6 October 2026
More than 347 million children in nearly 100 countries and territories are expected to experience unusually wet or dry conditions between October and December 2026 because of El Nino, according to the latest UNICEF data reported by the UN.
The 2026-2027 El Nino is forecast to become one of the strongest on record, and Pacific Ocean temperatures have already surpassed the equivalent measurements of the 1997 and 2015 events.
Colombia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines are among the countries expected to turn drier, raising the risk of drought, water scarcity and acute malnutrition.
In the Greater Horn of Africa, wetter-than-normal conditions could trigger flash flooding, spread water-borne diseases and disrupt schooling.
The UN said every $1 invested in disaster risk reduction and prevention can save up to $15 in recovery costs, yet less than one per cent of humanitarian funding goes to anticipatory action.
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific has recalled that in the 2015-16 El Nino more than 70 per cent of South-East Asia's land area experienced drought, exposing more than 200 million people to severe drought at its peak.
Children exposed, October-December 2026:
more than 347 million
Countries and territories:
nearly 100
Return on prevention spending:
up to $15 saved for every $1
Why it matters for exams: El Nino's teleconnections, its effect on monsoon and food security, and the economics of anticipatory action are standard geography and environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
El Nino El Nino-Southern Oscillation, warm phase — A periodic warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific that shifts rainfall and temperature patterns worldwide.
ESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific — The UN regional commission for the Asia-Pacific, with its headquarters in Bangkok.
Anticipatory action Anticipatory humanitarian action — Relief released on the strength of a forecast, before a disaster strikes, rather than after it.
6 October 2026
The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions has notified the Autonomous Boards and Central Assessment Committee (Establishment, Constitution, Functions and Powers) Regulations, 2026, under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021.
The Regulations provide for Autonomous Boards under the State Allied and Healthcare Councils, with responsibilities for education, institutional assessment, professional ethics and registration.
Each Autonomous Board will have 10 to 20 members including a President, with representation from recognised allied and healthcare professional categories, and prescribed qualifications, experience, tenure, age limits and declarations of assets, liabilities and conflicts of interest.
The Undergraduate and Postgraduate Boards will implement standards for recognised courses and competency-based frameworks. The Assessment and Rating Board will evaluate applications for recognition and Letters of Permission, inspect institutions, empanel assessors and publish rating information on the State Council website. The Ethics and Registration Board will verify documents, support the State registers and evaluate complaints.
Inspections will be carried out by three-member inspection teams comprising relevant Board representation and empanelled assessors, with the prior approval of the State Council, and the team must submit an Institution Verification Report; safeguards bar inspections where there is a conflict of interest.
For States without a functional State Council, the Regulations provide a Central Assessment Committee of 10 to 30 members including a President, supervised by the Commission, whose President will be appointed annually on a rotational basis among different professions.
Parent Act:
National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021
Autonomous Board size:
10 to 20 members including a President
Central Assessment Committee size:
10 to 30 members including a President
Inspection team:
three members
Why it matters for exams: The NCAHP Act, 2021 and the bodies created under it are a standing topic in health governance questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NCAHP National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions — The statutory commission that regulates education and practice in allied and healthcare professions in India.
Allied and healthcare professions Allied and healthcare professions — Health occupations other than medicine, dentistry and nursing, such as physiotherapy, radiography and laboratory technology.
Letter of Permission Letter of Permission (LoP) — The written permission a regulator grants an institution to start or continue a recognised course.
Central Assessment Committee Central Assessment Committee (CAC) — A committee that performs the functions of Autonomous Boards in States where no functional State Council exists.
6 October 2026
At a high-level review of the Health Department on 6 October 2026, Health and Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan said the distribution of life-saving drugs, lifestyle disease medicines and antibiotics in government hospitals has been streamlined. Steps have been taken to ensure that medicines bought through KMSCL move in full from district stores to health centres. The meeting was told that several cancer, heart disease and mental illness medicines will be fully available shortly and that institutions are meanwhile using local purchase, and KMSCL said Factor 9 would be delivered within two days of a requirement. The minister asked district-level medicine monitoring committees to track stock at every institution and act before shortages arise, and asked for coordination with other departments and local bodies against dengue and rat fever. He also sought a review of extending 24-hour specialist services to more institutions and monitoring of 108 ambulance operations. Health Principal Secretary Dr Sharmila Mary Joseph, National Health Mission Director Dr Renu Raj, Health Services Director Dr V Meenakshi and Medical Education Director Dr K V Vishwanathan attended.
