In India’s healthcare system, soaring costs are pushing people into debt and sometimes death. Families, often informal workers, face hospital bills so high they must sell land or borrow at high interest; and many delay care until it’s too late. With roughly half of health expenses coming out of pocket, millions each year fall below the poverty line simply due to medical treatment. Preventive and primary-care services remain under-funded, costly and inaccessible for marginalised groups. Despite a constitutional right to health, the market-driven model, hidden fees in ostensibly “free” public services and systemic inequities undermine universal coverage.
Here, I argue that the politicisation of public health erodes its scientific and ethical foundation, turning it into a tool of power rather than protection. When policies are driven by electoral gains or party agendas, they distort priorities, deepen inequities and weaken systems meant to serve everyone. I analyse how such politics reduces health to a spectacle of control instead of a collective right. True public health, I argue, requires trust, transparency and participation, values that fade when politics takes over. I call for reclaiming health as a shared, non-partisan commitment to human well-being.
Published by: Setopati
Along with GARP Nepal PI Dr. Sameer Mani Dixit, I discuss how antimicrobial resistance has become an urgent public-health crisis in Nepal, with millions of deaths globally and thousands directly attributable to drug-resistant infections in Nepal alone. We argue that vaccines are a critical yet under-leveraged tool to slow AMR because they reduce infection incidence, limit antibiotic use and thereby curb resistance. We highlight the need for stronger surveillance, improved water, sanitation and hygiene, and integrated governance across human, animal and environmental health sectors. I contend that while Nepal has made strides in immunisation, it must now scale up systemic, multisectoral action to address AMR effectively.
Published by: IDS Bulletin
Over the past decade, Tanzania has pioneered innovative mechanisms to strengthen accountability in nutrition policy through a multisectoral nutrition scorecard and a Nutrition Compact for regional and district officials. Drawing on policy analysis and field interviews across five regions, the paper shows that these tools mainly serve internal government monitoring and reinforce centralised, vertical accountability. While they successfully institutionalise reporting and incentivise bureaucratic performance, their design limits opportunities for citizen engagement and social accountability. Consequently, accountability becomes a state-driven process, reflecting national governance priorities more than participatory or community-centred nutrition governance.
Reported piece | The encephalitis crisis: 2017 saw most cases since 2010; Uttar Pradesh continues to fare terribly in public health
Published by: Firstpost
In 2017, the Uttar Pradesh state recorded over 12,578 cases of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), the highest national figure since 2010, a 243 percent increase over that year. More than 1,300 deaths were reported at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur alone, underscoring the magnitude of this recurring public-health crisis. Systematic failures, including persistent outbreaks, inadequate infrastructure, weak prevention, and an overwhelmed health system, reveal the state’s continuing inability to protect its most vulnerable children. I report here that despite long-running recognition of the problem, meaningful remediation remains elusive in a state that continues to fare poorly on core health indicators.
Reported piece | Pesticide deaths: Monocrotophos, which helps plants look green, is killing farmers in India
Published by: Firstpost
In India, countless farmers are falling victim to the highly toxic pesticide Monocrotophos, despite its known hazards and global restrictions. While banned on vegetables since 2005, it remains common on cotton, especially in regions like Yavatmal, where at least 21 farmers recently died amid insecticide exposure. Monocrotophos affects users via inhalation, skin contact or ingestion, disrupting the nervous system and leading to paralysis or death. The piece argues that lax regulation, continued usage in agriculture, and unsafe working conditions without protective gear are colluding to transform a tool meant to “make plants look green” into a silent killer of rural lives.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has proposed classifying stem cells and cell-based products as “drugs” under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940, meaning they would fall under the approval and oversight of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation. Scientists say this long-overdue move addresses a regulatory vacuum that allowed unproven therapies to proliferate. While the notification signals stronger governance of advanced therapies, it currently omits treatments using a patient’s own minimally-manipulated stem cells. Advocates stress that ethics-driven research will not be hindered by regulation but rather strengthened and trusted.