National convention of People's Politics Front in Lucknow

National convention of People's Politics Front in Lucknow

The first national convention of People's Politics Front (PPF) shall be convened in the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, on 5-6 March 2009.

"People's Politics Front has been formed to build a political alternative in the country so that people's issues can be brought to center-stage and the dominant model of mainstream political parties which rely on muscle power, money power and unscrupulous ways for winning elections can be rejected" said Dr Sandeep Pandey, Magsaysay awardee (2002) for emergent Leadership and senior social activist.

"PPF is slowly but surely rising from its inception stage" remarked Arundhati Dhuru, the firebrand leader of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM).

On 5 March 2009, a public meeting shall be held in Ganga Prasad Memorial Hall, Aminabad, Lucknow, and on the second day, 6 March 2009, a meeting of social activists shall be convened in the Common Hall, B Block, Darul Shafa, opposite Vidhan Sabha, Lucknow.

"People's issues highlighted through various people's movements are sadly not at the centre-stage in the elections," said Dr Sandeep Pandey.

NAPM, the largest network of grassroots people's struggles in India, had come up with People's Politics Front before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. PPF gives voice and a platform to grassroots activists to participate in the electoral process.

"PPF is trying to increase representation and meaningful participation of the most underserved communities. It is within this context that the role of people's movements becomes imperative. The movements have been 'in politics', as they have been shaping and trying to change the power structure and decision making processes within society. That is what politics is all about. Electoral politics is one of the dimensions of the larger political sphere" explained Arundhati Dhuru, who apart from leading NAPM, is also a Narmada Bachao Andolan frontline veteran activist, who is actively working on Right-to-food, RTI (Right to Information) and NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) all across the UP state.

"Even within electoral politics, the people's movements have been participating in various capacities, either by pressurising existing political parties to integrate peoples' issues into their agenda, creating awareness among the voters, trying to weed out corruption and malpractice, and supporting suitable political parties. Contesting the election by the members of people's movements is again one of the ways of direct intervention into electoral politics."

Keshav Chand, another grassroots leader from Deoria, said that "people's movements must have a say in policy making. Right to work and food for work must be made fundamental rights."

There are many grassroots leaders who are likely to attend this national convention, including: Mahesh Kumar Pandey from Kanpur, Ram Sagar Verma from Hardoi, Keshav Chand from Deoria, Jaishankar from Chandauli, Prem Kumar from Moradabad, Nandlal from Varanasi and others.

"Corporatisation and criminalisation of politics is a major concern," said Dr Sandeep Pandey. "The PPF's decision to enter electoral politics was aimed at changing the nature of politics," he said.

National convention of People's Politics Front in Lucknow

National convention of People's Politics Front in Lucknow

The first national convention of People's Politics Front (PPF) shall be convened in the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, on 5-6 March 2009.

"People's Politics Front has been formed to build a political alternative in the country so that people's issues can be brought to center-stage and the dominant model of mainstream political parties which rely on muscle power, money power and unscrupulous ways for winning elections can be rejected" said Dr Sandeep Pandey, Magsaysay awardee (2002) for emergent Leadership and senior social activist.

"PPF is slowly but surely rising from its inception stage" remarked Arundhati Dhuru, the firebrand leader of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM).

On 5 March 2009, a public meeting shall be held in Ganga Prasad Memorial Hall, Aminabad, Lucknow, and on the second day, 6 March 2009, a meeting of social activists shall be convened in the Common Hall, B Block, Darul Shafa, opposite Vidhan Sabha, Lucknow.

"People's issues highlighted through various people's movements are sadly not at the centre-stage in the elections," said Dr Sandeep Pandey.

NAPM, the largest network of grassroots people's struggles in India, had come up with People's Politics Front before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. PPF gives voice and a platform to grassroots activists to participate in the electoral process.

"PPF is trying to increase representation and meaningful participation of the most underserved communities. It is within this context that the role of people's movements becomes imperative. The movements have been 'in politics', as they have been shaping and trying to change the power structure and decision making processes within society. That is what politics is all about. Electoral politics is one of the dimensions of the larger political sphere" explained Arundhati Dhuru, who apart from leading NAPM, is also a Narmada Bachao Andolan frontline veteran activist, who is actively working on Right-to-food, RTI (Right to Information) and NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) all across the UP state.

"Even within electoral politics, the people's movements have been participating in various capacities, either by pressurising existing political parties to integrate peoples' issues into their agenda, creating awareness among the voters, trying to weed out corruption and malpractice, and supporting suitable political parties. Contesting the election by the members of people's movements is again one of the ways of direct intervention into electoral politics."

Keshav Chand, another grassroots leader from Deoria, said that "people's movements must have a say in policy making. Right to work and food for work must be made fundamental rights."

There are many grassroots leaders who are likely to attend this national convention, including: Mahesh Kumar Pandey from Kanpur, Ram Sagar Verma from Hardoi, Keshav Chand from Deoria, Jaishankar from Chandauli, Prem Kumar from Moradabad, Nandlal from Varanasi and others.

"Corporatisation and criminalisation of politics is a major concern," said Dr Sandeep Pandey. "The PPF's decision to enter electoral politics was aimed at changing the nature of politics," he said.

Vitamin A supplements reduces child mortality by over 20 per cent

Vitamin A supplements reduces child mortality by over 20 per cent

The vitamin A supplementation of infants and children can potentially reduce child mortality by over 20 per cent, said Howard B. Schiffer, founder and President of Vitamin Angels in an interactive community health literacy programme organized hardly 25 kilometers away from the state council house of Uttar Pradesh in India. I wonder if the policy makers in the state parliament were aware that a cost-effective intervention like vitamin A supplementation can reduce child mortality by over 20 per cent!

The state of Uttar Pradesh qualifies for this vitamin A supplementation programme because of chronic malnutrition, high vitamin A deficiency prevalence, and high rates of infant and child mortality, informed Howard.

Vitamin A deficiency does its worst damage during childhood and is a major contributor to child mortality and illness. The most commonly known effect of vitamin A deficiency is blindness. Less well known is that vitamin A is also essential for functioning of the immune system. “Even before blindness occurs, vitamin A-deficient children are at risk of dying from infectious diseases such as measles, diarrhea and malaria” said Arulmony Thangaswamy, the President of Believers Church.

However when the Vitamin Angels began this initiative to save lives more than a decade ago, particularly of young children, they weren’t aware of the impact of this intervention – they knew the significance of providing vitamin A supplementation but the global mandate came only last year at the Copenhagen Consensus.