Factor 9 supply time promised:
Within two days
Health and Devaswom Minister:
K Muraleedharan
Why it matters for exams: KMSCL, the National Health Mission and Kerala's district health machinery recur in Kerala PSC health questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
KMSCL Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited — The State agency that buys and supplies medicines and equipment to government health institutions in Kerala.
Factor 9 Coagulation factor IX — A clotting protein given to people with haemophilia B to stop bleeding.
Rat fever Leptospirosis — A bacterial disease spread through water contaminated by the urine of rats and other animals.
Background
WHO is an organization of 194 Member States.
The Member States elect the Director-General, who leads the organization in achieving its global health goals.
WHO's Secretariat includes experts, staff and field workers.
They are based at the Geneva headquarters, 6 Regional Offices and other stations located in 150+ countries.
Staff in countries advise ministries of health and other sectors on public health issues.
Member States:
194
Regional Offices:
6
Headquarters:
Geneva
Why it matters for exams: WHO's headquarters, membership and structure are staple questions on UN agencies.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Secretariat The WHO's staff body — It includes experts, staff and field workers based at headquarters, regional offices and country stations.
Background
UNICEF was established in the aftermath of World War II.
Its purpose was to help children whose lives and futures were at risk.
That help was for every child in need, no matter what role their country had played in the war.
Since 1946, its mandate has not wavered.
Today UNICEF operates the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and oversees a logistics network.
Established:
1946
Context:
aftermath of World War II
Why it matters for exams: The origin and purpose of UN agencies such as UNICEF are standard institution questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
6 October 2026
The World Health Organization published target product profiles (TPPs) for Taenia solium diagnostics on 6 October 2026.
They cover diagnostic tests for taeniasis in humans and for cysticercosis in humans and pigs.
The profiles aim to stimulate investment and innovation in diagnostics that support neurocysticercosis (NCC) case management and strengthen T. solium control programmes.
They set out tests that detect T. solium-specific markers to identify areas with at least 0.5% taeniasis prevalence or 2% porcine cysticercosis prevalence.
They also describe point-of-care detection of viable cysts in the central nervous system and tests to identify symptomatic people needing referral where imaging is not available.
Taeniasis prevalence threshold:
0.5%
Porcine cysticercosis threshold:
2%
Why it matters for exams: Zoonotic and neglected tropical diseases and WHO's normative role are recurring exam topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
TPP Target product profile — A document listing the features a new test or product should have.
Neurocysticercosis NCC — Infection of the central nervous system by T. solium cysts.
6 October 2026
The World Health Organization published a 33-page technical brief on 5 October 2026, edited with the United Nations Population Fund.
It covers girls aged 15-19 and uses the 2023 global, regional and national violence against women prevalence estimates.
More than one in five ever-married or partnered adolescent girls have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence.
An estimated 43 million girls aged 15-19 have experienced intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both.
The brief names gender inequality and discriminatory social norms as drivers and notes substantial variation across regions and countries.
It recommends multisectoral prevention and response, survivor-centred services, sustained financing and stronger data, research and monitoring.
Girls aged 15-19 affected:
43 million
Partnered girls with partner violence:
More than one in five
Length:
33 pages
Why it matters for exams: Global health and gender reports from WHO and UNFPA are frequent sources of questions on UN agencies and social indicators.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund — The UN agency for sexual and reproductive health.
Intimate partner violence Violence by a current or former partner — It includes physical and sexual violence.
6 October 2026
WHO said repeated delays in bringing medicines and prosthetics into Gaza risk devastating consequences.
It is almost 12 months into a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel marked by ongoing Israeli airstrikes.
Approved aid can enter only via Kerem Shalom; Rafah is open only for limited movement of people.
Almost 87 per cent of medicines are approved and just over 1 per cent rejected, but one prosthetics shipment was rejected four times.
Almost two million people need shelter against cold and flooding as winter begins.
WHO's Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt asked for unimpeded entry of supplies through several crossings.
