With sorrow, we report that Dr. Radium Bhattacharya, the founder-president of Indian Network of NGOs on HIV/AIDS (INN) passed away on 20 December 2009. Dr. Radium was one of the first to step forward in the 1980s to mount India’s response to HIV/AIDS. She was a scientist, an organizer and a relentless advocate for over two decades and will be sorely missed by her colleagues in India and around the world. Read more
Working tirelessly to increase partnerships and civil society representation in India’s AIDS response, she most notably founded INN in 1994 and nurtured its growth over the last 16 years, engaging a vibrant network of more than 500 non-governmental organizations.
Under her leadership, INN raised awareness about the need to increase HIV prevention options for women, spotlighting the role of microbicides and female condoms at its 2001 National Convention. Dr. Radium’s efforts led to the establishment of India’s National Working Group on Microbicides as well as a range of high-profile events and dialogue that connected over a thousand people across the Indian sub-continent.
The Global Campaign for Microbicides (GCM) Director Yasmin Halima commented on Dr. Radium’s role as an ally and advisor to the Global Campaign’s work in India. “We stand on the shoulders of giants – and in the field of microbicides, Dr. Radium’s work deserves to be recognized as such. Without the tireless effort of those who dedicate their lives for the right of women to protect themselves against HIV, our work would not be possible. She shared our conviction that civil society must be equal partners in the search for effective microbicides,” she added.
Published in: GC News, Issue 118
Sunday, February 7, 2010
In Memory of Dr. Radium Bhattacharya
Saturday, February 6, 2010
"Three Idiots" give society words of wisdom
It is a great satire on the education system and the attitude of society. It tells us rote learning can be very harmful. That knowledge is to ‘know’ and not just in the name of educating ourselves memorise whatever comes our way. Learning without understanding can prove to be very dangerous. Unfortunately we have been patrons of such system from time immemorial. Read more
Rote learning used to be important during the ancient times when education was being monopolized by a section of society, while rest of the masses remained illiterate. No doubt in spite of their educational exclusion, they had more knowledge than the so-called literates of the society. Even without getting the benefits of formal education, they understood their work and transmitted it generations after generations with utmost efficiency and dexterity. The cobbler, the agriculturalist, the blacksmith knew their work and carried it out very well and transmitted it also, without any compulsions of memorizing any kind of written text. Their knowledge was useful for every section of society and their service so important for the progress and development of the country.
On the other hand, so called ‘formal education’ was the monopoly of a particular section to maintain status quo. It was of help to no one but its patron alone. It was constantly meant to remind their coming generations that their caste was born to subordinate a large section of society. That the masses below them have to be denigrated to the extent that they easily give in and without any resistance believe in the superiority of the few above them and in their own inferiority. Anyone indulging in physical work has to be looked down upon and regarded as illiterate and uncivilized. But the question that comes in one’s mind is that, who is to be considered more literate and more civilized. A caste using its skills in the service of others from generations together is to be considered more civilized or a caste making rules for others, cleverly putting ones name at the top and the rest below them are strictly instructed to serve?
But generally, the serving caste without some amount of knowledge and skill couldn’t possibly move an inch, be it growing wheat for the nation, or making tools for industrial or any other purposes, or fixing a wall even. Every work requires skill and intelligence, and one needs a large heart to build houses for others and themselves stay in shambles. The servile castes have been doing this ‘godly gesture’ for ages together, no wonder Gandhiji used the word ‘Harijan’ to address them. They have exhibited remarkable amount of tolerance and willpower. Their stomach might remain hungry but not for a day they would take leave to take rest but continue to work in unison to achieve the target. Their children might be ill or injured but not for a moment they stop their work. They grow our crops, they make our tools, and they build our hospitals, but seldom are allowed to get proper treatment there. They build our schools but without any grudge, accept it as their fate of remaining unlettered and allow us to get literate.
