Human Rights Watch Report – Broken System: Indian Police, Status and Reforms
Introduction
At 4:00 p.m. on 4th August in the P.G. Block of the St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Science, Bangalore, amidst the buzz of students, faculty etc., were some luminaries of the state judiciary and police. They were invitees for the Karnataka release of the Human Rights Watch report “Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police” followed by a panel discussion on police reform. Organized in coordination with South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (www.sichrem.org) and supported by Transparency International - Karnataka Chapter, this event started on time unlike some others involving state representatives.
After Manohar Ranganathan, SICHREM’s Programme Coordinator welcomed the audience, Mathew Philip, Director, SICHREM introduced the panel. Releasing the 118 page report, available at http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/india0809web.pdf, Tom Porteous, Director, Human Rights Watch (HRW), London summarized its findings and recommendations. The document highlights ongoing violations by Indian police and the lack of accountability fuelling abuse. It also examines how abysmal everyday police working conditions contribute to and even encourage human rights violations although the former must not justify the latter in any way. Broken System calls for a comprehensive overhaul of police law and practices in order to hold the force accountable, significantly reduce its violations, and build professional, motivated and ethical police forces that successive central and most state governments have promised but failed to deliver for decades.
Most state police forces operate outside the law, lack sufficient ethical and professional standards and necessary equipment, are overstretched and outmatched by criminal elements, and cannot cope with increasing demands and public expectations. Their violations include arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, threats and extrajudicial killings sometimes for professional security and growth. HRW interviewed more than 80 police officers of varying ranks, 60 victims of police abuses, and discussed with numerous experts and civil society activists. Releasing it here was significant as field research was conducted across 19 police stations in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi.
Although most officers know the legal boundaries, many believe that unlawful methods are necessary for crime investigation and law enforcement. Also, many cut caseloads by refusing to register crime complaints as superiors pressurize them for quick resolution. Further, colonial police laws that enable routine interference in police operations corrode public confidence in the force. India’s traditionally marginalized groups like the poor, women, Dalits, religious and sexual minorities are particularly vulnerable to police abuse and imprisonment for alleged crimes. However, police often fails to investigate crimes against them as they can’t bribe, lack social status and political connections.
Ensuring that police officers abusing human rights will face appropriate punishment regardless of rank is critical. The Indian government elected in May has promised to pursue police reforms actively which are overdue despite the Supreme Court’s landmark 2006 judgment mandating it, suggesting that officials have not yet accepted its urgency. "Broken System" detailed recommendations for police reform drawn from studies by government commissions, former Indian police, and Indian groups, including the following:
• Read suspects their rights if arrested or detained, increasing institutional acceptance of these safeguards
• Exclude from court any evidence obtained by torture or inhuman treatment in suspect interrogations
• Bolster independent investigations into complaints of police abuse and misconduct through national and state human rights commissions and police complaints authorities
• Improve training and equipment, including strengthening the crime-investigation curriculum at police academies, training low-ranking officers to assist in crime investigations, and providing basic forensic equipment to every police officer
Panel Discussion
Tom Porteous and Justice (Retd.) M.F. Saldanha moderated the discussion in which all speakers reiterated the HRW report’s findings and recommendations. They agreed that:
• Police officers at all levels must practise self-regulation and handle victims, suspects and prisoners (under trial, convicted, etc.) compassionately. While some seniors are unethical, the juniors sometimes abuse citizens to settle personal disputes. Police ill-treating religious minorities and women and colluding with similar offenders is rampant in Karnataka and nationwide. Delayed and/or few preventive or corrective measures often encourages them to continue such misdemeanour and also perpetrate extrajudicial acts.
• Many citizens hardly know the law and don’t hold police personnel accountable or respect them. They rarely report dowry violence, child marriage, female foeticide or other heinous crimes fearing repercussion and socio-cultural taboos about seeking legal assistance/ intervention.
• Politicians, authorities, etc., interfere in the policing and legal processes to protect themselves, family, friends, etc. and also misuse them for personal gain and tasks, breeding corruption.
• Junior officers and those deployed in rural areas often work in fairly inhuman conditions for extremely long hours with minimal daily/weekly breaks. Further, frequent and unanticipated transfer of jurisdiction and duty demoralize them.
• Police reforms are critical but complex and multidimensional requiring commitment and understanding. And, they must percolate to the lowest rungs and the force must be empowered to operate independently and act constitutionally.
• Attitude of policy/law makers and their approach to implementing legal provisions must change drastically. Importantly, they ought to be committed to human rights in all spheres.
Making his introductory remarks, Justice S.R. Nayak, Chairperson, Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) stated that the current ratio is 1 police officer per 1027 civilians and that India has not yet signed the International Convention against Torture unlike 145 other countries. In what seemed a frustrated outburst against the government, he said that an order passed in 2005 to reconstitute the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (after a 14 year gap) was implemented only in 2007 with no office space allotted and only skeletal staff. Basic facilities were provided much later.
S.T. Ramesh, Additional DGP (Recruitment & Training), Karnataka responded that merely enhancing infrastructure and training programmes is insufficient and ineffective and the Indian Police Act (1861) is archaic and parts of the Indian Penal Code are nearly 100 years old. He highlighted that Karnataka police has decent infrastructure including good Information and Communications Technology, DNA Centre, Child Welfare Officers and State Juvenile Protection Unit. All staff under go gender sensitivity training in a centre in Yelahanka and evaluated by an independent agency. The recent scheme to provide them good residential facilities is very encouraging.
In a speech as inspiring as his actions, Justice N. Santosh Hegde, Lokayukta, Karnataka exhorted the participants to start a citizens’ movement. He emphasized that the SHRC cannot function with insensitive, untrained staff. The Supreme Court’s directives in 2006 to tackle corruption are pending implementation in Karnataka and elsewhere and the Prevention of Corruption Act created in 1947 is neither followed properly nor amended as necessary. While Scandinavian countries recently celebrated the 200th anniversary of selecting of a national ombudsperson India is yet appoint one although in 1976, Morarji Desai suggested creating a Lok Ayukta in every state and a national Lok Pal.
Justice (retd.) M.F. Saldanha, Chairman, Transparency International India and former Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court quoted a brief encounter with a tired young police officer in Bangalore continuing on early morning duty despite a long night. He stated that it is our responsibility to implement the HRW report’s recommendations for overhauling the Indian Police force.
The former DGP and IG of Karnataka, R. Srikumar reminded everyone that police personnel are also human beings with personal lives and needs, not uniformed criminals. Police inspectors are sometimes transferred more than thrice in 7 months. A sub-inspector who should handle only 60 cases actually does 300 greatly impacting investigation time and quality - contempt cases are often pending for 3 years. A young recruit who was posted to plain clothes VIP security duty within 6 months of his first appointment felt demoralized as it deprived him the honour of uniformed duty at a police station.
Despite the high crime rate in our society, case registration is low. Introducing the Dial 100 facility (independent of telephone service provider), a call centre for free case registration, is expected to increase the registration rate. Also, there is a plan to identify crime stoppers to interface with citizens. Relating an instance of his own son being unable to lodge a police complaint even after identifying himself, he urged the public to act now to ensure a better future.
According to Nina Nayak, Chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) declaration of 45,000 children missing annually in India is grossly underestimated as many cases are unreported. She narrated incidents of shocked parents of missing children approaching Child Welfare Committees after facing police apathy. Society must report child sexual abuse (CSA), trafficking and mistreatment by police and demand appropriate punitive action and rehabilitation/recovery instead of remaining silent. She suggested building constructive police contacts/leaders through youth in society.
Talking poignantly about female victims of domestic violence, Dr. V.S. Elizabeth of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) stressed that they approach the police only when their immediate family does not help and commit suicide when everyone fails them. Many believe that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA, 2005) threatens the traditional Indian family. She remarked that while the police must be sensitized about women’s issues society should also treat them in a respectable and humane manner as women’s rights are nothing but human rights!
At the end, some citizens participating in the programme who raised some questions on police laws and practices and the KSHRC’s functioning didn’t receive satisfactory answers. They believe that the report merely reiterated known facts about the police force considering news and entertainment media regularly reports/portrays them. Further, they felt that the state was handing over its responsibility to citizens instead of calling for joint action.
Pushpa Achanta
(The author is a freelance writer, a Fellow of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers' Bureau, and a community volunteer based in Bangalore, India)
Malaria Control Method Could Prevent 6 Million New Infant Cases
Malaria Control Method Could Prevent 6 Million New Infant Cases
The Lancet publishes new findings showing 30% malaria reduction in babies under 12 months using a WHO-recommended approach, but few African countries have adopted it
A third (30%) of malaria cases can be avoided in African infants using a safe, affordable and simple tool called Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria in Infants (IPTi) with the medicine sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), which can be delivered alongside existing childhood vaccination programmes. Results of a meta-analysis examining six clinical trials in Africa for the malaria intervention which the World Health Organization already recommends are published online today in the medical journal, The Lancet. Research experts say if IPTi-SP were expanded in other African countries, 6 million cases of malaria could be prevented each year in those most vulnerable to the disease.