Medicines approved:
almost 87 per cent
People needing shelter:
almost two million
Open aid crossing:
Kerem Shalom
Why it matters for exams: Shows how access rules and crossings shape humanitarian health aid in a ceasefire.
UPSC
In plain words
Dual use Items that could serve civilian and military purposes — Israel bars some items on this ground; WHO says essential medicines should not count.
6 October 2026
WHO's latest Global Health Estimates put global life expectancy at 73.3 years in 2023, against 73.4 years in 2019.
Healthy life expectancy reached 62.8 years in 2023, still 0.4 years below its 2019 level.
Noncommunicable diseases caused 74 per cent of deaths in 2023, up from 58 per cent in 2000.
Communicable diseases caused under half of all deaths in low-income countries for the first time.
Ischaemic heart disease alone caused about 9.5 million deaths.
Dementia rose from the 19th leading cause of death in 2000 to the fifth in 2023.
Life expectancy 2023:
73.3 years
Healthy life expectancy 2023:
62.8 years
NCD share of deaths 2023:
74 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Headline health indicators from WHO are a staple of reports-and-indices questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Healthy life expectancy Years lived in good health — It has recovered more slowly than total life expectancy.
6 October 2026
A key Ebola transit centre burned down in the Kigonze camp in Ituri province, DR Congo.
The camp had sheltered some 19,000 people and now lies abandoned, said UN Ebola response chief Julien Harneis.
Ebola has spread across seven provinces since a public health emergency was declared in mid-May.
More than 8,000 cases have been confirmed, including 4,000 deaths; Ituri remains the epicentre.
It is the country's 17th Ebola outbreak.
Fighting has delayed lab-sample transport and the transfer of confirmed patients.
WHO says safe burial teams in Ituri have risen from 53 to 114.
Confirmed cases:
more than 8,000
Deaths:
4,000
Provinces affected:
7
Why it matters for exams: Links armed conflict to the course of a public health emergency.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Transit centre Facility where suspected patients wait before treatment — Losing one means lost capacity and investment.
6 October 2026
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency over measles on Monday.
The state has recorded 108 cases this year as of 3 October, 92 of them since 15 July in rural, under-immunised communities.
The order is in effect until 4 November and lets paramedics and midwives give MMR vaccines.
Pennsylvania reported more than 1,000 cases this year, the biggest outbreak in a US state since the early 1990s.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the national count at 3,869, which is seen as the worst year since 1991.
Experts say vaccination must stay at 95 per cent or above to prevent outbreaks.
The Pan American Health Organization meets in November to decide whether the US and Mexico keep measles-free status.
New York cases this year (to 3 October):
108
Pennsylvania cases:
more than 1,000
US national cases:
3,869
Why it matters for exams: Measles elimination status depends on keeping vaccine coverage above the herd-immunity threshold.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MMR vaccine Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — One combined vaccine protects against three diseases.
PAHO Pan American Health Organization — The WHO's regional office for the Americas.
6 October 2026
India's National Telemedicine Service, eSanjeevani, has crossed 50 crore (500 million) teleconsultations.
The milestone was reached on 15 September 2026, with a cumulative 50,00,92,730 consultations across all 36 States and Union Territories.
The platform supports more than 1.42 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandir spokes, 19,473 medical hubs and 901 online OPDs, with 2,41,923 registered healthcare providers.
It is available in 15 languages and handles about 2.5 to 3 lakh consultations a day; its highest single-day figure is 6,30,315.
Women account for 57.14 per cent of utilisation, and 40.15 per cent of consultations are by citizens aged 46 years and above.
An AI-powered Clinical Decision Support System won the Gold Award under the National Awards for e-Governance 2026, and eSanjeevani is now integrated with ERSS-112.
Teleconsultations:
50,00,92,730
Milestone date:
15 September 2026
Women's share of use:
57.14 per cent
Highest single day:
6,30,315
Why it matters for exams: Digital health milestones, scheme statistics and e-governance awards are frequent UPSC and PSC factual questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
eSanjeevani National Telemedicine Service — India's national platform for remote doctor consultations.
ERSS-112 Emergency Response Support System — The single emergency number system that eSanjeevani is now linked to.
6 October 2026
The final shortlist of sites for the proposed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala, prepared by the State Health Department, awaits the Chief Minister's approval.
