Odisha bets on departments working together to end child marriages
The state has declared 5,600 villages free of child marriage since January 2021 amid COVID-19 pandemic
Deaths by exposure to hazardous chemicals increased 29% between 2016 and 2019: WHO
While most of these deaths are preventable, countries still don’t have enough legal control on the use of hazardous compounds such as lead
25% healthcare centres lack water facilities, 20% sanitation facilities: WHO
The report highlights that each year 17 million women in least developed countries give birth in centres with inadequate facilities for water, …
World Bank, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UNICEF pledge close to $600 million to combat cervical cancer
Commitments at first ever global forum to eliminate the fourth most prevalent cancer among women
Over 19 million kids in Bangladesh at risk from climate change
UNICEF report says nearly 86% of these children living in 17 districts are under threat from floods and cyclones
WHO, Unicef target to avoid 50 million vaccine-preventable infections this decade
UN and other agencies launch new programme that aims to ensure immunisation benefits are shared equitably by humanity
The Gambia may allow female genital mutilation again – another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights
Proposed changes before parliament could permit medicalised female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults
COVID vaccines pillar COVAX to wind down by year-end, left with billions unspent
Vaccine delivery to shift to regular programmes
Child marriage twice as prevalent in Nigeria’s rural areas than urban: Report
The overall rate of child marriage in the country has declined
Climate-resilient water, sanitation & hygiene policies need of hour to meet global agenda of 2030
The 10 African countries most water-insecure & climate-impacted need immediate attention
India bears world’s highest health, economic burden due to lead poisoning: Centre
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh have highest average blood lead levels, a CSIR and Niti Aayog …
World Breastfeeding Week 2023: Supportive workplaces needed to reach global breastfeeding targets
Rate of breastfeeding at 48%, up by 10 percentage points over past decade, say WHO & UNICEF
Gender-based violence plagues Odisha despite govt efforts
Odisha reported the highest cases of assault against women in the country, according to 2018 NCRB data
Early breastfeeding practices in India: Backwardness cuts through social spectrum
Children born in Goa (75.4 per cent) had the highest rate of early breastfeeding in the country, followed by Sikkim (69.7 per cent) and Odisha (68.…
Extreme weather events led to 12 million displacements of children in 2022, estimates UNICEF
Some 25.8 million children were displaced by internal conflict and violence
'Female health workers played a critical role in making Africa wild polio-free'
Tunji Funsho, who led the effort to make Nigeria wild polio-free, says COVID-19 is a setback to the last mile of polio eradication
COVID-19 can reverse decades of progress in eliminating child deaths: UN
Almost 68% of 77 countries surveyed reported at least some disruption in health checks and immunisation services, which may lead to increase in …
Stillborn in Africa: UN pegs number at a million every year
Situation has worsened in 2 decades, may slip further due to COVID-19 pandemic, warns Unicef report
Topping the wrong chart: India has highest number of stillbirths
India recorded 0.34 million stillbirths in 2019; COVID-19 has disrupted health systems and added to the existing burden
Childhood immunisation begins to pick up post-pandemic, finds UN data
Recovery slow and unequal; coverage was 84% in 2022, down from 86% pre-pandemic
Age at marriage in India: A gossamer of complexities and intricate linkages
India is the home to largest number of child brides. Nearly 27 per cent women aged 20-24 years were married before attaining 18 years of age
34% of environmental indicators under SDGs lack standards
Lack of standards means there is no benchmark from which to calculate the Sustainable Development Goals
Periods in a pandemic: Women, girls in low-income settlements need more support
Measures taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 may have made things worse by affecting their ability to buy sanitary products
COVID-19, war and hunger: Yemen’s humanitarian crisis is becoming worse
Over 10 million are on the brink of famine; as many as 400,000 children are at the risk of dying, according to UN
Acute malnutrition risking 30 million children’s lives: WHO
8 million children severely malnourished; UN agencies call for urgent action to protect the most vulnerable in 15 countries