“I'm not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?”

This is what ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry’s character Chandler Bing was known for. He was known for being funny. However, he had his own struggles in his personal life and those struggles were acute depression. He was treating it with ketamine infusion therapy which is legal in the US and the UK.

What is Ketamine infusion therapy?

Ketamine is an anaesthetic used to treat depression, anxiety and pain under supervised and controlled medical settings. However, it does have its side effects, which can lead to distortion of sight, sound and time. It can also produce calming and relaxing effects.

Ketamine increases a person’s heart rate and blood pressure. If overdosed, it can leave users confused and agitated and can cause them to hurt themselves without even realising it. It can also lead to liver damage and bladder problems.

However, when used in moderation and under the supervision of medical doctors, it can treat depression where traditional antidepressants have failed.

Prof Rupert McShane, a University of Oxford psychiatrist who runs an NHS ketamine treatment clinic told BBC that ketamine “probably turns off the area of the brain that is involved in disappointment.”

Can Ketamine Infusion Therapy Kill Someone?

In simple terms, it cannot, be if the dosage is given in a controlled setting and as prescribed. Ketamine infusion therapy uses drugs in small doses than those used for anaesthesia. It acts faster than traditional anti-depressants, but the effects also wear off way quickly. Which is why it is important to monitor patients’ mental state for relapsing back into depression and discouraging them from overdosing on it.

There are ways of giving people ketamine. One of the ways is through “infusing”, which means to use an IV drip. However, injections, nasal sprays and capsules are also methods used to give people ketamine.

Since the dosage of ketamine used in the infusion treatment is small, it being the reason of actor Perry’s death was ruled out. The medical examiner also noted that Perry’s last ketamine infusion therapy session happened more than a week before his death, which means by the time he had died, it must have worn off.

So, What Happened To Perry?

Though Perry’s last session was more than a week before, his post-mortem showed that his blood contained a high concentration of ketamine. He had died of the “acute effects” of ketamine.

If it was not his session, then how did he get ketamine?

Prosecutors alleged that his assistant gave him at least 27 shots of ketamine in four days before his death, reported BBC.

Perry has been open about his personal struggles and this is what the doctors and dealers used against him. Martin Estrada, the US attorney for California’s Central District told the BBC that people took advantage of his condition. They charged him 165 times more than what vials of ketamine cost.

Names that have come up include Dr Salvador Plasencia, drug dealers “Ketamine Queen” aka Jasveen Sangha and Eric Fleming, and Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa.

Who Are These Names And What Did They Do?

Ketamine Queen or Sangha supplied drugs that led to Perry’s death. Her home was a “drug-selling emporium,” said Estrada. More than 80 vials of ketamine, and thousands of pills including methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax were allegedly found in her house known as the “Sangha Stash House.”

Sangha is known to deal with high-end celebs and was a “major source of supply for ketamine to others as well as Perry,” said Estrada.

Dr Plasencia called Perry a “moron” while charging him $2,000 for vials that cost only $12. He sold Perry 20 vials of ketamine between September and October 2023, costing $55,000.

He was the one who taught Iwamasa, who had no medical knowledge to inject the drug. This is after he knew that “Perry’s ketamine addiction was spiralling out of control,” as per what the investigators told the BBC.

Another dealer Fleming was told by Sangha to “delete all our messages.” While Fleming pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute drugs unlawfully, he also allegedly messaged Sangha: “Please call...Got more info and want to bounce ideas off you. I’m 90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with [Perry] only his assistant. So the assistant was the enabler.”

The court documents also revealed that he asked Sangha on whether the ketamine stays in your system or “is it immediately flushed out.”

Dr Pepper, Bots, Cans

The people who allegedly exploited Perry used coded language for ketamine and called it “Dr Pepper”, “bots”, or “cans.”

Selling overpriced drugs, taking advantage of Perry’s mental condition and falsifying medical records to make the drugs given to him look legitimate by Dr Plasencia is what took Perry’s life.

Iwamasa is said to have administered more than 20 shots of ketamine and three on the day Perry died. Whereas ketamine is only administered by a physician. Authorities also found that weeks before Perry’s death, Dr Plasencia allegedly bought 10 vials of ketamine and intended to sell to Perry.

He also injected Perry with a large dose, two days later. This caused him to “freeze up” and spiked his blood pressure.

When I Die, I Want Helping Others To Be The First Thing That’s Mentioned

Perry had always been open about his drug addictions, struggles with alcohol and his depression. He said that his openness would help others who are also struggling and wanted to be remembered by his quote which also is on the homepage of the Mattew Perry Foundation that helps others struggling with the disease of addiction: “When I die, I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.”

Five arrests have been made in the case so far.

With interventions targeted towards improving maternal and child health along with quality and accessible health infrastructure, India has played a crucial role in the decline of global child mortality, especially in South Asia, according to a UN report today.

The UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNIGME) Report 2025 highlighted that the country's sustained efforts in the last two decades in child health have led to significant outcomes in South Asia. They include:

• a 76 percent decline in under-five deaths since 1990 and a 68 percent drop since 2000
• the under-five death rate in the region fell from 92 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to nearly 32 in 2024.

"India emerges as a leading global exemplar in the UN IGME 2025 report for accelerating child mortality reduction," JP Nadda, Union Health Minister, shared in a post on X.

"India’s focussed comprehensive approach on neonatal care has paved the way for eliminating preventable child deaths and securing healthy future for our children," he added.

