Malaria kills twice as many people every year as formerly believed, taking 1.2 million lives and causing the deaths not only of babies but also older children and adults. The findings from the research, which has reanalysed 30 years of data on the disease using new techniques, will force a rethink of the huge global effort that has been under way to eliminate malaria, the guardian newspaper reported on Friday. That ambition now looks highly unlikely by the UN target date of 2015.

The World Cancer Day will be observed in Bangladesh today with no government programmes, while about 1.5 lakh people die of cancer every year in the country.

The government has chalked up no programmes to mark the day demonstrating its negligence in combating the deadly disease, experts said.

According to a study carried out by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, in 2010, cancer causes 21 per cent of maternal casualty in the country.

JAIPUR: Jay Naidoo, chair of the GAIN Board, South Africa said 60 million children in India are malnourished, which is higher than the total population of South Africa.

Naidoo was in the city at the launch of fortified wheat flour and fortified edible oil for sale in open market. He said, "Around 60% of India's total population is living below poverty line. These people are dependant on the government. So, government plays important role in the fight against malnutrition as it passes laws, regulations and policies. These people need high quality food rich in folic acid, iron and Vitamin A."

The number of malaria deaths worldwide in 2010 was 1.24 million, nearly double the number previously estimated by the 2011 World Malaria Report (WMR). This is despite a 31-per-cent reduction in such deaths globally in the last five years.

This was stated in a study published on February 3 in The Lancet.

Civil Society Floods Situation Report on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Response in Sindh 2011 has disclosed that due to the poor intervention by the government and humanitarian agencies in rain and flood affected districts of Sindh increased health risks especially water borne and viral diseases among the affected communities, as 87 percent of water sources are unfit for drinking.

India has the worst air pollution in the entire world, beating China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, according to a study released during this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

Of 132 countries whose environments were surveyed, India ranks dead last in the ‘Air (effects on human health)’ ranking. The annual study, the Environmental Performance Index, is conducted and written by environmental research centers at Yale and Columbia universities with assistance from dozens of outside scientists. The study uses satellite data to measure air pollution concentrations.

Thirteen drug companies, the governments of the United States, Britain and the United Arab Emirates, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lions Club and other smaller charitable organizations on Monday announced a joint effort to tackle 10 neglected tropical diseases in a coordinated fashion.

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates in London on Monday launched an initiative along with 13 pharmaceutical firms, World Health Organisation, World Bank and the US, UK and UAE governments to eliminate or control 10 neglected tropical diseases by the end of 2020.