At the Copenhagen Consensus 2008, more than 50 economists have worked to find the best solutions to ten of the world’s biggest challenges. During the last week of May 2008, an expert panel of 8 top economists, including five Nobel Laureates, sat down to assess the research. Combating malnutrition among the 140 million children who are undernourished was ranked number one. Providing micronutrients for 80% of the 140 million children who lack essential vitamins would cost just USD 60 million per year, according to the analysis. More importantly, this action promises yearly benefits - in the form of better health, fewer deaths, increased future earnings, etc - of more than USD 1 billion. Each dollar has a return of USD 17 - making this an incredible investment for donor nations and organizations.

Vitamin Angels is committed to eradicating childhood blindness due to Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) on the planet by the year 2020, which is referred to as Operation 20/20. Vitamin A is critical for vision, bone growth and normal bodily development, and plays an active role in supporting a child's immune system. Today, half of the children who go blind from Vitamin A deficiency die each year from opportunistic infections and otherwise non-life-threatening illnesses.

“In addition to the vitamin A, all the children will receive de-worming medicine to improve the absorption of the vitamin A and help combat intestinal parasites” informed Howard Schiffer. Delivering vitamin A capsules and de-worming tablets together makes sense for health reasons:
* Parasites will consume the vitamin A before the child can absorb it.
* Worm infections and vitamin A deficiency both have serious health repercussions for a growing child and cause infection and disease.

The evidence demonstrating how worm infections damage a child’s health is unambiguous: worm infections are associated with a significant loss of micronutrients. It can cause significant vitamin A mal-absorption, which can aggravate malnutrition and anemia rates and contribute to retarded growth. A child’s physical fitness and appetite are negatively affected and his/ her cognitive performance at school is compromised. The constant and life long immune activation due to worm infections reduces the body’s capacity to resist other infections. Therefore to complement the impact of these simple health interventions, vitamin Angels are providing vitamin A supplementation along with the de-worming tablets.

Jojo Mathews, from Believers Church in Lucknow where the health camp was organized, had contributed immensely in mobilizing people from the neighbouring communities to benefit from this health initiative. Many children were administered vitamin A and de-worming pills. Hundreds of people from neighbouring area were benefiting from this initiative. Hardly half-a kilometer away from this church which was catering to the health needs of the community, stands the majestic premises of a state-of-the-art super-speciality medical institute. This indeed poses a question whether our health programmes are meeting people’s need, and investing resources optimally?

Bobby Ramakant

Published in
The Colombo Times, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Northern Voices, Chandigarh/ Himachal Pradesh
Media for Freedom, Kathmandu, Nepal
Citizen News Service (CNS)
The Seoul Times, Seoul, South Korea
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
Bihar Times, Patna, Bihar

Vitamin A supplements reduces child mortality by over 20 per cent

Vitamin A supplements reduces child mortality by over 20 per cent

The vitamin A supplementation of infants and children can potentially reduce child mortality by over 20 per cent, said Howard B. Schiffer, founder and President of Vitamin Angels in an interactive community health literacy programme organized hardly 25 kilometers away from the state council house of Uttar Pradesh in India. I wonder if the policy makers in the state parliament were aware that a cost-effective intervention like vitamin A supplementation can reduce child mortality by over 20 per cent!

The state of Uttar Pradesh qualifies for this vitamin A supplementation programme because of chronic malnutrition, high vitamin A deficiency prevalence, and high rates of infant and child mortality, informed Howard.

Vitamin A deficiency does its worst damage during childhood and is a major contributor to child mortality and illness. The most commonly known effect of vitamin A deficiency is blindness. Less well known is that vitamin A is also essential for functioning of the immune system. “Even before blindness occurs, vitamin A-deficient children are at risk of dying from infectious diseases such as measles, diarrhea and malaria” said Arulmony Thangaswamy, the President of Believers Church.

However when the Vitamin Angels began this initiative to save lives more than a decade ago, particularly of young children, they weren’t aware of the impact of this intervention – they knew the significance of providing vitamin A supplementation but the global mandate came only last year at the Copenhagen Consensus.

At the Copenhagen Consensus 2008, more than 50 economists have worked to find the best solutions to ten of the world’s biggest challenges. During the last week of May 2008, an expert panel of 8 top economists, including five Nobel Laureates, sat down to assess the research. Combating malnutrition among the 140 million children who are undernourished was ranked number one. Providing micronutrients for 80% of the 140 million children who lack essential vitamins would cost just USD 60 million per year, according to the analysis. More importantly, this action promises yearly benefits - in the form of better health, fewer deaths, increased future earnings, etc - of more than USD 1 billion. Each dollar has a return of USD 17 - making this an incredible investment for donor nations and organizations.

Vitamin Angels is committed to eradicating childhood blindness due to Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) on the planet by the year 2020, which is referred to as Operation 20/20. Vitamin A is critical for vision, bone growth and normal bodily development, and plays an active role in supporting a child's immune system. Today, half of the children who go blind from Vitamin A deficiency die each year from opportunistic infections and otherwise non-life-threatening illnesses.

“In addition to the vitamin A, all the children will receive de-worming medicine to improve the absorption of the vitamin A and help combat intestinal parasites” informed Howard Schiffer. Delivering vitamin A capsules and de-worming tablets together makes sense for health reasons:
* Parasites will consume the vitamin A before the child can absorb it.
* Worm infections and vitamin A deficiency both have serious health repercussions for a growing child and cause infection and disease.

The evidence demonstrating how worm infections damage a child’s health is unambiguous: worm infections are associated with a significant loss of micronutrients. It can cause significant vitamin A mal-absorption, which can aggravate malnutrition and anemia rates and contribute to retarded growth. A child’s physical fitness and appetite are negatively affected and his/ her cognitive performance at school is compromised. The constant and life long immune activation due to worm infections reduces the body’s capacity to resist other infections. Therefore to complement the impact of these simple health interventions, vitamin Angels are providing vitamin A supplementation along with the de-worming tablets.

Jojo Mathews, from Believers Church in Lucknow where the health camp was organized, had contributed immensely in mobilizing people from the neighbouring communities to benefit from this health initiative. Many children were administered vitamin A and de-worming pills. Hundreds of people from neighbouring area were benefiting from this initiative. Hardly half-a kilometer away from this church which was catering to the health needs of the community, stands the majestic premises of a state-of-the-art super-speciality medical institute. This indeed poses a question whether our health programmes are meeting people’s need, and investing resources optimally?