Also read: 4.9 Million Children Died Before Age Five Worldwide In 2024: UN Report

India's Child Health Programs

In India, the UNIGME report showed that:

• under-five mortality rate reduced to 26.6 in 2024
• infant mortality fell to 23.3 per 1000 live births
• neonatal mortality rate dropped to 17

The report lauded India’s "continuum-of-care strategy" that has integrated sustained strengthening of a vibrant health system with commensurate expansion of its health infrastructure.

It also hailed demand-driven programmatic interventions in reducing preventable maternal and newborn mortality. These include:

• Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK)
• Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), all of which are striving towards .
• Dedicated Maternal and Child Health (MCH) wings,
• Maternity Waiting Homes,
• Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs),
• Newborn Stabilization Units (NBSUs),
• District Early Intervention Centres (DEICs).

Further, it noted that India’s commitment to improving newborn and child survival has also been reflected in continuous quality improvement initiatives such as the recently released guidelines on Facility-Based Newborn Care (FBNC) and

digital innovations such as Tele-SNCU (HUB & SPOKE model).

These efforts are complemented by hybrid skill-based learning modules on the safe and rational use of oxygen (including CPAP) and by the empowerment of mothers and caregivers to provide nurturing care to small and sick newborns.

"India is among the first few countries to set targets and release operational guidelines on Stillbirth Surveillance and response," the report said.

The UN noted that India’s experience shows that "sustained leadership, strategic investments, and strong collaboration with committed stakeholders have enabled a robust, scalable, and effective implementation framework targeted towards the achievement of the SDGs".

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced in the Parliament that India is planning to launch universal health coverage for all by 2033.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha, the Finance Minister stated that health insurance has become a priority area for the government, and informed that the sector has made significant progress, covering 58 crore lives in 2024–25, news agency PTI reported.

“Health insurance is a priority for this government. In fact, we are hoping that by 2033 we will have insurance cover for all,” Sitharaman said.

Growing Insurance Market

The FM added that the total health premium collections in the country reached Rs 1,17,505 crore in 2024–25. The health premiums under

• Public sector insurers accounted -- INR 42,420 crore
• Private insurers contributed INR 37,752 crore
• Standalone health insurers INR 37,331 crore

“Health insurance is now a clear priority with GST exemption on individual premiums, expansion of coverage, and strong regulatory push driving the momentum,” she said.

Health Insurance Under AB-PMJAY

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), the world’s largest publicly funded health insurance scheme, launched in 2018, provides health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year. It provides secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to about 12 crore families, representing the bottom 40 per cent of the population.

The scheme was further expanded to cover 6 crore senior citizens of age 70 years and above, belonging to 4.5 crore families, irrespective of their socio-economic status.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav, stated in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that

till February 28:

• 43.52 crore Ayushman cards created
• 1.14 crore Ayushman Vay Vandana cards created for senior citizens
• 36,229 hospitals empaneled under AB-PMJAY -- 19,483 are public, and 16,746 are private hospitals

Further, the latest national master of Health Benefit Package provides cashless healthcare services for 1,961 procedures across 27 medical specialties.

“A total of 11.69 crore hospital admissions amounting to Rs. 1.73 lakh crore have been authorized under the scheme,” Jadhav said.

He added that more than 86 crore Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHA) have been created, and more than 90 Crore health records have been linked to patients’ ABHA.

In addition, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) was launched in India in September 2021 to support the development of an integrated and citizen-centric national digital health ecosystem.

Till March 11, the progress made under ABDM includes:

• 86,64,46,563 - ABHA created for citizens
• 90,70,14,529 - Health records linked to the patient’s ABHA
• 2,56,542 - Facilities using ABDM-enabled software.

India’s Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination drive that began a fortnight ago has already vaccinated nearly 3 lakh girls aged 14 years, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The nationwide free HPV vaccination campaign for girls aged 14 years was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Rajasthan's Ajmer on February 28.

“Within just a fortnight of its launch, nearly 3 lakh girls aged 14 years have already been vaccinated—marking an encouraging start to this critical public health initiative,” the health ministry said.

"The enthusiastic participation seen so far reflects growing awareness among parents, schools, and communities about the importance of early protection," it added.

Further, the Ministry noted that several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Odisha, and Mizoram, have seen a significant uptake in the nationwide HPV vaccination campaign.

The initiative marked a decisive step towards eliminating cervical cancer through timely HPV vaccination.

Cervical cancer remains the second most common cancer among women in India. Nearly 80,000 new cases and over 42,000 deaths are reported annually in the country.

The Ministry said that despite examinations currently underway in many regions, the response to the campaign has remained strong, and the momentum is expected to accelerate significantly in the coming days.

“We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the daughters of the country are healthy and prosperous. The objective of this initiative is the prevention of cervical cancer," the Prime Minister, earlier wrote in a post on social media platform X.

The government has urged parents and guardians to support and encourage eligible girls to get vaccinated at the earliest.

HPV Vaccine in India

HPV vaccination is voluntary, and parental consent is mandatory before administration of the vaccine.

The single-dose Gardasil-4 vaccine is administered free of cost at government health facilities across all areas, including rural and underserved areas, and will be available even after the campaign ends.

The vaccine used is non-live and does not cause HPV infection. It is supported by more than 500 million doses administered globally since its introduction in 2006.

The vaccine is most effective when it is administered before exposure to HPV and before becoming sexually active. Young women aged 9 to 14 years show vaccine effectiveness of 74 to 93 per cent and this decreases with age.

• Girls aged 9 to 14 should get two doses of the vaccine 6 to 12 months apart
• Women aged 15 to 26 years can get three doses in 0, 2, and 6 months apart
• Adults aged 27 to 45 must get it after consultation with their healthcare provider

To avail the free HPV vaccine, visit any government health facilities including

Ayushman Arogya Mandirs- Primary Health Centres (PHCs