bodies from the microbes that protect us from diseases," he said. Revealing a particularly startling finding from his research, he said the Ganga River is a living microbial network that reads the microbial data of anyone entering it and responds with protective bacteriophages -- viruses that destroy harmful bacteria. "When people bathe in the river, they introduce their body's microbes to the Ganges, and in return, the Ganges protects them by destroying pathogens through bacteriophages," he said. "This gives natural training to the human body's immune system. This is the reason why people who come in contact with it are more resistant to new diseases," Sonkar, who is considered among the world's leading scientists on microbiome and bacteriophages of the Ganga, said. Sonkar, who has spent decades researching microbiology and aquatic ecosystems in India and abroad, claimed that developed nations like the US and those in Europe were severely affected by Covid due to "microbial amnesia." "Societies like Europe and America have been victims of 'microbial amnesia' for decades. People there live in such clean and sterilised environments that no new 'data' reaches their immune systems. "They are cut off from the changing forms of bacteria/viruses. As a result, whenever a new bacterium arrives, the body takes time to recognise it and the death rate increases," he said. When asked about the way forward, Sonkar said, "We must reconnect with nature. We must see the Ganga not just as a sacred river but as a teacher... Reactivating the biological systems of soil, rivers, and air could be the real strategy to prevent pandemics. "Vaccination is only an insufficient response. In a constantly changing climate environment, vaccination can never replace natural microbial intelligence . Living with the natural ability to fight bacteria and their new forms is the real prevention of any pandemic," he added.
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
Ahmedabad: Construction of 1,800-bed hospital hits wall of ‘faith'
On May 27 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his two-day trip to Gujarat, laid the foundation stone of an 1,800-bed hospital inside the Medicity campus in Ahmedabad, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 588 crore. Almost two months later, the project has hit a hurdle even before even the plans could be finalised. Standing in the way of the expansion and modernisation of the largest public sector healthcare campus on India's western seaboard, is a temple, whose priest has claimed that the 'goddess has refused to give up the space'. The priest at the temple of Khodiyar Mata, a local deity, claims that it has been there since pre-Independence and has become an 'intersection of science and faith and a major landmark for those lost in the sprawling campus'. A constant stream of devotees, including relatives of patients admitted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and those from the neighbourhood, flock to the temple that has recently repainted saffron from the outside, with its sanctum containing multiple idols of Khodiyar Mata, dotted with blue tiles which have not been changed for several years now — also 'as per the wishes of the mother,' priest Sandeep Thakurbhai Dave tells The Indian Express. The temple, located at the centre of the Medicity campus has also become a geolocation as people are given directions with the temple as a point of reference. The civil hospital in the Asarwa area of Ahmedabad recently saw a huge influx of visitors from all over the world, when it turned into a nodal centre for families of victims after a London-bound AI 171 crashed minutes after taking off from Ahmedabad, into the BJ Medical College hostel next to the temple. The hospital took charge of the DNA investigations of the severely charred bodies of the 241 aboard and 19 on-ground who died, handing them out to their relatives. The deceased included some of the hospital's own students and staffers. Now, the old post-mortem building, which connects through a skyway to the main hospital building, the area between the old trauma centre till the Superintendent's office (admin block) is to be demolished to free some 1.60 lakh square metres of space for the 1,800-bed hospital with an OPD section and a 150-bed ICU to eliminate waiting for beds. There will be a 50-bed isolation ward and several modular operation theatres and a two-storied parking block, which will accommodate 650 cars and 1,000 two-wheelers. The civil hospital is spread over a 108 acre space that includes several super speciality facilities. The Khodiyar Mata temple, located right opposite to the old post-mortem building, is also among those marked for demolition. The plan was to relocate the temple in an alternate space inside the hospital campus, if the authorities agreed. The construction of this new hospital building will not only take the total bed capacity of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to 4,200 beds, but will also double its ICU capacity from the current 150 to 300 beds. Most importantly, the OPD blocks will be moved to the prospective 10-storey building. On July 13, a video of Dr Rakesh Joshi, Medical Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, went viral where he was seen praying and performing rituals at this temple. Dr Joshi had later clarified in a video that he had gone to discuss with temple officials possible ways to proceed with the development 'in a way that faith is not compromised'. 