Andhra
Lokayukta questions state support to ‘fish medicine’
Uncertainty
looms over the annual distribution of fish ‘prasadam’ (medicine) for asthma
patients here as the Andhra Pradesh Lokayukta observed that the state
government should not extend any help to the event. It said since the fish
medicine’s scientific value was yet to be proved and it was being administered
by private people, the government should not make any arrangements for
it. The Lokayukta also directed Hyderabad police commissioner and
Exhibition Society secretary to appear before it Tuesday.
The
ombudsman reserved its orders on a plea filed by Andhra Pradesh Balala Hakkula
Sanghham, a body fighting for children’s rights. Achyuta Rao, president of
the Sangham, told IANS that the orders would be pronounced Tuesday. The
petitioner questioned the government’s action in making all arrangements for
the gathering of people like supply of fish, security arrangements, water,
sanitation and other facilities. Lokayukta Justice B. Subhashan Reddy
observed that the state government’s action in permitting such a conglomeration
and allotting public property not for any public purpose comes within the ambit
of “maladministration” – an aspect triable under the Lokayukta Act 1983.
The
Goud family of Hyderabad has already announced that it would distribute the
fish medicine at Exhibition Grounds June 8 and 9.
Various
departments submitted their reports to Lokayukta. Ranga Reddy district
collector, in his report, informed that five acres of government land allotted
to the family would be taken back. The land was allotted a few years ago
at Katedan on the city outskirts for the family to grow the herbs, whose paste
is stuffed in the mouth of a ‘murrel’ fingerling before it is slipped through
the patient’s throat.
Thousands
of people every year take the ‘wonder drug’ administered on the occasion of
‘Mrigasira Karthi’, which heralds the onset of monsoon. It is believed that if
taken for three consecutive years, it cures asthma. The family claims to
be distributing the fish medicine free of cost for over 160 years. It renamed
the drug as ‘prasadam’ a few years ago following controversies after some
groups approached courts, seeking a ban on unscientific medicine.
Source:
http://health.india.com
04.06.2013
Bill Gates
and Aamir Khan discuss better healthcare and sanitation
At
first glance, the diminutive perfectionist of Bollywood Aamir Khan and
computer whiz and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates have little in common. But on
closer inspection one can see several similarities. They’re both influential
people who have realised that the power they yield could be used to make a
difference in society. While Gates has been championing various causes through
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Aamir Khan has been advocating various
philanthropic activities in India which became more prominent after his reality
TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ hit the small screen. So it was quite
interesting as the two philanthropists with different backgrounds met up on May
30.
Gates
was enthusiastic about meeting the actor and mentioned in his blog,
TheGatesNotes, ‘I’m looking forward to meeting Aamir Khan, the Bollywood star
and activist. I want to hear about his work as a UNICEF ambassador for child
nutrition. I also want to hear about his TV show, Satyamev Jayate (Truth Alone
Prevails), which is shining a light on some critical issues facing India. And
maybe, if I’m lucky, he’ll show me a few dance moves.
When
they met they discussed some pressing issues like healthcare in India. Gates
wrote, ‘Talking toilets with Bollywood star Aamir Khan, discussing how
satellites help fight disease’, an issue not very funny considering that a lot
of people in rural India don’t have access to hygienic sanitation.
He
wrote: ‘We were filming a question-and-answer segment in front of a studio
audience for his show on New Delhi Television, one of India’s largest news
networks. Prannoy was asking me and Bollywood star Aamir Khan about
philanthropy, health, and India’s development…’
Source:
http://health.india.com
04.06.2013
Pakistan
takes lessons from India in combating polio
Pakistan
is taking oral vaccination tips from India, which has been polio-free for over
two years, and wants to replicate its success story, the head of the
neighbouring country’s polio programme says.
‘But
what hinders Pakistan in containing the dreaded virus is insurgency, violence
and illiteracy,’ Pakistan National Polio Plus Committee Chairman Aziz Memon
told IANS in an interview during a visit here.
Earlier
this week, Pakistan’s polio campaign suffered a major setback when a volunteer
in the vaccination campaign was killed and her colleague wounded in a militant
attack near Peshawar. The attack came soon after nationwide polio campaign
started on May 28.
Memon
said Pakistan is taking lessons from India for the way it reached out to its
population.
‘We
are taking lessons from India. Our teams visited Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to see
the way they vaccinated children,’ Memon said.
Both
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were the hotbed of the paralytic disease in India. Some
members of the Muslim community in the two states resisted polio drops being
given to their children as they feared that it could make them children
impotent.
After
741 polio cases surfaced in 2009, India started using bivalent vaccines
(targetting Polio 1 and Polio 3 viruses) in its national vaccination programme
from 2010 January. This showed dramatic effects and India moved out of WHO’s
list of endemic countries in 2011.
‘We
picked many tips (from our visit). We learned how to involve hundreds of
volunteers (involved in the campaign), how to handle the resource center and
how to immunize children at the transit check posts,’ he said.
As
India remains free from polio for the past two years, Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Nigeria are the only three countries in the world now where the highly
infectious, crippling disease still remains endemic.
Source:
http://health.india.com
04.06.2013
Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, perspiration
and inspiration
Evan Esar
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