But our studying in Convent or a great University abroad doesn’t teach us to be as sacrificing, tolerant and selfless as the so called illiterate, serving castes. The aim of the literates is to get high marks by hook and crook, to prove themselves in the rat race, through a false degree or anyhow get into a prestigious college later on by any means, give a ‘religious babu’ some amount of bribe so that he can also take his family to a trip to Vaishno Devi in the coming summer vacation of his siblings. But in the rat race of getting high marks human values ‘go down the drain’. It is evident that in the so called prestigious centres of higher education the same ‘high grader’ shows he can be a great villain for real and in ragging the junior students he puts to shame even the worst of criminals. Where from he got those lessons one fails to understand?
Convent education, public school education, high caste well preserved 'sanskars' given at home takes a backseat and the hidden “goonda” comes out. The mantra that time is, tradition has to be followed without questioning it! We were not spared we will not spare others! In the modern times there are so many other ways of entertainment but they still insist on going for sadistic pleasures! Is higher education so simple that allows students to indulge in such luxuries of wasting time? What is ultimately derived out of it, has the so called high graders, given a thought to it? It is here that is reflected that how dangerous rote learning can be. It kills inquisitiveness, reasoning, rationality and worst of all creativity. Like a dodo we fail to respond in an appropriate manner to the crisis situation, serial train accidents, children falling in borewell or students committing suicides under psychological pressures day in and day out! Our senses remain numbed to the utmost, failing to react till another mishap occurs. Everybody waits for a miracle to happen or someone else to do the job for them! Their marked indifference reflected in their attitude.
Sitting on high pedestals not for a moment they give thought to the idea what example they are setting before the society. Lalu Prasad ji was right when he said recently “we are totally devoid of civic sense.” For the same reason we still need ‘proper toilet training’ and other mannerisms while travelling in VIP trains atleast! Most importantly an attitude of concern for others has to be developed alongwith a feeling of belonging to a nation, which is like a plant that is to be nurtured unitedly. Right from nursery class we have learnt by heart patriotic songs we still might remember some lines here and there but spirit still remains lacking in our character. That's the reason on slightest pretext we are ready and more than happy to move to other country, braving ‘racism’, waiting for years together to get hold of a green card or a more permanent citizenship right. But would certainly object in our own country if a person of other state tries to get a job in our state.
We have learnt by heart ‘Saare Jahan se Accha Hindustan Hamara’, or our National Anthem but still cannot clearly understand what it is to be like living unitedly as one, in a nation and contributing to its development. If only we would have tried to understand before blindly memorizing our lessons! There is a rule that when we understand something it takes less effort to remember it! That is what is reflected in the movie 'Three Idiots' and that being knowledgeable doesn't end at achieving high marks alone, but there should be an effort on our part to know, understand and most importantly be concerned about the welfare of others and 'treat others the way we would like to be treated by others'. Three Idiots have certainly given society words of wisdom.
Published in:
Elites TV News, USA
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Banderas News, Mexico
News Blaze
News Trust
Countercurrents.org
NowPublic
Digg.com
Feedraider.com
Celebrifi.com
Friendfeed.com
Societymarrakech.com
Twitter.com
Friday, February 5, 2010
In Remembrance Of The Mahatma And Of Mary Ward
This year the Loreto Family at Lucknow commemorated this special day in a very special manner. The bright sunny Saturday morning of 30th January saw the gates of Loreto Convent thrown open to its ‘not so privileged’ special guests, from the slums of Haidar Canal, Pipraghat and Sadar. More than 100 women, and as many children, accepted the school’s invitation and thronged the Assembly Hall for a meaningful interaction.