Koratty in Thrissur district has emerged as a leading contender to host the institute.
The report notes Koratty's connectivity by national highway, nearby railway stations and the airport, along with water and high-capacity electricity.
About 233 acres of government-owned land is available across several sites in Koratty, reducing the need for land acquisition.
Adjacent private land could be acquired later for expansion.
Government land at Koratty:
233 acres
District:
Thrissur
Shortlist awaiting approval of:
Chief Minister
Why it matters for exams: AIIMS is an Institute of National Importance set up under Central health schemes; its siting in Kerala is a recurring Centre-State topic.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AIIMS All India Institute of Medical Sciences — Central institutes of medical education, research and tertiary care, set up under Acts of Parliament.
Background
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is the World Health Organization standard for recording diseases and causes of death.
Originating in the 19th century, the ICD has for more than a century been the basis for comparable statistics on causes of mortality and morbidity between places and over time.
Clinical terms coded with ICD are the main basis for health recording and statistics on disease in primary, secondary and tertiary care, as well as on cause of death certificates.
These data and statistics support payment systems, service planning, administration of quality and safety, and health services research.
The latest version, ICD-11, was adopted by the 72nd World Health Assembly in 2019 and came into effect on 1st January 2022.
ICD-11 allows the systematic recording, analysis, interpretation and comparison of mortality and morbidity data collected in different countries or regions and at different times.
Responsible body:
World Health Organization
Current revision:
ICD-11
Adopted by:
the 72nd World Health Assembly
Came into effect:
1st January 2022
Why it matters for exams: The ICD is the standard answer to any question about how countries make deaths and diseases comparable, and the revision in force is frequently asked.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ICD International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems — The WHO's standard list of codes for diseases and causes of death.
Morbidity — The occurrence of illness in a population, as distinct from deaths.
World Health Assembly — The forum of WHO member states that takes the organization's highest decisions.
6 October 2026
The Health Department's 24x7 Pratheeksha Centre project, meant to ease crowding at medical colleges and give specialist treatment urgently, worked well at Punalur Taluk Hospital, the trial site.
Health and Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan said it will now reach four more hospitals by the end of October.
These are the district hospitals at Palakkad, Tirur (Malappuram), Vadakara (Kozhikode) and Ernakulam.
Referral cases from Punalur Taluk Hospital fell by 30 per cent, the hospital superintendent told a review meeting.
The project will run on a trial basis in various districts till December this year, and full State-level rollout will follow an evaluation.
Trial hospital:
Punalur Taluk Hospital
Fall in referral cases:
30 per cent
New centres:
4 district hospitals
Why it matters for exams: Health-sector schemes and the districts where they are piloted are common in Kerala PSC general knowledge sections.
Kerala PSCUPSC
6 October 2026
The Women and Child Development Department begins the 'WOMN - Women on the Move & Menstrual Need-s' project, with the launch at the Thampanoor KSRTC bus terminal in Thiruvananthapuram on 6 October.
Minister Bindu Krishna is to inaugurate it at 5 pm.
Vending machines and incinerators are first being installed at 14 KSRTC centres as a pilot.
A packet of three sanitary napkins costs ₹10, and the incinerators allow eco-friendly disposal after use.
The project is run under the department's supervision with a partner agency's cooperation, and the department has currently set aside ₹16 lakh for it.
It is part of the State government's 100-day action programme and targets major tourist centres, KSRTC terminals and depots and other public places.
Pilot centres:
14 KSRTC centres
Packet of 3 napkins:
₹10
Allocation:
₹16 lakh
Why it matters for exams: Welfare schemes under the 100-day programme and their implementing departments are staple Kerala PSC questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Essential medicines are those that effectively and safely treat the priority health-care needs of populations, and should be available, affordable and of assured quality at all times.
WHO selects them on the basis of public health relevance, evidence of benefits and harms, and with consideration of costs, affordability and other relevant factors.
Every 2 years since 1977, WHO has published the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, also known as the Essential Medicines List or EML; the first list included about 200 medicines.
A separate Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc) was first published in 2007, in recognition of the unique needs of children.
Over 150 countries have national essential medicines lists based on the WHO Model List, and those lists are used for procurement, reimbursement, insurance schemes, medicine donations and local production.