'I went and explained the project to them. I suggested that we must co-operate to make sure that this hospital is built so that several poor patients receive the benefit of treatment', he said in the video. Dr Joshi later told The Indian Express, 'I tried to reach out to the temple to find a consensual path forward. However, they have refused to relocate the temple. A decision will now be taken by higher officials.' Notably, the buildings marked for demolition are already being evacuated and stopgap measures are being taken in other parts of the hospital campus. Most importantly, the labs and central stores have already been relocated and the rest of the buildings will be cleared soon, said Dr Joshi. Temple priest Dave told this paper: 'Hospital officials told us that if they don't move the temple, then they will lose space for 300 beds, but this temple was here even before the hospital was built.' Claiming that the deity had 'not allowed' a previous construction project decades earlier because the temple had been removed in the 1950's, Dave said, 'Mataji had destroyed the incomplete construction seven times. The mother then told my ancestor, who was then the pujari here, that he would find her idol buried where her small temple once stood. And true enough, the top half of this idol was found there,' he says, pointing to a smaller idol next to the main one of the deity that is kept on a wooden stool. 'It was only after the temple was restored that this hospital was built,' he adds. When asked about the current predicament, the priest said, 'The hospital administration approached us about the construction of the new hospital a couple of months ago and we have had several conversations about it. But when we asked Mataji if she permitted the relocation of the temple, she refused not once but multiple times.' Dave claimed that the hospital superintendent's visit on Sunday was part of his 'seeking clearance' from the Goddess for the project. 'He (Dr Joshi) came at 9 am and we first asked him to pray for what he wished to seek from Mataji and told him that we would look for her answer. If she agrees even twice, that means she has given permission,' the priest claimed, adding that they performed a temple ritual to seek the Goddess's 'consent' — but it was 'negative'. Dave said they had not received any communication from the hospital administration after Sunday's ritual.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
US life expectancy vs. the world in 2025: Where do Americans stand?
Walk into just about any American coffee shop these days, and odds are the conversation skips right from politics to TikTok trends to – you guessed it – the cost of healthcare, the outbreak of the day, or someone's complicated insurance story. But lurking beneath all these headlines and gripes lies a stubborn, unshakable fact: in 2025, Americans simply don't live as long as citizens in dozens of other high-income countries. If you're an average American baby born this year, you're expected to live about 78 years. That sounds fine, maybe even good to some ears, but step outside US borders even just over to Canada or across the United Kingdom and it's abundantly clear: Americans are living shorter lives than almost all their economic peers and, frankly, than millions of people in less wealthy parts of the world. So, what's going on? Let's take a look into what the latest data tells us about American longevity—and why, for all the tech innovations and world-class medical centers dotting the landscape, life expectancy here just keeps stagnating. How does US life expectancy measure up? First things first: life expectancy is the average number of years a newborn can expect to live under current mortality rates. In the US, that number hit a recent low after COVID-19 but has since bounced back a bit. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Still, it's not keeping pace with history—or with the rest of the developed world. 