Vaccines prevent infections, wealth prevents death.

The BJP government has apparently announced 4 new vaccines. A Rotavirus vaccine for diarrhoea, an injectable Polio vaccine and a Rubella vaccine, and a Japanese Encephlitis vaccine for adults. That is a little confusing. Presumably Japanese Encephalitis is capable of killing children as well as adults so we presume that adults have been specifically mentioned because all other vaccines are normally given to children. But Rubella is already available with Mumps and Measles in MMR and Polio, according to the WTO, has been eradicated in India. Polio is still prevalent in Pakistan where Polio workers are regularly shot to death by the Taliban. This is because the US used a fake Polio vaccination program to hunt down Osama bin Laden.  The Taliban believes that Polio eradication program is a western conspiracy to spy on them and have been targeting workers ever since. In a shockingly callous display of indifference to the health of innocent children the US has been pressuring Pakistan to release the treacherous doctor from prison. But then, for the US, Asian children are ' collateral damage ', just so much dross to be blown up by drones whenever they need target practice. To reduce the load of genital cancers the  vaccine to the Human Papilloma Virus should also be routinely administered to all children. Public health is not just vaccines. To really improve public health sanitation, clean water supply and a nutritious diet are essential. A nutritious diet improves growth in children, reduces infections and improves performance in school. Poor nutrition of the mother during pregnancy leads to lifelong health problems in the offspring. Tuberculosis and Rheumatic Heart Disease are diseases of poverty and overcrowding. Although heart disease is the biggest killer in India, as in other countries, respiratory diseases were the second biggest killers. The reason is pollution, as an ever increasing population means cutting down forests for land and increasing numbers of vehicles in congested cities. Life expectancy in India is 66.4 while in Norway it is 81.5 but, what is really shameful is that, mean years of schooling in India is a mere 4.4 years as opposed to 12.6 years in Norway. Poor living standards contributes 44.8% to poverty, poor health contributes 32.5% and poor education to 22.7% to poverty. However, how can anyone earn enough money to afford a high living standard and good health without education? Reduce population, improve education, improve infrastructure and create proper jobs. Poverty creates poor health and poor health increases poverty. Wealth is health.