Requests to add, remove or extend the listing of a medicine come through an open application process and are reviewed by the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines, whose members are appointed by the WHO Director-General.
The Model List carries the AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) classification of antibiotics, which guides the empiric use of essential antibiotics for more than 30 clinical infections in community and hospital settings.
First published:
1977, with about 200 medicines
Revision cycle:
Every 2 years
Children's list (EMLc):
First published 2007
Countries with lists based on it:
Over 150
Size of the 2025 edition:
Over 520 medicines, including 374 for children
Antibiotic classification:
AWaRe: Access, Watch, Reserve
Why it matters for exams: The revision cycle, the 1977 origin, the separate children's list and the AWaRe grouping of antibiotics are all standard one-mark facts about the Essential Medicines List.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
EML Essential Medicines List — WHO's Model List of medicines that meet the priority health-care needs of a population, published every 2 years.
AWaRe Access, Watch, Reserve — The Model List's grouping of antibiotics that guides which antibiotic to use first and which to hold back.
Background
The International Health Regulations (2005), or IHR (2005), are a binding international legal agreement involving 196 countries, including all the Member States of WHO.
Their purpose is to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease, in ways that avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.
The IHR (2005) define a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) as an extraordinary event determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response.
An Emergency Committee of international experts gives the WHO Director-General its views on whether an event is a PHEIC, on the Temporary Recommendations to be taken, and on the termination of a PHEIC.
The final determination of a PHEIC and of the Temporary Recommendations is made by the Director-General, not by the Committee.
Temporary Recommendations automatically expire three months after their issuance, so Emergency Committees are reconvened at least every three months.
Members of an Emergency Committee are drawn from the IHR Experts Roster established by the Director-General, and at least one member should be an expert nominated by the State Party in whose territory the event arises.
Instrument:
International Health Regulations (2005)
Countries bound:
196 countries, including all WHO Member States
Declares a PHEIC:
WHO Director-General
Life of Temporary Recommendations:
Three months from issuance
Why it matters for exams: Examiners regularly ask who declares a public health emergency of international concern and under which legal instrument, and the three-month life of Temporary Recommendations is a favourite detail.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IHR (2005) International Health Regulations (2005) — The binding agreement under which 196 countries report and respond to public health risks that can cross borders.
PHEIC Public health emergency of international concern — An extraordinary event posing a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease, declared by the WHO Director-General.
5 October 2026
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel.
The citation is "for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics".
Deisseroth works at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stanford University in the United States.
Hegemann is at Humboldt University of Berlin and Nagel at the University of Wurzburg, both in Germany.
Hegemann and Nagel discovered channelrhodopsin, a protein in a single-celled alga; Deisseroth turned it into a light-controlled switch for nerve cells.
Optogenetics allows researchers to show how nerve cells shape memories, feelings and behaviour in the living brain.
Laureates:
Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel
Awarding body:
Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet
Protein discovered:
Channelrhodopsin
Why it matters for exams: The medicine Nobel, the institution that awards it and the technique named in the citation are standard general science questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Optogenetics Optogenetics — A method that uses light to switch selected nerve cells on or off in a living animal.
Channelrhodopsin Channelrhodopsin — A light-gated ion channel protein first found in a single-celled alga.
5 October 2026
A laboratory technician at the Irkutsk anti-plague research institute in Siberia died on 2 October. Her death was attributed to pneumonia of unknown aetiology, and about 200 contacts were placed under medical observation. The case is being treated as a suspected pneumonic plague; Russian authorities have not confirmed a plague outbreak, and the consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor said expanded sample testing found no microorganisms associated with her work. The European Commission said it is monitoring "very closely" and is using the WHO to get updates. The WHO said, based on unofficial information, that the public health risk to the general population appears to be low. Pneumonic plague is caused by Yersinia pestis and responds to antibiotics if caught early.
Contacts under observation:
200
Date of death:
2 October
Pathogen:
Yersinia pestis
Why it matters for exams: Disease surveillance: pneumonic plague and how WHO and regional bodies respond to a suspected outbreak.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Pneumonic plague Pneumonic plague — A fast-moving lung infection caused by Yersinia pestis that spreads through respiratory droplets.