Ali Mehdi

Global health

[Ali Mehdi @mehdi2604]

@myvoltas When will my AC be delivered back??!

[Ali Mehdi @mehdi2604]

@SwiggyCares Don't exploit your riders and customers - that's the only message I wish to convey.

[Ali Mehdi @mehdi2604]

India's budget will be presented today in the Parliament. My column in today's Financial Express on why India needs "A budget for well-being freedom".

[Ali Mehdi @mehdi2604]

Today is Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day.

In this column, I discuss India's journey on the road to UHC since independence and suggest a way forward based on UHC's core principles of quality and equality.

@MoHFW_INDIA
@AyushmanNHA
@NITIAayog
@WHO

https://t.co/oa0drvQ4ma

[Rajiv Kumar @RajivKumar1]

Ali Mehdi and I write on the need for giving health including preventive health a high priority for maximising our gains from the favourable demographic structure. @JPNadda @nsitharaman @PMOIndia @AshishDhawanTCF @PahleIndia @secymoayush @MoHFW_INDIA

[Sujit Nair @sujitnair90]

“The day I got my postgraduate degree, I didn’t waste a minute– I rushed back to my village, Ausgrum in Bengal to become a teacher. Yes, I had higher salary offers from schools in bigger towns, but for me, the 169 Rs. I was offered at my school village meant everything; I was hungry to teach the students from my village who needed a good teacher the most.
And I taught at my school for 39 years and only retired because I’d hit my ‘retirement age’– 60, what a ridiculous concept!
So there I was at 60, retired and expected to spend my years drinking sugary tea and whiling away my time on the charpoy! But I was restless, I didn’t want to retire and kept asking myself, ‘What shall I do now?’ A few days later, I got the answer.
One morning, around 6:30 AM, I saw 3 young girls enter my house. I was shocked when they told me they’d cycled for over 23 kms to see the Master who’d retired! They were young tribal girls who were desperate to learn; with folded hands they asked, ‘Masterji, will you teach us?’ I immediately agreed and said, ‘I can teach you, but you will have to pay my school fees for the whole year–are you ready to pay?’
They said, ‘Yes, Masterji, we will manage the money somehow.’
So I said, ‘Yes, my fees are Rupee 1 for the whole year!’
They were so happy, they hugged me and said, ‘We will pay you 1 Rupee and 4 chocolates also!’
I was elated! So, after they left, I put on my dhoti and went straight back to my school and requested them to give me a classroom to teach…they refused. But I wasn’t going to stop– I had years of teaching left in me, so I went back home, cleaned my verandah and decided to start teaching there.
That was in 2004–my Pathshala started with those 3 girls and today we have over 3000 students per year, most of whom are young tribal girls. My day still starts at 6 AM with a walk around the village and then I open my doors to students coming from all over– some of the girls walk for 20 plus kilometres; I have so much to learn from them!
Over the years, my students have gone on to become professors, heads of departments and IT professionals– they always call me and give me the good news and as always, I ask them to please give me some chocolates! And last year, when I won the Padmashree, my phone didn’t stop ringing; the whole village celebrated with me–it was a happy day, but I still didn’t allow my students to bunk class!
And my doors are open to all– come visit me and my Pathshala anytime; our village is beautiful and all my students are bright–I am sure you can learn something from them!
So that’s my story– I am a simple teacher from Bengal who enjoys his tea and evening naps on his charpoy. The highlight of my life is being called Master Moshai–I want to teach until my last breath; it’s what I was put on this planet to do!”

Sujit Chattopadhyay

President Kovind presents Padma Shri to Shri Sujit Chatterjee for Literature and Education. A retired school teacher from Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, he is recognised over the state for his free coaching center named “Sadai Fakirer Pathsala”. (Courtesy: Characters of Calcutta)

[Ali Mehdi @mehdi2604]

While preparing the program report, I was looking at the data in NFHS-5 and the kind of stark health and socioeconomic inequalities that exist between Garo and Khasi hills made me feel that what this local program coordinator said was quite possible.

[World Bank Health @WBG_Health]

Committing to stronger #PrimaryHealthCare is essential to improve health outcomes for the most vulnerable, and help countries strengthen their #HealthSystems and achieve #UHC. #HealthForAll

Learn more about how the @WorldBank #InvestInHealth: https://t.co/R0nkIUNi8e

[World Bank Health @WBG_Health]

#COVID19 has exacerbated health inequalities and exposed underlying weaknesses in countries’ #HealthSystems.

Learn how the @WorldBank is supporting countries to invest in strong, resilient health systems, prepared for crisis: https://t.co/9Blt775zoy

[Ali Mehdi @mehdi2604]

This is serious! Covid has long become a syndemic. It's interconnections with health and other challenges need to be duly assessed, acknowledged and addressed.

[Sputnik V @sputnikvaccine]

Reuters: “Scientists from US & UK are investigating potential link between long COVID and suicide frequency following evidence of increased cases of depression/suicidal thoughts among people with #longCOVID, as well as a growing number of known deaths”
👇
https://t.co/7DX4rGUcbR

[ICRIER @ICRIER]

Rethink the booster shot strategy - Ali Mehdi, Senior Visiting Fellow, ICRIER

@mehdi2604 @healthICRIER @ICRIER @FinancialXpress

#Health #vaccination #COVID19

https://t.co/nDW4OpsEbg

[NDTV @ndtv]

#FYI | How does air pollution impact kids and why are they more susceptible to #AirPollution?

NDTV's Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor explains reasons and solutions

[Harvard Health @HarvardHealth]

There's strong evidence that #heartattack and #stroke risk rises sharply in the weeks following a #COVID19 diagnosis, according to one of the largest studies of its kind to date: https://t.co/CnViFrQq4Y #HarvardHealth

[Global Solutions Initiative @glob_solutions]

How should #healthsystems work in order to guarantee health #quality and #efficiency? Read the #T20 Italy’s policy brief by @sdabocconi @chiara_cadeddu @martadassu @mehdi2604 @sabrinamontante @sudarshann1 @M_Raviglione @WRicciardi @ptaylor_ottawa
https://t.co/dytHDG9X1K

[Harvard Health @HarvardHealth]

Regular #aerobic exercise such as #walking and #cycling may help people with resistant hypertension lower their blood pressure: https://t.co/EUQB6ToixU #HarvardHealth

[Harsh Mariwala @hcmariwala]

I've had a lot of failures along the way. Through each of them, it felt like a part of my world collapsed. What seemed like the end, was always only the beginning.

#HarshRealities

[Harvard Health @HarvardHealth]

Not all high #cholesterol foods are bad for you. It’s the foods that are high in saturated fat that you need to worry about, because they can raise your cholesterol levels AND make you gain weight: https://t.co/NQhLGMBFW2 #HarvardHealth

[Harvard Health @HarvardHealth]

Compared with people who didn't take a tub bath more than twice a week, people who took a daily warm or hot bath had a 28% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 26% lower risk of #stroke: https://t.co/GlNMwnWmV9 #HarvardHealth

[Harvard Health @HarvardHealth]

It’s easy to feel too busy to be mindful, but everyone can find a few minutes to pause and reflect. Even a brief #mindfulness practice provides a respite from the pace and stress of life, and can help with #memory, concentration, and focus. https://t.co/aSWDQVnwVu #HarvardHealth

[Ali Mehdi @mehdi2604]

And ethics too!

[SP Kalantri @spkalantri]

If physicians order the diagnostic tests thoughtfully, prescribe drugs rationally and choose surgeries wisely, half the costs of healthcare would go down.

The reason why medical students must learn health economics—and once trained—practice medicine meaningfully.