Bobby Ramakant

Published in
The Colombo Times, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Northern Voices, Chandigarh/ Himachal Pradesh
Media for Freedom, Kathmandu, Nepal
Citizen News Service (CNS)
The Seoul Times, Seoul, South Korea
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
Bihar Times, Patna, Bihar

Evidence is key in improving health responses during financial crisis

Evidence is key in improving health responses during financial crisis

The study of causes, distribution, spread and control of diseases in populations, epidemiology, is a fundamental science and an integral part of public health. Epidemiology has helped address old public health challenges and continues to be a tool to investigate new challenges by providing evidence required for sound public health action.

Efforts to strengthen epidemiology should remain a priority of Member States even when plagued by the challenge of climate change, an energy crisis or a global financial crisis.

"To address each of these challenges, what we need is the information or the evidence or data not only for developing of our strategies and policies, but also for advocacy," said Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia at the inauguration of a "Regional Meeting on Application of Epidemiological Principles for Public Health Action" in New Delhi.

The two-day meeting is aimed at formulating an agreed framework for action, both within WHO and in Member States. This would help to strengthen epidemiological capacities in the Region and to apply this know-how and skills to overcome current public health challenges such as those arising from the current financial downturn, climate change and from emergence of new pathogens.

"The main idea behind this meeting is to ascertain how we can together strengthen and focus our attention on the application of epidemiological concepts and principles in national health programme development and management of health problems," said Dr Jai P. Narain, Director, Communicable Diseases, WHO SEARO.

More than 50 eminent epidemiologists are attending this two-day regional meeting.

Published in
The Colombo Times, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
Citizen News Service (CNS)
HealthDev.net (Health news aggregator and social networking web 2.0 tool)
Thai Indian News, Bangkok, Thailand
Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
World AIDS Campaign website
The Seoul Times, Seoul, South Korea
Zimbabwe News Room, Harare, Zimbabwe
Bihar Times, Patna, Bihar
Stop TB Partners' Forum

Evidence is key in improving health responses during financial crisis

Evidence is key in improving health responses during financial crisis

The study of causes, distribution, spread and control of diseases in populations, epidemiology, is a fundamental science and an integral part of public health. Epidemiology has helped address old public health challenges and continues to be a tool to investigate new challenges by providing evidence required for sound public health action.

Efforts to strengthen epidemiology should remain a priority of Member States even when plagued by the challenge of climate change, an energy crisis or a global financial crisis.

"To address each of these challenges, what we need is the information or the evidence or data not only for developing of our strategies and policies, but also for advocacy," said Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia at the inauguration of a "Regional Meeting on Application of Epidemiological Principles for Public Health Action" in New Delhi.

The two-day meeting is aimed at formulating an agreed framework for action, both within WHO and in Member States. This would help to strengthen epidemiological capacities in the Region and to apply this know-how and skills to overcome current public health challenges such as those arising from the current financial downturn, climate change and from emergence of new pathogens.

"The main idea behind this meeting is to ascertain how we can together strengthen and focus our attention on the application of epidemiological concepts and principles in national health programme development and management of health problems," said Dr Jai P. Narain, Director, Communicable Diseases, WHO SEARO.

More than 50 eminent epidemiologists are attending this two-day regional meeting.

Published in
The Colombo Times, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
Citizen News Service (CNS)
HealthDev.net (Health news aggregator and social networking web 2.0 tool)
Thai Indian News, Bangkok, Thailand
Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
World AIDS Campaign website
The Seoul Times, Seoul, South Korea
Zimbabwe News Room, Harare, Zimbabwe
Bihar Times, Patna, Bihar
Stop TB Partners' Forum

Mr RB Sreekumar - a tireless crusader for social justice

Mr RB Sreekumar - a tireless crusader for social justice

The Indian Administative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS) are considered among the crème-de-la-crème of the Indian bureaucratic arrangement. Despite all kinds of socio-political changes, people belonging to these services still have public respect and public faith towards them, though for many reasons, a kind of visible erosion is being perceived and there is a perception that the so-called Steel frame is no more of the same sterling quality it used to be.

Yet there are persons whose acts and whose deeds make one think twice before arriving at such a conclusion. The Gujarat incidents of 2002 threw up many such heroes whose tales of courage, conviction and dedication towards service have made it into the folklores. One such person is Mr RB Sreekumar, the then Additional Director General of Police, heading the Intelligence Department in Gujarat during those troubled times.

This is what Teesta Setalvad, a noted social activist, said about Mr Sreekumar during her acceptance speech of the Nani A Palkhivala Civil Liberties Award, 2006-

“But only one man has remained a stoic and principled dissenter until today, refusing to cave in even as weeks lapsed into months and months into years. This man that I dedicate today’s honour to. His only quality-- that many but his co-travellers have seen as a fault-- is that he refused to sit by and let the mass crimes planned at the highest level go unchallenged. He suffered for these acts by being denied due promotion to the post of Director General of Police, Gujarat, the highest post in his field that as a policeman and thrice Presidential Award winner for bravery, he would and should aspire to. Mr RB Sreekumar, Additional Director General of Police, the state of Gujarat, I salute you.”

While it is true that the person whose speech has been produced here has earned lots of controversies in her enthralling and eventful journey, having earned an equal number of admirers and detractors but when she praises Mr Sreekumar in no uncertain words doesn’t it fill the hearts of all the fellow IPS officers with pride? If this is not true valour and heroism, what else is?

Mr Sreekumar later compiled his experiences in a book named "The Diary of a Helpless Man" where he termed the State government as "cruelly communal" and its officers "sophisticated sycophants" but everyone knows that there is not much bravery and valour in writing books after retirement because the fear of persecution is much diluted. But what makes Mr Sreekumar stand out in the crowd is the fact that he refused to toe the line expected of him even during the service where he had to undergo through a Departmental enquiry and finally got his promotion only through the intervention of the Court. This 1971-cadre officer and a person holding Post-graduate degrees in three subjects got superceded in the aftermath of his depositions before the Nanavati panel.

An Article in 'The Hindu' dated Sunday, 4 March 2007 titled- "Sreekumar retires from service, but not his battles" portrays the turmoil he had to go through- "He, however, scored a victory of sorts with the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) ruling in his favour against the Government's "refusal" to grant him promotion. But the CAT order came only a few hours before 1971-batch IPS officer ended his innings in the State police cadre on February 28. Also, the order could not be implemented as a related case is still pending in the Supreme Court. His pension will not be cleared until the court order is received.” As per the report in Hindu, he was denied promotion on the ground that a charge sheet against him, related to the period he was Superintendent of Police (SP) in Kutch way back in 1987, was pending in court. The high court later found the order illegal and reinstated him as Director General of Police (DGP) on May 3, 2008, with retrospective effect from February 23, 2005. He now lives in Gandhinagar and is working actively for justice to the victims of Gujarat genocide.

