CNS: Articles of Bobby Ramakant

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Longer lives, equal rights: Why ageing needs a gendered human rights response

[हिंदी] October 2026 may mark a pivotal moment in the global fight for equality and human rights for older persons. On 1st October the world observes the International Day of Older Persons under the theme "The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives." Later that same month, the UN Inter-Governmental Working Group on the Human Rights of Older Persons reconvenes at UN in Geneva to advance work on the drafting of a legally binding international treaty.

A 20-hospital, 3-year ICMR study of over 150,000 patients finds that carbapenem drug-resistant infections are driving up both deaths and treatment costs

A large multi-centre study of over 150,000 patients in India's 20 tertiary-care hospitals has put a stark number on one of the top ten global health threats today: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). AMR happens when infections easier to treat earlier become difficult (or impossible) to treat due to disease-causing microbe (such as bacteria, virus, fungi, parasite) becoming drug resistant.

[watch the video of Shobha's talk] In a forceful address ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections, gender justice leader Shobha Shukla declared that inclusive democracy is not a side issue - it is a core gender justice demand. Women form roughly half of humanity and a large share of voters, yet they hold only a fraction of real political power. Speaking at a session organised by the Moment for Women Alliance and African Girls Empowerment Network (The AGE Network), Shobha warned that formal voting rights mean little when women remain locked out of the rooms where laws are written and budgets decided.

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In a powerful intervention timed for the eve of critical global diplomacy, Eliva Press today (12th August 2026) released "Justice Unbound: Feminist Voices on Gender Equality, Health Rights, and Inclusive Futures," an exclusive compilation of 14 hard-hitting reports by veteran feminist, health and development justice advocate Shobha Shukla. Written between January and June 2026, the book documents the “nefarious pushbacks” against gender equality and the human right to health across Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. With only about 53 months remaining to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, Shukla’s work arrives as a stark warning and a call to action.

Can we ever end tuberculosis (TB) - the deadliest infectious disease on Earth - without ensuring that every single person who takes an initial TB test receives a truly effective one? A test that accurately and rapidly detects active TB disease. A test that misses no one. Because finding TB early and accurately is not optional - it is the indispensable lynchpin, the non-negotiable gateway to the entire treatment and care pathway.

We are living in an age of ageing with a fast-growing number of older people. Life expectancy has increased significantly over the past years. Japan has nearly 100,000 people aged 100 or older - the highest in the world, with women comprising roughly 88% of this population. By 2050 the population of persons above 60 years of age is projected to grow to 2.1 billion (nearly one fifth of the total global population).

Amidst the high decibel organising to mark World TB Day 2026 globally, we got a chance to spend time at TB ground zero: a shelter home for the homeless people in a state (Delhi) with the highest TB incidence in a country with the highest TB burden worldwide (India).

Is there a connect between gender and antimicrobial resistance (AMR)? If you think that infection-causing microbes (virus, bacteria, fungi, parasites) impact all genders the same, be welcome to read on...

This is indeed a historic first when governments have come together to draft a legally binding possible treaty to protect the human rights of older persons. The first ever Inter Governmental Working Group (IGWG) meeting to protect the rights of older persons was held recently. IGWG was created by the UN Human Rights Council in April 2025 and given the mandate to draft a legally binding UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.

"Let us pledge that gender-based violence will end with us. For how many generations and centuries will we bear the brunt of gender-based violence? We are not asking for mercy from men or boys – we are asking for our right to live with equality and justice – just like them. Enough is enough. Full Stop." These were the words of keynote speaker Shobha Shukla at Africa's Speak Up and Heal Summit organised by African Girls Empowerment Network to mark International Human Rights Day.

Right to health is a fundamental human right. There is no doubt that everyone - without any exception or exclusion - should be able to live healthily in a rights-based manner - everywhere. Along with ensuring high to health is a reality for all, it is also important to recognise health financing as a smart investment.

The risk of getting TB disease is among the highest in unhoused and other marginalised persons but the likelihood of them seeking public TB services is low – and finishing lifesaving TB therapy is even lower. The delay is long – very long – for them to get right diagnosis (if at all) – and so are the catastrophic costs which they may incur until getting correctly diagnosed. Not being able to finish lifesaving TB treatment is not helping either- the person suffers and so does the TB response - because we collectively fail to disrupt TB transmission.

[watch the recording] As intergovernmental Treaty meetings open on climate (UNFCCC) and tobacco control (WHO FCTC), there is a growing call to make Big Tobacco pay and kick Big Polluters out of these Treaty negotiations. Experts have underpinned the critical importance of firewalling intergovernmental health and climate policy negotiations from corporate interference and called for advancing progress towards holding abusive corporations to account.

[Read official announcement] World's largest prize devoted to TB, the coveted Kochon Prize, was awarded to India's Molbio Diagnostics for its technological innovation which is helping over 90 governments worldwide to reach the unreached with best of multi-disease molecular diagnostics. This is the third time India won Kochon Prize with previous two recipients being 2006-head of Indian government's TB programme Dr LS Chauhan, and country's apex medical research body - Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2017.

Study proves strong impact of taking molecular TB diagnostics closer to the people

Urgent call to replace sputum microscopy completely with true point-of-care molecular tests to #FindAllTB

An important scientific study published in The Lancet shows the strong public health impact of deploying molecular diagnostics closer to the people.

[watch the recording] When misuse and overuse of medicines is making infections difficult or impossible to treat, then are not all of us at risk? rightly asks Bhakti Chavan, a survivor of extensively drug-resistant TB or XDR-TB (one of the severest forms of TB which has very limited treatment options) and a member of World Health Organization (WHO) Task Force of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) Survivors.

Youth-led, rights-based and gender transformative HIV response is key. “Community-led programmes are lifelines of the HIV response, reaching those most in need. As international aid shrinks, these lifelines are the first to disappear. We must protect them,” said UNAIDS. One such lifeline is youth-led programmes for HIV prevention and treatment. We need to protect it.

The irony of current times is that despite the writing on the wall "health is a fundamental human right," the ground reality cannot be farther from the truth. Over 70% people die of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) - a significant number of them are preventable. An infectious disease like TB, which is preventable and curable, continues to be the deadliest infectious disease worldwide - especially in the Global South. When HIV combination prevention should be a reality, along with treatment as prevention, over 630,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2024 - and 1.3 million were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2024 (hardly any change when compared with 2023 data). If every life matters, then why is A for accountability, missing from global health?

Let us refresh the old gold Buddhist tale of The Quail and the Net: “Long ago a flock of quails lived in a forest. Everyday a hunter would cast a net and trap many of them. But eventually, a wise quail told the rest that if they worked together, they could lift the net collectively at the same moment and escape as one. Next time the hunter tried to capture them, quails moved in unison, raising the net and flying off together. Unity is strength,” said Eamonn Murphy, Director of UNAIDS for Asia Pacific and Central Asia and Eastern Europe regions around the world’s largest conference on HIV science (13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science).

[watch the recording] Health and gender equality are indivisible and fundamental human rights. "Right to health cannot be dislocated from gender equality and human rights. We have to ensure that gender equality and human right to health are recognised as fundamental human rights in all countries,” said Shobha Shukla, who was the Lead Discussant for SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) at the United Nations intergovernmental High Level Political Forum (HLPF 2025) at UN HQ in New York (14-23 July 2025). She was speaking on behalf of Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism.