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2 weeks ago | 
thinkglobalhealth.org | Christianez Ratna Kiruba
by Christianez Ratna Kiruba April 9, 2025 Snakebites cause approximately 58,000 deaths per year in India, a disproportionately large number given the worldwide total of 81,000 to 137,000 annually. Despite this high health burden, India faces significant challenges in making antivenom—the only lifesaving treatment available for snakebite—accessible to the vulnerable populations (such as tribal communities and rural farmers) that need it the most.
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1 month ago | 
bmj.com | Christianez Ratna Kiruba
News & ViewsWhy won’t people wear... Why won’t people wear boots in the snakebite capital of the world?
Feature Snakebite BMJ 2025; 388 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r153 Cite this as: BMJ 2025;388:r153 Christianez Ratna Kiruba, freelance journalistGuwahati, Indiachristianezdennis{at}gmail.comProven, cost effective interventions to prevent snakebites are failing to lower their toll in India. Why?
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2 months ago | 
bmj.com | Christianez Ratna Kiruba
Christianez Ratna Kiruba, freelance journalistGuwahati, Indiachristianezdennis{at}gmail.comSocial media has emerged as a powerful tool for medical students in India, enabling them to challenge entrenched norms, advocate for inclusivity, and demand accountability.
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2 months ago | 
thehindu.com | Christianez Ratna Kiruba |Kinshuk Gupta
Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention persons with disabilities even once in her entire Union Budget 2025 speech, according to a response to the Budget from non-profit organisation, The Centre for Inclusive Policy. Disability rights activists believe that a similar approach has been taken towards resource allocation, which has remained a recurring pattern year after year.
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2 months ago | 
news-decoder.com | Christianez Ratna Kiruba
Every year, an estimated , resulting in as many as 138,000 deaths and three times as many cases of permanent disability. The World Health Organization classified snakebite as a neglected tropical disease in 2017 and set a target to halve related deaths by 2030. India, home to over , is at the heart of this global health issue, accounting for half of all snakebite-related deaths.
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Jan 23, 2025 | 
thinkglobalhealth.org | Christianez Ratna Kiruba
by Christianez Ratna Kiruba January 23, 2025 On November 13, 2024, Balaji Jagannathan, a senior oncologist at Kalaignar Centenary Super Speciality Hospital in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India, was brutally stabbed seven times by the son of a woman he had treated. Although severely wounded, Jagannathan survived. The patient had been diagnosed with end-stage cancer and received six cycles of chemotherapy at Kalaignar.
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Nov 27, 2024 | 
news-decoder.com | Christianez Ratna Kiruba
Weight lifting has all kinds of health benefits. But many woman in India find going to the gym takes an inner strength they didn’t think they had. Mirabai Chanu Saikhom of India competes during the women’s 49kg weightlifting event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, 7 August 2024, in Paris.
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Nov 26, 2024 | 
genevahealthfiles.substack.com | Christianez Ratna Kiruba |Priti Patnaik
Hi, Global shifts that occur as a result of choices made by influential actors manifest as specific consequences with significant implications on the ground. In today’s edition, we examine how some doctors in small town hospitals in India are addressing Diabetes at a time when insulin production by major manufacturers has been sidelined in favor of pursuing more lucrative revenue lines. This has had an effect for patients and their communities.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
thenewsminute.com | Christianez Ratna Kiruba
A few days ago,news surfaced about the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) planning to recommend a ban on the over-the-counter sales of emergency contraceptive pills or morning-after pills. This recommendation will likely be made by a six-member expert subcommittee consisting of an obstetrics and gynaecology doctor from Lady Hardinge Medical College and members of the ICMR and DGCA, among others.
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Oct 9, 2024 | 
news-decoder.com | Christianez Ratna Kiruba
In 2023, a team of doctors in New Delhi treated a young victim who had poisoned himself with a pesticide. The 18-year old was a first-year medical student from Uttar Pradesh. During a period of significant emotional distress, Akshay ordered a dangerous pesticide from an e-commerce website with harmful intent. Despite a seven-day delay in its delivery, his mental health did not improve, and he ultimately ingested the substance.