Our due regards to this brave officer of the Indian Police Service.

Amitabh Thakur

(The author is a senior police officer serving as Superintendent of Police (Intelligence), and can be contacted on mobile phone: 94155-34526)

Mr RB Sreekumar - a tireless crusader for social justice

Mr RB Sreekumar - a tireless crusader for social justice

The Indian Administative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS) are considered among the crème-de-la-crème of the Indian bureaucratic arrangement. Despite all kinds of socio-political changes, people belonging to these services still have public respect and public faith towards them, though for many reasons, a kind of visible erosion is being perceived and there is a perception that the so-called Steel frame is no more of the same sterling quality it used to be.

Yet there are persons whose acts and whose deeds make one think twice before arriving at such a conclusion. The Gujarat incidents of 2002 threw up many such heroes whose tales of courage, conviction and dedication towards service have made it into the folklores. One such person is Mr RB Sreekumar, the then Additional Director General of Police, heading the Intelligence Department in Gujarat during those troubled times.

This is what Teesta Setalvad, a noted social activist, said about Mr Sreekumar during her acceptance speech of the Nani A Palkhivala Civil Liberties Award, 2006-

“But only one man has remained a stoic and principled dissenter until today, refusing to cave in even as weeks lapsed into months and months into years. This man that I dedicate today’s honour to. His only quality-- that many but his co-travellers have seen as a fault-- is that he refused to sit by and let the mass crimes planned at the highest level go unchallenged. He suffered for these acts by being denied due promotion to the post of Director General of Police, Gujarat, the highest post in his field that as a policeman and thrice Presidential Award winner for bravery, he would and should aspire to. Mr RB Sreekumar, Additional Director General of Police, the state of Gujarat, I salute you.”

While it is true that the person whose speech has been produced here has earned lots of controversies in her enthralling and eventful journey, having earned an equal number of admirers and detractors but when she praises Mr Sreekumar in no uncertain words doesn’t it fill the hearts of all the fellow IPS officers with pride? If this is not true valour and heroism, what else is?

Mr Sreekumar later compiled his experiences in a book named "The Diary of a Helpless Man" where he termed the State government as "cruelly communal" and its officers "sophisticated sycophants" but everyone knows that there is not much bravery and valour in writing books after retirement because the fear of persecution is much diluted. But what makes Mr Sreekumar stand out in the crowd is the fact that he refused to toe the line expected of him even during the service where he had to undergo through a Departmental enquiry and finally got his promotion only through the intervention of the Court. This 1971-cadre officer and a person holding Post-graduate degrees in three subjects got superceded in the aftermath of his depositions before the Nanavati panel.

An Article in 'The Hindu' dated Sunday, 4 March 2007 titled- "Sreekumar retires from service, but not his battles" portrays the turmoil he had to go through- "He, however, scored a victory of sorts with the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) ruling in his favour against the Government's "refusal" to grant him promotion. But the CAT order came only a few hours before 1971-batch IPS officer ended his innings in the State police cadre on February 28. Also, the order could not be implemented as a related case is still pending in the Supreme Court. His pension will not be cleared until the court order is received.” As per the report in Hindu, he was denied promotion on the ground that a charge sheet against him, related to the period he was Superintendent of Police (SP) in Kutch way back in 1987, was pending in court. The high court later found the order illegal and reinstated him as Director General of Police (DGP) on May 3, 2008, with retrospective effect from February 23, 2005. He now lives in Gandhinagar and is working actively for justice to the victims of Gujarat genocide.

Our due regards to this brave officer of the Indian Police Service.

Amitabh Thakur

(The author is a senior police officer serving as Superintendent of Police (Intelligence), and can be contacted on mobile phone: 94155-34526)

Right-to-Information (RTI) movement brewing in UP

Right-to-Information (RTI) movement brewing in UP

-RTI Service centres will be set up in UP.

-200 computer cells will be constituted aswell in various districts to provide assistance to people wanting to get information online.

-Govt staff will be trained to update and feed the websites providing information of various departments.


The Right to Information Act (RTI) may be in place but is it actually translating into answers for those seeking them under it? Most who have used the act respond with a resounding NO. But then all hope is not lost as a movement in UP is now brewing amongst the people in the state capital which plans to ask for information under the RTI Act and get it too.

People like Urvashi Sharma who is a house wife and a mother of two but she displays an amazing awareness of her rights as a citizen of India. Better still she prefers to call herself a social worker and RTI activist.

"I have seen my husband being harassed for no fault of his and being accussed of harbouring and instructing his dalit students to speard communalism. A a mountain of paper work to terminate him from his post of a lecturer has been initiated by the departments he was posted to and if it wasn't for the RTI Act he would have been forced to live with such grave accusations. We demanded transparency provided to citizens under the act and were able to counter all charges. But this would not have been possible had we not joined the people's movement for the right to information," she says as she prepares to attend a dharna being organised by a group of citizens she has joined up to campaingn for issues under the RTI Act.

The movement she talks of is a group of local citizens for whom it all began as a personal battle for their rights and transformed into a community movement called the Action Group For Right To Information (AGRI). Not only does the group spearhead the cause of many who have sought for information under the RTI Act but also is now coercing the state governments to expedite measures to facilitate quick redressals of the cases that come to the State information commission.

But that is easier said than done claim most RTI activists in Lucknow.

Explains Afjal Ansari, the Chief Co-ordinator, AGRI, "Since the concept is based on what we call the participatory democracy in which the common man becomes a major part of the governance as well, asking for information is usually seen as accusations of corruption and not responded to. A right reserved only for the legislatures, politicians and bureaucrats until until now. But the RTI Act now provides a direct reach of a citizen to any part of the entire set up of the government system to ask for answers of actions taken, what can be more empowering than that. Anyone who has been in authority until now and has been conditioned to refuse permission to access files related to departmental issues, will resist all to attempts enhance accountabilty and transparency. So challenges do arise and we have to take them into our stride. As changing an age old system does not happen overnight and corruption is one such system."

Adds Azhar Ahmed Ansari Convenor, AGRI,"What is lacking is the training of the clerks and babus who are to function as per instruction of Public Information Officers (PIOs). Most are not even aware of the basics points mentioned in the act. Thus delays occur when they don't respond to the applicant within the stipulated 30 days. Making matters worse is the fact that these delays are costing the state government a whopping 2-5 lakhs in terms of TA/DA per hearing as no less that 250 cases come every month and deferred time and again. The concerned departments have to depute officers to represent their case on every new date given. Its not worth it as the penalty of Rs 25000 is usually paid by the PIO from his salary if delay is proved in responding. While the babu and the clerks get away completely. This must change and accountabilty must be for all."

