By Rajiv Shah India’s human capital outcomes in health and education remain below global averages, with the latest World Bank report warning that learning levels and health indicators are stagnating compared to peer countries such as Vietnam and Peru. The report highlights persistent gaps in maternal education, child nutrition, and learning outcomes, underscoring the urgent need for investment in homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.
By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD, Epidemiologist In disease eradication, the last mile is crucial. Even a single case can keep smoldering and can start the fire with a vengeance, since immunity of the population goes down. In malaria, this immunity is weak and ill-defined and is called “ premunity .” This is a form of incomplete protection that depends on low-level persistent infection, giving rise to “ stable malaria ” in endemic regions. Here there are no overt outbreaks, as survivors into adulthood have “premunity,” but these populations are likely to have high infant mortality rates due to malaria.