How we communicate is one way through which we tell the world who we are. The vocabulary, syntax, and speech sounds we use tell others where we are from, our age, our gender, our socioeconomic background, and our cultural associations. The language learning process initiates us into our communities by implicitly teaching us the […]
Latest articles
Lessons from COVID-19: Strengthening the public health system in India or accelerating privatisation?
When Manisha’s husband passed away in a private hospital from Maharashtra state in October 2020 she was given a handwritten bill of Rs 14 lakh (18,892 USD). The hospital withheld his body for ten hours till the dues were settled. Sandeep Dhande was given a bill of 1.5 lakh (2,040 USD) on a piece […]
Stigma related to COVID-19 threatens to divide humanity further
. The global spread of COVID-19 has been accompanied by a deeply troubling rise of stigma. Stigma related to COVID-19 included stereotyping, blaming and ostracizing groups or individuals that were infected or associated with the disease. This pattern of stigmatization has been fueled by political rhetoric, inequity, and mistrust . Many of these stem from […]
Should take-home medication for opioid use disorder become the norm?
The impact of COVID-19 on people with pre-existing health problems has been devastating. To speak of any benefit of the COVID crisis for them is perhaps heretical. But an important COVID-induced change in the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) is a crisis response with demonstrated benefits. In many countries, people living with OUD […]
Social protection in the time of COVID-19
Pandemics are highly inequitable. They impose a disproportionate burden on those at the lower end of the income distribution. In the case of COVID-19, control efforts through social distancing and population lockdowns have brought additional deprivations on vulnerable populations. In low- and middle- income countries (LMIC) and elsewhere, the slowdown in economic activity has […]
Battling COVID-19 in a war zone: a field doctor’s point of view from Yemen
Yemen has been embroiled in a brutal civil war since 2015. In June 2021, President Joe Biden announced his administration would donate 500 million doses of COVID vaccines to low-income countries. Prime Minister Boris Johnson followed shortly afterwards with an announcement of the British donating 100 million excess vaccines. These measures were celebrated around […]
Challenges in accessing care for Palestinian cancer patients in Gaza during the COVID-19 crisis
While media headlines this year captured the destruction in Gaza following the Israel-Gaza hostilities and the humanitarian impact of war, less is known about the daily battles faced by cancer patients in Gaza. This blog intends to specifically describe the persisting challenges in accessing care, that mounted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are seldom […]
Coming together to fill the gaps in an inequitable crisis: A story from the second wave of COVID-19 in India
When will things get back to normal? A question we have asked since COVID-19 hit us in 2020. Who imagined it would last for more than a year, and return in waves as deadly as the second wave in India, which was nothing less than a nightmare. Practically every family was suffering, grieving, pleading; […]
Planetary health care and Barbara Starfield´s legacy
Barbara Starfield advanced academic scholarship on the role of primary care in health systems and universal health coverage. Her research on equity contributed to evidence-informed health policymaking1. On June 10th 2021, we commemorate her 10th death anniversary. Starfield described four attributes of primary care- first contact, continuity of care, comprehensiveness, and coordination – and […]
COVID-19 vaccination in India: we need equity
Just a few days after starting its own COVID-19 vaccination program , India provided vaccines as grant- in-aid to other countries1 . This was in sharp contrast to some high-income countries which stockpile vaccines, and block proposals to suspend intellectual property rights in World Trade Organisation2. India now is in the midst of a […]