But will things change?

"Of course, previously there were people woes related to the railways, passport office and even land alottments were many, but after RTI Act came into being things have really changed. It will take time but sustained efforts will usher in the change we desire atleast that's what we plan to ensure through AGRI," avers Ansari.

A fact which is seconded by most RTI Activists who also rue harassment of the applicant to discourage any queries.

Says Urvashi Sharma,"Seeking Information under the RTI Act is interpreted by the heads of the department against which an RTI has been filed as being directly accused of corruption. So no co-operation is extended to the applicant, and they are harassed with FIRs filed against them as trouble makers. Some even have to face a lot of humiliation at the hands of clerks and babus which discourages the applicants from filing RTIs. This is one major challenge we have to face when it comes to making optimum use of the RTI Act. But we started forming a base of all such cases and will address them under Section 19/1 or Section 19/3 under the RTI Act."

In addition AGRI has managed to address many more issues related to the act at a recent conference organised in Lucknow. Not only was the seminar attended by Chief Secretary, Atul Kumar Gupta, Chief Information Commissioner, Government of India, Wajahat Habbiullah, Retd Justice Kamaleshwar Nath, President of Transparency International but some, decisions were also taken to help iron out problems faced by the common man when making use of the act.

Among those were an initiatives like making all deparmental information available online. As per the Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission, Wajahat Habibullah the emphasis will be more on providing information over 20 years old online. With the World Bank pitching in a impressive Rs 23 crores for the project, the websites with all such public information will be ready by April 2009.

An added plus says Manish Sisodia, RTI Activist in the city, is that "people can phone in through phone booths and get information from any department. The system is based on the lines of phone booths in Bihar. If this works in UP a lot of backlog of files seeking information under the RTI and unnecessary harassment of people can be cut down."

Amen to that!


Anjali Singh

(The author is a senior journalist based in Lucknow, India. Email: saakshamforchildrights@gmail.com)

Published in
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh/ Chhatisgarh
Asian Tribune, Thailand/ Sri Lanka
The Colombo Times, Sri Lanka
The Seoul Times, Seoul, South Korea
Pakistan Christian Post, Karachi, Pakistan
News Track India, Delhi
Mahanagar Times, Rajasthan
Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
RTI India portal
Day Life
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Bihar Times, Patna, Bihar
Media for Freedom, Kathmandu, Nepal
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
Kerala News, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Right-to-Information (RTI) movement brewing in UP

Right-to-Information (RTI) movement brewing in UP

-RTI Service centres will be set up in UP.

-200 computer cells will be constituted aswell in various districts to provide assistance to people wanting to get information online.

-Govt staff will be trained to update and feed the websites providing information of various departments.


The Right to Information Act (RTI) may be in place but is it actually translating into answers for those seeking them under it? Most who have used the act respond with a resounding NO. But then all hope is not lost as a movement in UP is now brewing amongst the people in the state capital which plans to ask for information under the RTI Act and get it too.

People like Urvashi Sharma who is a house wife and a mother of two but she displays an amazing awareness of her rights as a citizen of India. Better still she prefers to call herself a social worker and RTI activist.

"I have seen my husband being harassed for no fault of his and being accussed of harbouring and instructing his dalit students to speard communalism. A a mountain of paper work to terminate him from his post of a lecturer has been initiated by the departments he was posted to and if it wasn't for the RTI Act he would have been forced to live with such grave accusations. We demanded transparency provided to citizens under the act and were able to counter all charges. But this would not have been possible had we not joined the people's movement for the right to information," she says as she prepares to attend a dharna being organised by a group of citizens she has joined up to campaingn for issues under the RTI Act.

The movement she talks of is a group of local citizens for whom it all began as a personal battle for their rights and transformed into a community movement called the Action Group For Right To Information (AGRI). Not only does the group spearhead the cause of many who have sought for information under the RTI Act but also is now coercing the state governments to expedite measures to facilitate quick redressals of the cases that come to the State information commission.

But that is easier said than done claim most RTI activists in Lucknow.

Explains Afjal Ansari, the Chief Co-ordinator, AGRI, "Since the concept is based on what we call the participatory democracy in which the common man becomes a major part of the governance as well, asking for information is usually seen as accusations of corruption and not responded to. A right reserved only for the legislatures, politicians and bureaucrats until until now. But the RTI Act now provides a direct reach of a citizen to any part of the entire set up of the government system to ask for answers of actions taken, what can be more empowering than that. Anyone who has been in authority until now and has been conditioned to refuse permission to access files related to departmental issues, will resist all to attempts enhance accountabilty and transparency. So challenges do arise and we have to take them into our stride. As changing an age old system does not happen overnight and corruption is one such system."

Adds Azhar Ahmed Ansari Convenor, AGRI,"What is lacking is the training of the clerks and babus who are to function as per instruction of Public Information Officers (PIOs). Most are not even aware of the basics points mentioned in the act. Thus delays occur when they don't respond to the applicant within the stipulated 30 days. Making matters worse is the fact that these delays are costing the state government a whopping 2-5 lakhs in terms of TA/DA per hearing as no less that 250 cases come every month and deferred time and again. The concerned departments have to depute officers to represent their case on every new date given. Its not worth it as the penalty of Rs 25000 is usually paid by the PIO from his salary if delay is proved in responding. While the babu and the clerks get away completely. This must change and accountabilty must be for all."

But will things change?

"Of course, previously there were people woes related to the railways, passport office and even land alottments were many, but after RTI Act came into being things have really changed. It will take time but sustained efforts will usher in the change we desire atleast that's what we plan to ensure through AGRI," avers Ansari.

A fact which is seconded by most RTI Activists who also rue harassment of the applicant to discourage any queries.

Says Urvashi Sharma,"Seeking Information under the RTI Act is interpreted by the heads of the department against which an RTI has been filed as being directly accused of corruption. So no co-operation is extended to the applicant, and they are harassed with FIRs filed against them as trouble makers. Some even have to face a lot of humiliation at the hands of clerks and babus which discourages the applicants from filing RTIs. This is one major challenge we have to face when it comes to making optimum use of the RTI Act. But we started forming a base of all such cases and will address them under Section 19/1 or Section 19/3 under the RTI Act."

In addition AGRI has managed to address many more issues related to the act at a recent conference organised in Lucknow. Not only was the seminar attended by Chief Secretary, Atul Kumar Gupta, Chief Information Commissioner, Government of India, Wajahat Habbiullah, Retd Justice Kamaleshwar Nath, President of Transparency International but some, decisions were also taken to help iron out problems faced by the common man when making use of the act.

Among those were an initiatives like making all deparmental information available online. As per the Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission, Wajahat Habibullah the emphasis will be more on providing information over 20 years old online. With the World Bank pitching in a impressive Rs 23 crores for the project, the websites with all such public information will be ready by April 2009.

An added plus says Manish Sisodia, RTI Activist in the city, is that "people can phone in through phone booths and get information from any department. The system is based on the lines of phone booths in Bihar. If this works in UP a lot of backlog of files seeking information under the RTI and unnecessary harassment of people can be cut down."

Amen to that!


Anjali Singh

(The author is a senior journalist based in Lucknow, India. Email: saakshamforchildrights@gmail.com)

Published in
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh/ Chhatisgarh
Asian Tribune, Thailand/ Sri Lanka
The Colombo Times, Sri Lanka
The Seoul Times, Seoul, South Korea
Pakistan Christian Post, Karachi, Pakistan
News Track India, Delhi
Mahanagar Times, Rajasthan
Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
RTI India portal
Day Life
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Bihar Times, Patna, Bihar
Media for Freedom, Kathmandu, Nepal
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
Kerala News, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Finally, anti-HIV microbicides research gives hope

Finally, anti-HIV microbicides research gives hope

The anti-HIV microbicides research has finally given a positive outcome - the microbicides gel PRO2000 under research showed 30% reduction of HIV transmission in the human clinical trials.

Women who were offered PRO2000 microbicide gel plus condoms had 30 per cent fewer HIV infections than those offered condoms only or condoms plus a placebo gel, according to the clinical trial results presented by the trial's Protocol Chair Dr Salim S Abdool Karim, PhD, University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. Dr Karim presented the results at the 2009 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). This multi-site clinical trial is known as HPTN 035, and tests two candidate microbicides (PRO2000 and Buffer Gel). It was conducted by the US National Institute of Health (NIH) funded Microbicides Trial Network (MTN) in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the US. The PRO2000 microbicide gel did show anti-HIV activityby reducing HIV risk among women by 30 per cent, however the other candidate microbicide tested in the same clinical trial - Buffer Gel microbicide - did not reduce HIV risk among women.

This news is particularly encouraging to health advocates because microbicides research had a series of disappointing news in the past decade with different microbicide-candidate-products under research showing no positive anti-HIV effect in human trials.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), microbicides are compounds that can be topically applied inside the vagina or rectum to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. They can be formulated as gels, creams, films, or suppositories. Microbicides may or may not have spermicidal activity (contraceptive effect). At present, an effective microbicide is not available, and different candidate-microbicides are in various stages of research.

The Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM), an advocacy organization that has been campaigning to expand women's HIV prevention options for over a decade, said in a press statement that not only these trials found that women who were offered PRO2000 gel plus condoms had 30 per cent fewer HIV infections but also the reported adherence to the gel was high at 81 per cent. In another analysis that accounted for the time that women did not use produce because they were pregnant, the study found PRO2000 to be 36% protective against HIV compared to the control arms.

"The results on PRO2000 are a ray of hope for women" observed Lori Heise, Director of the Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM). "This is the first time that we have had human data actually showing that a vaginal gel can work to reduce infection. It's not a home run, but this "proof of concept" should invigorate the field"

Another effectiveness trial of PRO2000, conducted by the UK-funded Microbicide Development Programme (MDP), is currently in its final stages in South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. This trial - known as MDP 301 - has enrolled over 9,000 women, three times the number enrolled in HPTN 035.

“This second trial should help us refine our estimate of how effective PRO2000 actually is,” noted Dr. Samu Dube, GCM’s Africa Program Leader in the GCM press statement. “With three times the number of women, the MDP trial will yield an even more precise estimate of effectiveness. We will need such data before deciding whether it makes sense to move this product forward toward licensing and distribution.”

The development of microbicides is seen as a key to empowering women to protect themselves from HIV. Women are biologically more vulnerable to the transmission of STIs and many cultural and economic factors compound this vulnerability.

Millions of women live in societies that permit them no role in sexual decision-making, that condone male infidelity and assign the burden of shame and stigma associated with infectious diseases to women. Existing preventative strategies have largely failed to address this vulnerability, focusing on abstinence, mutual monogamy and male condom use, none of which are easily controlled by women.

Vaginal microbicides are also likely to fail until men understand and respect the need for women to protect themselves against HIV and other STIs. Not only do women need preventative options that they can choose to use freely but the gender inequalities that make it harder for women to insist on safer sex must be addressed alongside.

Bobby Ramakant

Finally, anti-HIV microbicides research gives hope

Finally, anti-HIV microbicides research gives hope

The anti-HIV microbicides research has finally given a positive outcome - the microbicides gel PRO2000 under research showed 30% reduction of HIV transmission in the human clinical trials.

Women who were offered PRO2000 microbicide gel plus condoms had 30 per cent fewer HIV infections than those offered condoms only or condoms plus a placebo gel, according to the clinical trial results presented by the trial's Protocol Chair Dr Salim S Abdool Karim, PhD, University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. Dr Karim presented the results at the 2009 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). This multi-site clinical trial is known as HPTN 035, and tests two candidate microbicides (PRO2000 and Buffer Gel). It was conducted by the US National Institute of Health (NIH) funded Microbicides Trial Network (MTN) in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the US. The PRO2000 microbicide gel did show anti-HIV activityby reducing HIV risk among women by 30 per cent, however the other candidate microbicide tested in the same clinical trial - Buffer Gel microbicide - did not reduce HIV risk among women.

This news is particularly encouraging to health advocates because microbicides research had a series of disappointing news in the past decade with different microbicide-candidate-products under research showing no positive anti-HIV effect in human trials.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), microbicides are compounds that can be topically applied inside the vagina or rectum to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. They can be formulated as gels, creams, films, or suppositories. Microbicides may or may not have spermicidal activity (contraceptive effect). At present, an effective microbicide is not available, and different candidate-microbicides are in various stages of research.

The Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM), an advocacy organization that has been campaigning to expand women's HIV prevention options for over a decade, said in a press statement that not only these trials found that women who were offered PRO2000 gel plus condoms had 30 per cent fewer HIV infections but also the reported adherence to the gel was high at 81 per cent. In another analysis that accounted for the time that women did not use produce because they were pregnant, the study found PRO2000 to be 36% protective against HIV compared to the control arms.

"The results on PRO2000 are a ray of hope for women" observed Lori Heise, Director of the Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM). "This is the first time that we have had human data actually showing that a vaginal gel can work to reduce infection. It's not a home run, but this "proof of concept" should invigorate the field"

Another effectiveness trial of PRO2000, conducted by the UK-funded Microbicide Development Programme (MDP), is currently in its final stages in South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. This trial - known as MDP 301 - has enrolled over 9,000 women, three times the number enrolled in HPTN 035.

