RAKSHA: January 2009

02 January, 2009

recently listed 10 top crisis areas that highlight in many instances the interrelation between human rights abuses and poor health. Recent news on two of these areas, Zimbabwe and Burma, shows even stronger links to malaria.ZWNews quotes an IRIN report: “‘There is no food, we have malnutrition, there is cholera, now we are expecting a malaria outbreak,’ said an exasperated Amanda Weisbaum, the emergency manager for Save theChildren, UK, in Zimbabwe.” After suffering cholera and malnutrition, “With the onset of rain, there are mounting concerns of a possible malaria outbreak ravaging immune systems weakened by cholera and malnutrition, ‘especially among those aged under five,’ said Weisbaum.”The government even recognizes the threat of the rainy season. The Herald reports that …

HARARE City Council has embarked on a programme to
clear stormwater drains with the assistance of residents under the
food-for-work programme at a time the United Nations Children’s Fund
has contracted trucks to speed up the removal of refuse in the city as
a measure to curb the spread of malaria and cholera.Under the
programme, residents in high-density suburbs are paid for clearing the
drainage systems in their respective areas.

A BBC reporter notes that, “The country that was once the jewel in Africa’s crown, able to feed itself, heal its sick and educate its people to the highest standards on the continent, is now in a pitiful state.” The BBC has been showing the link between Zimbabwe’s current problems and its
human rights violations that contributed to the present economic, political and health crises.

In eastern Burma “Access to maternal health-care is extremely limited and poor nutrition, anemia and malaria are widespread in eastern Burma, which increases the risk of pregnancy complications,” was a finding of researchers from the Johns Hopkins University, as reported in Medical News Today. The full article in PLoS Medicine reported that, “Few women had received iron supplements or had used insecticide-treated bednets to avoid malaria-carrying mosquitos.
Consequently, more than half the women were anemic and 7.2% were infected with malaria parasites.”

The Burma situation results from “Human rights violations - such as displacement and forced labor - (that) are also widely present, and in some communities forced relocation doubled the risk of women developing anemia and greatly decreased their chances of

receiving any antenatal care.”

A disregard for human rights and a breakdown of health services, especially for the most vulnerable, appear to go hand in hand. Another call for peace in 2009 is urgent.

01 January, 2009

- The best medical blogs of 2008.

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My blog drneelesh@Raksha has made it to the Final list of Nominees as Best NEW Medical blog of 2008.. At stake is the title and a PDA. In all, Fifteen entries were chosen as the final nominees in this category..Other categories include Best Clinical sciences,

Image by drneelesh via Flickr Health policies,Best blog on Medical ethics, Best Literary Medical, Health IT, Patient centered, e.t.c. Now the final "awardees" will be chosen via an internet voting system. All you have to do to vote is scroll to the bottom of the nomination-list page and write in a comment here about my blog or simply second my blogs nomination.

My Blog looks at Medical issues from the eyes of a pathologist , e.learning enthusiast and a Health Rights pro-activist. My page may take some time to load ( the left half of the page is slightly data heavy, but be patient. The wait will be worth it!).There are a number of ways to interact with me. You can also search my virtual library (my references, bookmarks,images,articles,blogs, etc). via this website.

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Dr.Neelesh Bhandari
M.B.B.S (AFMC),M.D (Path)
P.G.P in Human Rights

Chief Mentor ( RAKSHA)
Registered society for knowledge and health activities.

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