The programme began with a short prayer service wherein the students sang a beautiful bhajan (hymn) exhorting everyone not to divide human beings on the basis of caste and social status. This was followed by an interesting power point presentation on ‘General Hygiene and Sanitation’ by Dr Jyotsna Agarwal of CSM Medical University. She stressed the importance of ‘head to toe’ cleanliness, with special emphasis on washing hands, keeping finger/toe nails small and clean, not spitting in public places and keeping the surroundings unlittered. The audience (which included the school children also) were asked to prefer ‘roti’ (chapaati) over ‘dabal roti’ ( bread) and home cooked food over potato chips and chocolates, and to shun tobacco.A free dental and general medical check up was done by a team of doctors. Most of the women folk were found to be anaemic and suffering from calcium deficiency related diseases, mainly due to poor nutrition and frequent child bearing. A majority of them consumed tobacco and gutkha. Dr Mohit Seth advised them to chew tulsi leaves instead of tobacco. He also asked them to use neem sticks (daatun) to clean their teeth in place of the expensive tooth pastes. Vitamin/calcium tablets and other medicines were also distributed.
The guests were then treated to a simple feast of ‘aloo poori’ with the kids enjoying an additional treat of a bottle each of ‘flavoured milk’. Each head of the family was also gifted some food grains and clothes in paper bags.
Many of these underprivileged women showed a keen desire to get their children admitted in ‘Jagriti’, a parallel school being run in the college premises. They were either not happy with the schools where their wards were studying, or were unable to educate them due to abject poverty. Most of the womenfolk had the same pathetic story to narrate --- a drunkard husband, many mouths to feed and no wherewithal to supplement the family income. Some of them wanted to join the Tailoring and Embroidery classes being run in the college premises with a view to empower the economically disabled women. They have now been asked to visit Loreto once again next week; to get the admission formalities completed for their children, and for themselves, in order to look forward to a brighter future.
This is but a small step in the direction of cherishing the most deprived of God’s people and to enable them to take their place in society with dignity among others. This was the vision of Mary Ward and also of Mahatma Gandhi who rightly believed that ‘Happiness consists not in what you can get, but in what you can give’.
Shobha Shukla(The author is the Editor of Citizen News Service (CNS), has worked earlier with State Planning Institute, UP, and teaches Physics at India's prestigious Loreto Convent. Email: shobha@citizen-news.org, website: www.citizen-news.org)
Published in:
Elites TV News, USA
The Colombo Times, Sri Lanka
Modern Ghana News, Accra, Ghana
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Thai-Indian News, Thailand
Keegy.com, USA
Punjab News Line, Punjab, India
The Nigerianevoice, Nigeria
Banderas News, Mexico
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
Webnewswire.com
Nowpublic.com
Friendfeed.com
Feedraider.com
Celebrifi.com
Broadcastingindia.com
Newstrust.com
Mediakhabar.blogspot.com
Twitter.com
Aggregator.in
Tobacco Industry Today
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Remembering Pundit PK Shankhdhar 'Babooji'
By God's grace, it took about two generations to get to see the fruits of Babooji's efforts. If the vision and courage of Babooji wasn't rock solid, it would have been impossible to even imagine an enviable future for a man who was then settled in a backward village of Badaun in UP. As a matter of fact, what Babooji could make happen is a daunting challenge for many of us settled in metropolitan cities! It is not an exaggeration to refer to the wise words "a coward is dead in life, a hero is alive in death" when I remember Babooji today. He breathed his last on 5 February 1996.
Babooji's fortitude and infinite patience to wait for that morning when his dreams will bear fruits, complemented by boundless support from his wife, Bhabbhi (she passed away on 21 December 2006); another relative whom we all respectfully refer to as 'Mausiji'; and the persistent perseverance of his children who were motivated enough to not only dare-to-dream but also to chase their dreams with dedication, diligence and seemingly infinite persistence, were indeed phenomenal in bringing in the desired change. Not only Babooji, Bhabbhi and Mausiji sacrificed their personal and material aspirations, but also the childhood and probably the youth of their children slipped away while they were toiling hard, as hard as possible, to breathe life into the dreams they had the courage to dream together in that small hamlet in Allahabad. Instilling human values and an overwhelming sense of responsibility in the defining years of his children was a foremost priority for Babooji.