2023 US life expectancy: 78.4 years Global Average (2025): 73.5 years Ranking: 48th globally (and slipping) Here's the kicker: the US is above the global average, but a few years below its 'peer' nations. Most of Western Europe, plus Japan, Australia, South Korea, and even some smaller nations like Monaco, enjoy life expectancies between 82 and 87 years. Americans are on average living about 3–5 years less than their economic peers, and as much as 8 years less than the world leaders. What the numbers really say The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes the latest stats for the US: Both sexes: 78.4 years (2023 data) Males: 75.8 years Females: 81.1 years By comparison, Canada, France, Japan, and even the UK all clock in well above the US average. WHO (World Health Organization) data lines up: no matter which authority you check, the trend is the same. America's rank in the longevity league So where does that put the US? In 48th place (as per several reports) and, according to the latest forecasts by World Population Review, likely to drop even further down the list by 2050. Other wealthy nations, meanwhile, continue to inch higher, sometimes gaining years while the US just creeps forward months at a time. Peer nations growing faster: For example, Japan, Korea, Portugal, the UK, and Italy already clock in at 80+ years and counting. US trend is stagnating: Some projections put the US at 80.4 years—in 2050. That's nearly a quarter-century just to gain a single year. Why is the US lagging behind? If you spent any time in a US health economics classroom, you might echo this refrain: Americans spend more—way more—on healthcare than anyone else, but live shorter lives. Why? Here's where things get sticky (and let's be real, infuriating). According to the CDC and public health research, several chronic and acute challenges conspire to keep US life expectancy low: Cardiovascular disease and obesity: Rates here dwarf those in peer nations. Diabetes: A chronic and costly epidemic. "Diseases of despair": Suicide, alcoholism, and drug overdoses hit the US particularly hard. Maternal and infant mortality: Above-average for a wealthy nation. Motor vehicle fatalities: Still shockingly high. Healthcare disparity: Insurance rates, cost barriers, and uneven healthcare access. Socioeconomic inequality: Health outcomes dramatically vary by income, ZIP code, and racial group. Americans are living shorter, sicker lives even as the country outspends rivals on everything from advanced surgeries to high-end drugs. Comparing to the UK and peers: A stark gap Let's pause and zero in on a particularly telling comparison: the United States vs. the United Kingdom. Recent investigative reports by Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health deliver this sobering headline: Americans live years less than the Brits. Leading causes of excess US deaths: Heart disease, drug overdoses, infant and maternal deaths What really stands out isn't just the small year-by-year difference. It's the long-term trend: since the 1980s, America's trajectory has flatlined, while Europe trudges upward—even through its own crises. Why? Policy differences: Universal coverage, safety nets, and regenerative social programs in the UK and Europe often make healthier choices easier and provide fallback care when disaster strikes. Public health investment: The UK spends less on care, but more on prevention and community wellness. Digging into health habits and policy differences If you're looking for 'silver bullet' explanations, the data won't cut you any slack. It's death by a thousand small problems, and they're entangled: Diet: Appallingly high processed food consumption, sugar-sweetened beverages, and ultra-processed snacks. Exercise: Sedentary lifestyles prevail, especially among kids and teens. Addiction: A toxic brew of widespread opioid, meth, and alcohol abuse. Overdose rates have reached devastating levels. Mental health: Underfunded and stigmatized, pushing more people into crisis and self-harm. Healthcare Coverage: Insurance gaps, high out-of-pocket costs, and rural hospital closures remain endemic. Environmental factors: Pockets of heavy pollution and 'food deserts.' As the CDC points out, even American children today face a 1-in-5 shot at developing obesity before adulthood, foreshadowing future medical costs and mortality. What would it take for America to catch up? Public health experts and studies converge on a short list of must-dos: Tackle chronic disease: Expand access to preventive screening, healthy foods, and physical activity. Address the opioid crisis: Investment in mental health and addiction treatment. Make healthcare universal and affordable: Reduce insurance and cost barriers. Maternal and infant health: More prenatal care, family leave, and education. Tackle poverty and inequality: Social safety nets, fair wages, and safer housing. Without bolder national action—and strong local follow-through—these gains will remain elusive. America's health gap is no longer a technical problem; it's a political, social, and moral one. Other countries have shown it's fixable, but it takes serious willpower and the humility to learn from others. The question for the next generation, then, is simple: Will we keep coasting along on what's left of the old American advantage, or finally tackle the causes behind our shorter lives? For now, the world's watching and, to tell the truth, living longer. References: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health CDC – Life Expectancy Data Briefs WHO Data: United States