“This second trial should help us refine our estimate of how effective PRO2000 actually is,” noted Dr. Samu Dube, GCM’s Africa Program Leader in the GCM press statement. “With three times the number of women, the MDP trial will yield an even more precise estimate of effectiveness. We will need such data before deciding whether it makes sense to move this product forward toward licensing and distribution.”

The development of microbicides is seen as a key to empowering women to protect themselves from HIV. Women are biologically more vulnerable to the transmission of STIs and many cultural and economic factors compound this vulnerability.

Millions of women live in societies that permit them no role in sexual decision-making, that condone male infidelity and assign the burden of shame and stigma associated with infectious diseases to women. Existing preventative strategies have largely failed to address this vulnerability, focusing on abstinence, mutual monogamy and male condom use, none of which are easily controlled by women.

Vaginal microbicides are also likely to fail until men understand and respect the need for women to protect themselves against HIV and other STIs. Not only do women need preventative options that they can choose to use freely but the gender inequalities that make it harder for women to insist on safer sex must be addressed alongside.

Bobby Ramakant

Mayawati ji, why did we get bulldozers instead of homes?

Mayawati ji, why did we get bulldozers instead of homes?

Anti-Dalit and Anti-poor action by a pro-dalit Government

On 19 February 2009, at the behest of Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Chandra Mishra, the local administration came into swing to brutally demolish the slums in Nadwa (daliganj), Lucknow . 216 poor people were rendered homeless despite of central government of India's and UP state government's promise to provide homes for the poor.

On 21 February 2009, in front of the state's legislative council (Vidhan Sabha), a massive dharna was held by those displaced and many people from the city participated to express their solidarity and concern on the houses of people getting demolished.

The authorities responded that under Gomti Action Plan to develop the banks of river Gomti, a private company has been contracted to do so. It is clear that the beneficiaries of this kind of 'development' will be private companies and the poor people will face bulldozers and displacement.

The activists of Asha Parivar and National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) vehemently opposed the ideology of this kind of anti-poor development.

Inspector General (IG) of Police (retired) SR Darapuri, Magsaysay Awardee (2002) Dr Sandeep Pandey, senior Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Arundhati Dhuru, Industrialist Naveen Tiwari, and many other citizens from Lucknow had participated in this dharna in the state capital of Lucknow.

The displaced people are questioning the state and central government policies of providing housing for the poor despite of which their houses were demolished brutally by bulldozers.

They are also questioning the insensitivity of officials to the plight of homeless poor people who without making any alternative arrangements of providing shelter to those displaced, went ahead with bulldozers to demolish the houses and belongings of the Nadwa slum residents.

At least two women, who were pregnant, had to face the ignominy of this demolition. Luckily one woman delivered twins at a hospital on 19 February 2009 despite of becoming homeless earlier on the same day, and the other, delivered a dead child on 21 February 2009.

The residents of Nadwa slums are mostly dalits and have been saving from their daily earnings to qualify for housing under Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP). But the local administration demolished the slums even when these alternative housing facilities are not yet ready to use. A government official said that at least these BSUP houses will not be ready for next 4 months.

The representatives of those displaced also met the Mayor Dr Dinesh Sharma to demand alternative housing for themselves. Sources said that the situation in Lucknow is quite gruesome - there are about 1,500 families displaced due to river-bank 'development' and only 400 of those will get the houses being constructed under BSUP scheme.

The question for the state's Chief Minister Mayawati who is a celebrated saviour of Dalits is that despite of her promises, state government's promises and central government's promises, why were these people made homeless in such a brutal way (bulldozing their houses) when alternative housing facilities were not ready?

Also the reason which the authorities have given of a private company being contracted to 'develop' the river bank of Gomti is ironical - after all, whose 'development' is it? Of the rich and the mighty who got the fat contracts to 'develop' river banks, or the poor people who were displaced due to this kind of 'development'?

Mayawati ji, why did we get bulldozers instead of homes?

Mayawati ji, why did we get bulldozers instead of homes?

Anti-Dalit and Anti-poor action by a pro-dalit Government

On 19 February 2009, at the behest of Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Chandra Mishra, the local administration came into swing to brutally demolish the slums in Nadwa (daliganj), Lucknow . 216 poor people were rendered homeless despite of central government of India's and UP state government's promise to provide homes for the poor.

On 21 February 2009, in front of the state's legislative council (Vidhan Sabha), a massive dharna was held by those displaced and many people from the city participated to express their solidarity and concern on the houses of people getting demolished.

The authorities responded that under Gomti Action Plan to develop the banks of river Gomti, a private company has been contracted to do so. It is clear that the beneficiaries of this kind of 'development' will be private companies and the poor people will face bulldozers and displacement.

The activists of Asha Parivar and National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) vehemently opposed the ideology of this kind of anti-poor development.

Inspector General (IG) of Police (retired) SR Darapuri, Magsaysay Awardee (2002) Dr Sandeep Pandey, senior Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Arundhati Dhuru, Industrialist Naveen Tiwari, and many other citizens from Lucknow had participated in this dharna in the state capital of Lucknow.

The displaced people are questioning the state and central government policies of providing housing for the poor despite of which their houses were demolished brutally by bulldozers.

They are also questioning the insensitivity of officials to the plight of homeless poor people who without making any alternative arrangements of providing shelter to those displaced, went ahead with bulldozers to demolish the houses and belongings of the Nadwa slum residents.

At least two women, who were pregnant, had to face the ignominy of this demolition. Luckily one woman delivered twins at a hospital on 19 February 2009 despite of becoming homeless earlier on the same day, and the other, delivered a dead child on 21 February 2009.

The residents of Nadwa slums are mostly dalits and have been saving from their daily earnings to qualify for housing under Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP). But the local administration demolished the slums even when these alternative housing facilities are not yet ready to use. A government official said that at least these BSUP houses will not be ready for next 4 months.

The representatives of those displaced also met the Mayor Dr Dinesh Sharma to demand alternative housing for themselves. Sources said that the situation in Lucknow is quite gruesome - there are about 1,500 families displaced due to river-bank 'development' and only 400 of those will get the houses being constructed under BSUP scheme.

The question for the state's Chief Minister Mayawati who is a celebrated saviour of Dalits is that despite of her promises, state government's promises and central government's promises, why were these people made homeless in such a brutal way (bulldozing their houses) when alternative housing facilities were not ready?