My association with Babooji grew when Pooja and I got our cycle - and he cycled 5-7 kilometres to come to our place and take that cycle to his most-trusted cycle repair shop underneath the Nishatganj-IT college flyover regularly. After retiring from UNICEF, he volunteered to help strengthen healthcare services at his son's place - and it is impossible to imagine and put it in words how humbly, passionately and simply he could play his role. To reflect back 20 years later, I guess he had redefined his life, his role and his identity. His role was not of a boss, which he was with due respect and authority, but that of a mentor - to everyone - from the security guard to the head of the institution. He also subtly gave an unforgettable message not to cling in life, because when we cling, we suffer in pain. After retiring from UNICEF, he didn't cling rather found more relevant roles and responsibilities to take care of.
Babooji would be content to see how his children and grandchildren have taken the mantle forward in providing healthcare in top-notch institutions in India - from CSM Medical University (erstwhile King George's Medical College) and Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. With a series of International and national awards and accolades in Babooji's family, the manner in which this ordinary man lived his life in an extraordinary way stands out more vividly.
This is certainly not an obituary, it can never be. Whenever we serve in the true spirit of Babooji, he comes to life again. It is our responsibility to keep the values he personified, alive, so do I believe.
- one of Babooji's grandchildren
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Tobacco control is most cost-effective way to prevent cancer
- Special on World Cancer Day: 4 February 2010
Most important part of all this is that the diseases and death caused by these life style aberrations are preventable.
Smoking And Tobacco Related Cancers
Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is one fatal but preventable life-style disease. Smoking causes 90% of lung cancer. Non-smokers who breathe in other peoples’ tobacco smoke, known as second-hand smoke, are also at an increased risk of lung cancer. Children and teenagers exposed to second hand smoke may be particularly at risk of lung cancer later in life as well as an increased risk of asthma and other respiratory problems.
Mouth and Throat cancer
Oral cancer is the most common cancer in India. Smoking is a major cause of cancers of the oral cavity (tongue, lips, gums) oesophagus and larynx.
Majority of oral cancers occur because of chewing Tobacco, gutka etc.
According to Dr Geoff Craig "People are dying of oral cancer because of ignorance". There are about 7,00,000 new cases of cancers every year in India out of which tobacco related cancers are about 3,00,000. Cost of treatment of one oral cancer patient is about Rs 3.5 lacs. This can be completely prevented by simple changes in lifestyle and regular screening. About 2000 deaths a day in India are tobacco related.
Cancer of the pancreas, stomach and kidney
Smoking is also, at least a contributory and, may be, a causal factor in the development of cancer of the pancreas and of the kidney. When you inhale cigarette smoke, you will always swallow some of it , Consequently, the risk of developing stomach cancer is higher among smokers.
Cancer of uterus, cervix, colon and bladder
Apart from these, smoking has been found to increase the risk of uterine cancer, cancer of the cervix, cancer of the colon and bladder.
Other health hazards attributed to tobacco use
Smokers and tobacco chewers are also at an increased risk of developing myeloid leukaemia., especially oral sub mucous fibrosis.
This condition is characterized by limited opening of mouth and burning sensation on eating of spicy food. This is a progressive lesion in which the opening of the mouth becomes progressively limited, and later on even normal eating becomes difficult. It occurs almost exclusively in India and Indian communities living abroad. Tobacco when kept in mouth leaches out potent carcinogens. Habit of smoking is also equally dangerous. Treatment is surgery, and in advanced cases surgery followed by radiation therapy. 70% of the cases after treatment comeback with relapse and the ultimate result is death. The cost of the treatment is Rs.3.5 lacs on an average and in spite of this high cost there is no guarantee of total cure.
Therefore the most important aspect is PREVENTION. Use of tobacco in smoking or chewing or any other form must be stopped immediately.
The Government of the State of Maharashtra, India, had initiated a campaign against smoking in 1986. The first reaction of smokers, mostly from urban upper-middle classes, was "We smoke because we like it. It is none of your concern. After all, it is we who would suffer, not you". Indian Society against smoking in UP and also state of Maharashtra initiated anti tobacco programs in public gatherings etc. WHO came forward to help people by introducing aggressive anti tobacco campaigns through establishment of Tobacco cessation clinics in several states.
Tobacco-related deaths outnumber those caused by AIDS, car accidents, alcohol, homicides, illegal drugs, suicides, and fires, combined.. Fortunately, the past decade has been one in which data concerning predictors of tobacco use initiation and approaches to tobacco use prevention have been accumulating.
Factors that influence the onset of smoking are complex and numerous, and a better understanding of these factors is needed to reduce the rate of smoking. Younger individuals with less fortunate socio economic backgrounds and from single-parent homes are at higher risk of initiating smoking and experimenting with cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. On the other hand, adolescents who have friends and parents who smoke are significantly more likely to initiate smoking themselves. Moreover, several psychological factors, including higher rates of depression and sociability, have been linked with a higher probability that an adolescent will start smoking. Lastly, the impact of the tobacco industry’s targeting of adolescents with aggressive advertising, marketing, promotional campaigns, and sponsorships on youth smoking initiation rates should not be overlooked. Women, minorities, blue-collar workers, adolescents, and even children are bombarded by clever and often insidious marketing and advertising gimmicks. In fact, a strong correlation between smoking rates among adolescents and sales promotion expenditures by tobacco companies has been documented.
Prevention initiatives need to have two thrusts: (1) school-based programs, and (2) community-wide approaches.
School-based programs encourage students who have yet to experiment with tobacco to abstain from use through (1) enforcement of anti tobacco policies (e.g., prohibitions against tobacco use and tobacco advertising on campus); (2) education about the adverse health and social consequences of tobacco use (e.g., cancer risk, exacerbation of asthma, stained teeth and foul-smelling breath and clothing, and ostracism by non smoking peers); (3) education regarding the reasons that adolescents smoke (e.g., peer acceptance, stress management) and about alternative methods for attaining such goals; (4) education concerning the social influences on smoking, such as media, adults, and peers, and strategies for resisting such influences (e.g., refusal skills, assertiveness); (5) the use of teachers and peer leaders as health counselors; and (6) support for students who abstain from smoking as well as for those students who have quit. A meta-analysis of school-based prevention studies showed that programs involving peer and social elements can reduce adolescent smoking rates by as much as 30%.
Community-wide smoking prevention programs involve approaches that include counter advertising (e.g., antismoking billboard ads) and anti tobacco policies (i.e., restricting access, raising taxes, instituting bans). Evaluations of the benefits of counter advertising media campaigns suggest that this approach can effectively reduce smoking initiation rates.
The past few years have witnessed a burgeoning of anti tobacco legislation. Initiatives to restrict access to tobacco among children and adolescents are being strengthened. Evaluations of the effects of work-site and hospital smoking bans indicate that cigarette consumption is significantly reduced by such policies, with the rate of second-hand smoke exposure completely eliminated. Although studies have yet to evaluate the impact on cessation rates of restaurant and bar smoking bans, such policies undoubtedly eliminate exposure to second-hand smoke for others sitting there.
