India launches major programme to treat burn injuries

A committee of cabinet ministers in India has approved a fully fledged national programme for the prevention and management of burn injuries.

The government set up the programme as a pilot project in 2011 after years of lobbying by the National Academy of Burns India. The campaign was spearheaded by J L Gupta, the former head of the department of plastic surgery, burns, and maxillofacial surgery at Safdarjang Hospital in New Delhi. The national programme will be implemented over the remaining period of the government’s 12th five year plan (2012-17).

The academy has estimated that around seven …