Also the reason which the authorities have given of a private company being contracted to 'develop' the river bank of Gomti is ironical - after all, whose 'development' is it? Of the rich and the mighty who got the fat contracts to 'develop' river banks, or the poor people who were displaced due to this kind of 'development'?

A spoonful of sugar can help fight Malaria

A spoonful of sugar can help fight Malaria

One teaspoon of moistened sugar placed underneath the tongue of sick hypoglycaemic children – a simple solution to a serious problem.

Nearly 800,000 children die every year from malaria. In Africa, malaria combined with hypoglycaemia causes many of these children to die before they get to a health care facility, where they could access life saving intravenous treatment. A clinical trial conducted in Mali, with the support of Antenna Technologies, suggests that placing a spoonful of sugar under the child's tongue can be effective, and moreover much simpler than glucose.

Despite recent progress in the prevention and treatment of malaria, this tropical disease still affects more than 250 million people and kills nearly one million each year. With 85 to 90% of deaths occurring among children, it is the most vulnerable who pay the biggest price of the disease. The majority of these victims are under five years old and live in remote areas, mainly in Africa.

Children with hypoglycaemia, that is almost 20% of children with severe malaria, are three to four times more likely to die from the disease. Standard practice is to give an intravenous infusion of glucose, but this is often only accessible too late since it is administered at hard to reach health facilities. A clinical trial was carried out in Mali, in Sikasso Hospital, by the Department of Paediatrics and with the support of the Swiss International Cooperation and the Antenna Technologies team. This trial has identified a new method to correct hypoglycaemia and raise blood glucose. Results from this study have been published in the Malaria Journal.

By placing a teaspoon of sugar moistened with a few drops of water under the tongue of the child, even a child already in a state of coma, blood glucose levels were raised, providing what appears to be a simple first aid treatment. This easy treatment can be given by non professionals at home and during transportation to health centers, buying precious time, and saving many lives.

Proposed a long time ago by, among others, the French paediatrician Hubert Barennes, this simple method has not yet been applied due to a lack of trials. Trials have now been carried out. The bold action has been going against the idea prevalent among medics, to show that sugar does not necessarily have to be swallowed to act on glucose levels: by simple contact with the tissues in the oral cavity, particularly those under the tongue, a rapid elevation of blood sugar is observed, in fact even faster acting than if the sugar was swallowed.

In the race against time faced by children with severe malaria, evidence showing the benefits of administering sugar under the tongue can be life changing for the poorest regions where malaria hits the hardest. Now the challenge is to make this procedure known to tropical medicine specialists worldwide, and that the WHO and other health agencies include this procedure in their guidelines.

A spoonful of sugar can help fight Malaria

A spoonful of sugar can help fight Malaria

One teaspoon of moistened sugar placed underneath the tongue of sick hypoglycaemic children – a simple solution to a serious problem.

Nearly 800,000 children die every year from malaria. In Africa, malaria combined with hypoglycaemia causes many of these children to die before they get to a health care facility, where they could access life saving intravenous treatment. A clinical trial conducted in Mali, with the support of Antenna Technologies, suggests that placing a spoonful of sugar under the child's tongue can be effective, and moreover much simpler than glucose.

Despite recent progress in the prevention and treatment of malaria, this tropical disease still affects more than 250 million people and kills nearly one million each year. With 85 to 90% of deaths occurring among children, it is the most vulnerable who pay the biggest price of the disease. The majority of these victims are under five years old and live in remote areas, mainly in Africa.

Children with hypoglycaemia, that is almost 20% of children with severe malaria, are three to four times more likely to die from the disease. Standard practice is to give an intravenous infusion of glucose, but this is often only accessible too late since it is administered at hard to reach health facilities. A clinical trial was carried out in Mali, in Sikasso Hospital, by the Department of Paediatrics and with the support of the Swiss International Cooperation and the Antenna Technologies team. This trial has identified a new method to correct hypoglycaemia and raise blood glucose. Results from this study have been published in the Malaria Journal.

By placing a teaspoon of sugar moistened with a few drops of water under the tongue of the child, even a child already in a state of coma, blood glucose levels were raised, providing what appears to be a simple first aid treatment. This easy treatment can be given by non professionals at home and during transportation to health centers, buying precious time, and saving many lives.

Proposed a long time ago by, among others, the French paediatrician Hubert Barennes, this simple method has not yet been applied due to a lack of trials. Trials have now been carried out. The bold action has been going against the idea prevalent among medics, to show that sugar does not necessarily have to be swallowed to act on glucose levels: by simple contact with the tissues in the oral cavity, particularly those under the tongue, a rapid elevation of blood sugar is observed, in fact even faster acting than if the sugar was swallowed.

In the race against time faced by children with severe malaria, evidence showing the benefits of administering sugar under the tongue can be life changing for the poorest regions where malaria hits the hardest. Now the challenge is to make this procedure known to tropical medicine specialists worldwide, and that the WHO and other health agencies include this procedure in their guidelines.

Anti-Dalit and Anti-poor action by a pro-dalit Government

Anti-Dalit and Anti-poor action by a pro-dalit Government

Nadwa slums brutally demolished


Today at the behest of Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Chandra Mishra, the local administration came into swing to brutally demolish the slums in Nadwa (daliganj), Lucknow . More than 250 poor people were rendered homeless when UP’s Chief Minister Mayawati on her birthday had claimed that every poor will get a home.

When the senior activist and Magsaysay Awardee (2002) Dr Sandeep Pandey was on his way to intervene, police forcibly stopped him from going to the Nadwa slums and detained him at the Hasanganj police station. Representatives of many social organizations and invidivuals came to the Hasanganj Police station and Nadwa area where slums were being demolished. Heavy police was deployed to ward off any intrusion in Gomti Action Plan under which the slums were being cleared off from the coast of Gomti river. Activists of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Asha Parivar took the centrestage in the demonstation against this brutal onslaught on the underserved communities in Lucknow.

The residents of Nadwa slums are mostly dalits and have been saving from their daily earnings to qualify for housing under Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP). But the local administration demolished the slums even when these alternative housing facilities are not yet ready to use.

In the afternoon Dr Sandeep Pandey was allowed to go out of the Hasanganj Police station. By this time the slums were already completely demolished. When the displaced people of these slums were marching towards the Vidhan Sabha to stage a protest to demand their alternative housing facilities, a woman among those displaced went into labour pains. Due to timely intervention by Additional District Magistrate (ADM) OP Pathak, a government ambulance reached in time to take this woman to a hospital.

Residents of Lucknow , representatives of various social organizations and those displaced due to the demolition are demanding that government should immediately provide temporary housing facilities to the displaced communities, meantime the construction work at BSUP should be expedited so that these people can move into their houses at the earliest.