Over the past decade, the growing national commitment to reducing the prevalence of tobacco use has resulted in a substantial growth in the scientific literature and availability of clinical interventions concerning the promotion of smoking cessation and prevention. Never before has there been a more hospitable climate for conducting empirical research into the determinants and treatment of tobacco addiction and for the implementation of cessation and prevention programs. Today, the commitment to support tobacco control research and initiatives from federal and state government agencies and from private granting institutes has never been stronger
Yet, despite many advances in treating tobacco addiction and preventing initiation of tobacco use, the rate of decline in smoking among adults has slowed down, and the prevalence of tobacco use has actually increased, especially chewing tobacco. More research and wider availability of cessation and prevention initiatives are necessary if there is any hope of eradicating tobacco use among our population. Specifically, the psychosocial and socio demographic determinants of smoking initiation must be systematically identified. Further, additional research concerning genetic and gene-environment interaction determinants of tobacco addiction is essential. Finally, since current data indicate that optimal cessation programs can produce modest 20 to 40% cessation rates at best, a greater emphasis on evaluating more comprehensive, multi-component cessation interventions could greatly improve upon current efficacy. Counselling by clinical psychologists, of those addicted to tobacco along with pharmacotherapy can assist in this difficult task.
Professor (Dr) Rama Kant(The author is Professor and Head of Department of Surgery, CSM Medical University (CSMMU - upgraded King George's Medical College - KGMC) and International Awardee of World Health Organization (WHO) for the year 2005. He is the Director of Tobacco Control Resource Centre. Email: ramakant@ramakant.org, web: www.ramakant.org )
Published in
The Hindustan Times, India
Central Chronicle, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Elites TV News, USA
The Day After, India
Modern Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Banderas News, Mexico
Nowpublic.com
Keegy.com,
News trust
Friend Feed
Medical News
Twitter.com
Wikio.com
Tobacco.org
Hivatlas.org
Respondingtoquitsmoking.org
"Foundation of commercial RFID industry is credited to Sanjay Sarma"
Just imagine the kind of feeling one has when one realizes that one of his old friends has done something remarkable in the field of Science and Technology. The same happened when Mr Sanjay Sarma's name came in the class as inventor of commercial RFID. The entire class at IIM-L clapped with recognition when I told them with a proud voice that I was a batch-mate of Sarma at IIT-K. They became even more engrossed and clapped further when I told them that his wife Geetanjali (again an IIT-K alumnus) is no less talented and among the most good-looking girls IIT Kanpur ever had.
It was at this time that I also realized how much important and long-lasting the scientific contributions are compared to many of the short-term (and often shortsighted) achievements we in police and administration seem to boast of. Again, how much more is its reach? Just think, this person is suiting in America. He did something way back in 1999. But 11 years later students at IIM Lucknow are remembering his name with respect and awe.
Yes, I am feely really happy to have been a friend and acquaintance of Sanjay.
Amitabh Thakur
(The author is an officer with Indian Police Service (IPS), an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, and presently doing his higher studies at the premier management institute - Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow).
4 February 2010: World Cancer Day
- no tobacco use
- a healthy diet and regular exercise
- limited alcohol use
- protection against cancer-causing infections Read more
"Enforcing health policies like the tobacco control legislations in India, can have enormous public health benefits for people" said Professor (Dr) Rama Kant, who is a World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General's Awardee for tobacco control (2005). More than 5 million people die of causes that are attributed to tobacco use, said Prof Rama Kant.
Each year on 4 February, WHO supports International Union Against Cancer (UICC) to promote ways to ease the global burden of cancer. Preventing cancer and raising quality of life for cancer patients are recurring themes.
In 2005, 7.6 million people died of cancer. More than 70% of those deaths occured in low and middle income countries. WHO has developed a series of six modules that provides practical advice for programme managers and policy-makers on how to advocate, plan and implement effective cancer control programmes, particularly in low and middle income countries.The WHO guide is a response to the World Health Assembly resolution on cancer prevention and control (WHA58.22), adopted in May 2005, which calls on Member States to intensify action against cancer by developing and reinforcing cancer control programmes. For more information click here
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS), India/Thailand
Thai-Indian News, Bangkok, Thailand
Webnewswire.com
Elites TV News, USA
Bihar and Jharkhand News Service (BJNS)
News Trust
Ovearheadblog.com
Universalhealthsearch.com
Celebrifi.com
Posts
