In India, nine Anopheline vectors are involved in transmitting malaria in diverse geo-ecological paradigms. About 2 million confirmed malaria cases and 1,000 deaths are reported annually, although 15 million cases and 20,000 deaths are estimated by WHO South East Asia Regional Office. India contributes 77% of the total malaria in Southeast Asia. Multi-organ involvement/dysfunction is reported in both Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax cases. Most of the malaria burden is borne by economically productive ages. The states inhabited by ethnic tribes are entrenched with stable malaria, particularly P. falciparum with growing drug resistance. The profound impact of complicated malaria in pregnancy includes anemia, abortions, low birth weight in neonates, still births, and maternal mortality. Retrospective analysis of burden of malaria showed that disability adjusted life years lost due to malaria were 1.86 million years. Cost-benefit analysis suggests that each Rupee invested by the National Malaria Control Program pays a rich dividend of 19.7 Rupees.

Context:Corneal diseases constitute a significant cause of visual impairment and blindness in the developing world. The number of corneal transplants done is far less than the actual requirement in India. This is largely due to the inadequate number of corneas collected. Well-informed nursing students could be expected to influence eye donation rates.Aims:To assess the awareness and perception of 188 first- and second-year nursing students towards eye donation in Bangalore.Settings and Design:Cross-sectional study design.Materials and Methods:A pretested, semi-structured questionnaire.Statistical Analysis Used:Data were analyzed using the Epi-Info software package, Version 6.04.Results:The majority (96.8%) of students knew that eyes can be donated after death but only 38.2% knew that the ideal time of donation was within 6 hours of death. Most participants (85.1%) were either willing or had already donated their eyes. Nobility in the act of eye donation was the main motivational force for eye donation according to 85.6% of students. Perceived reasons for not pledging eyes by the students were: the unacceptable idea of separating the eyes from the body (67.9%), lack of awareness (42.8%), objection by family members (28.5%), and unsuitability to donate because of health problem (10.7%).Conclusion:This study revealed that nursing students were well aware of eye donations and most of them were inclined to sign-up for eye donation. The perceived reasons for not donating eyes need to be considered while creating awareness about eye donation in the community. The nursing students could be actively involved as volunteers in eye donation campaigns and they can act as counsellors for eye donors. They can also contribute by participating in creating awareness and motivating people to become eye donors.

Hypertension is the leading single preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) project was designed to improve hypertension control in public sector clinics. The project was launched in 2018–2019 in 26 districts across five states: Punjab (5), Madhya Pradesh (3), Kerala (4), Maharashtra (4), and Telangana (10), with five core strategies: standard treatment protocol, reliable supply of free antihypertensive drugs, team-based care, patient-centered care, and an information system to track individual patient treatment and blood pressure control. All states implemented simple treatment protocols with three drugs: a long-acting dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker (amlodipine), angiotensin receptor blocker (telmisartan), and thiazide or a thiazide-like diuretic (hydrochlorothiazide or chlorthalidone). Medication supplies were adequate to support at least one month of treatment. Overall, 570,365 hypertensives were enrolled in 2018–2019; 11% did not have follow-up visits in the most recent 12 months. Clinic-level blood pressure control averaged 43% (range 22–79%) by Jan-March, 2020. The proportion of the estimated people with hypertension who had it controlled and documented in public clinics increased three-fold, albeit from very low levels (1.4–5.0%). The IHCI demonstrated the feasibility of implementing protocol-based hypertension treatment and control supported by a reliable drug supply and accurate information systems at scale in Indian primary health care facilities. Lessons from the IHCI’s initial phase will inform plans to improve screening in health care facilities, increase retention in care, and ensure a sustained supply of drugs as part of a nationwide hypertension control program.

Background Unintentional injuries account for 10% of deaths worldwide; the majority due to road traffic injuries, falls, drowning, poisoning and burns. Effective surveillance systems provide evidence for informed injury prevention and treatment and improve recovery outcomes. Our objectives were to review existing sources of unintentional injury data, and quality of the data on the burden, distribution, risk factors and trends of unintentional injuries in India and to describe strengths and limitations of health facility-based data for potential use in injury surveillance systems. Methods We searched national and international organisations’ websites to identify unintentional injury-related mortality and morbidity data sources in India. We reviewed and evaluated data collection methods for surveillance attributes recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). We visited health facilities at all levels from public and private sectors, emergency transport centres, insurance offices and police stations in settings reporting significant number of injuries. In these sites, we interviewed key stakeholders using an explorative approach on current data collection processes and challenges to establishing an injury surveillance system based on WHO guidelines. Results Major gaps were highlighted in injury mortality and morbidity data in India, including ill-defined causes of injury deaths and lack of standardisation in classification and coding. Site visits revealed that reporting standards of injuries varied, with issues around clarity of definitions, accountability, time points and lack of reporter/coder training. Major challenges were lack of dedicated staff and training. Conclusions There is an important need to build human resource capacity, integrate data sources, standardise and streamline data collected, ensure accountability and capitalise on digital health information systems including insurance databases.

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