Columnists

Rajib Dasgupta

The writer is professor and chairperson, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

New WHO report on assistive technology for disabled provides a roadmap for India

Mon, Jun 06, 2022

Rajib Dasgupta, Shweta Sharma, Balram Bhargava write: The health system’s responsibility in providing equitable access to assistive technology, just as for essential medicines and vaccines, is increasingly being recognised.

Dealing with Covid beyond the pandemic

Tue, Feb 22, 2022

Rajib Dasgupta writes: Public health systems and policymaking should focus on dealing with the disease in its less virulent form and addressing the scars it has inflicted in the past two years.

What schools need to do during pandemic

Thu, Dec 09, 2021

Rajib Dasgupta, N K Arora write: School life during and after the Covid-19 pandemic is not going to be the same.

The long, hard road of immunisation

Wed, Mar 10, 2021

Vaccine equity, smooth user experience, understanding prevailing motives and behaviours and bridging the digital divide are all vital in India’s fight against COVID-19.

Communication strategies are critical for shaping perceptions around coronavirus vaccines

Tue, Jan 05, 2021

Effective messaging strategy shall need both a compelling story and a storyteller; credible voices will be crucial, going beyond celebrity status or political popularity

Herd immunity debate shows that both scientific and moral judgement matters in Covid battle

Tue, Nov 17, 2020

The COVID-19 situation underscores the importance of combining good science with prudent judgment to meet the needs of large populations, while maximising scientific quality in the face of applicable limitations and competing interests.

Global crisis, local response: Emphasis must be on Covid-19 data disaggregated by geographies, vulnerabilities

Thu, Oct 08, 2020

The WHO cautioned that “we have seen broad variations in naïve estimations of CFR that may be misleading”. Adjusting for the stage of the pandemic in each setting is essential to correctly interpreting COVID-19 statistics.

With vaccine on the horizon, challenges await: How to get it to every person, while mitigating risks

Sat, Aug 29, 2020

With the spike protein having multiple locations where antibodies can bind and neutralise the virus, mutations in the pathogen are not likely to be easily successful in negotiating the vaccine.

Delhi needs coordination across agencies and proactive leadership to fight Covid

Fri, Jul 10, 2020

The recipe for the earlier successes included close technical coordination between central, state and municipal agencies as well as a proactive political leadership, ably backed by a strong public health establishment of the Municipal Corporation.

The covid-19 crisis: Physical distancing, Social bonding

Thu, Mar 26, 2020

“Social distancing” is what the PM emphasised for all Indians, and the “Janata curfew” was an extraordinary communication and implementation strategy.

Rampage of day biters

Thu, Sep 15, 2016

Vector control requires action at household level and robust public health systems.

India’s Malnutrition Shame

Thu, Sep 17, 2015

It requires a far wider spectrum of interventions than mere clinical management.