nidalrahman

Saddened by another episode of the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala. The state has already reported two deceased and six are currently diagnosed with the zoonotic (spread from animal to human) virus. The recurring nature of the virus is creating tensions for the health sector of the country and state and it gets amplified because of repetition of location. The virus is a member of the WHO priority pathogen list considering its fatality. In that scenario, I personally felt this to be a good time to write something about the One Health concept. One Health is a holistic approach to problems that recognizes the interconnections between the health of humans, animals, plants, and their shared environment. Experts around the globe are pushing for a strategy change by presenting various studies, reasons, issues, and examples. Let us try to understand briefly the major reason for such a push. The rising number of zoonotic diseases is a major among them. SARs, Monekypox, and Nipah are a few that w...

It is almost a month since the minister of sports and youth affairs of Tamil Nadu state government Udhayanidhi Stalin alleged the Governor of the state as a Rashtriya SwayamSevak Sangh (RSS). Undoubtedly the remark should not have happened. It is unbecoming for a minister to deliver such a statement on a Constitutional authority which is meant to be non-partisan and the bulwark of federalism. The statement came as part of the ongoing tussle between the State and the governor on the issue of the medical entrance test, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The Tamil Nadu government is looking for an exemption from the NEET examination raising multiple claims which we will consider soon. A bill for the same target was passed in 2021 and sent to the governor for assent, the final part. The governor withheld his assent in 2022 and later reserved the same for the president's assent (Article 200). From now the governor has no meaty role to play it is on the shoulders of the Presi...