“These results confirm the potential for IPTi using SP, which can be easily and rapidly implemented via existing WHO immunisation programmes, saving tens of thousands of lives every year across Africa,” commented Dr Pedro Alonso, a principal investigator, head of the Secretariat of the IPTi Consortium, associated with University of Barcelona, Spain. “IPTi provides a valuable addition to efforts to fight malaria and so international policy-makers and heads of national Malaria Control Programmes should consider its immediate adoption and integration into existing programmes,” he added.
Organised by the IPTi Consortium and supporting partners – a unique collaboration of more than 20 organisations in Africa, Europe and the United States – the pooled analysis of six randomised, placebo-controlled trials of IPTi-SP in Africa provides the best evidence to date that this approach is effective in preventing malaria in infants. The study analysed results from nearly 8,000 infants, in four African countries, over nine years, between 1999-2008. The efficacy results were re-analysed by the statistician of each of the six trials, and an independent panel made up of experts in safety and pharmacovigilance in Africa conducted an analysis of the safety. The IPTi Consortium is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
UNICEF’s Operational Research Coordinator, Dr Alexandra de Sousa, stated “UNICEF supports IPTi implementation scale up in Africa, a new intervention in the control of malaria with the potential to significantly reduce child illness”.
A separate study in Northern Tanzania shows that in areas of very high resistance to the medication, IPTi with SP is not efficacious and alternative anti-malarial drugs are needed. The long-acting medicine mefloquine was seen to reduce the incidence of clinical malaria in infants in the first year of life by 38%. For the long term, it is important that research is accelerated to develop additional drugs for use with IPTi in different settings and in different circumstances, especially in areas where parasite resistance is a problem.
Malaria represents an important public health burden in Africa, disproportionately affecting the youngest and most vulnerable. Of the 247 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2006, 86% occurred in Africa.ii African infants are most at risk of the worst forms of malaria, every 30 seconds an African child dies from malaria.
About IPTi
IPTi is the administration of an anti-malarial tablet to infants, two or three times in the first year of life, deliverable alongside established vaccination programmes such as WHO’s Expanded Programme for Immunisation. It is inexpensive (each dose costs between USD $0.13 - $0.23) and cost effective.
IPTi with SP has been reviewed by a committee of the US National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization’s Technical Expert Group – these committees recommend that it should be considered for implementation in areas of moderate to high levels of malaria transmission and low to moderate levels of parasite resistance to SP.
About the trials in the pooled analysis
Trials were conducted in Mozambique, Gabon, Tanzania and Ghana involving the following organisations in Africa and Europe: Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Spain; Centro de Investigação em Saude de Manhiça, Mozambique; University of Tübingen, Germany; Ifakara Health Research Development Centre, Tanzania; University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité, University Medicine Berlin, Germany; Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service/Ministry of Health, Ghana; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambaréné, Gabon; Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service; Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany; Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
About the trial in Northern Tanzania
The trial was conducted in two sites in northern Tanzania, Korgewe and Same, by the following organisations; Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; the National Institute for Medical Research, Tanga Centre, Tanga, Tanzania; and the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College, Moshi, Tanzania.
About the IPTi Consortium
The IPTi Consortium's Secretariat was the Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, headed by Dr Pedro L. Alonso. The IPTi Consortium consists of leading centres of malaria research in Africa, Europe, United States and Papua New Guinea including the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambaréné, Gabon; Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Spain; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA; Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre, Ifakara, Tanzania; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Dakar, Sénégal; Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya; Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Manhiça Health Research Centre, Manhiça, Mozambique; National Institute for Medical Research, Amani, Tanzania; PNG Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, Papua New Guinea; Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Dakar, Sénégal; University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, University of Melbourne, Australia; World Health Organization (WHO); United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
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The Lancet publishes new findings showing 30% malaria reduction in babies under 12 months using a WHO-recommended approach, but few African countries have adopted it
A third (30%) of malaria cases can be avoided in African infants using a safe, affordable and simple tool called Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria in Infants (IPTi) with the medicine sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), which can be delivered alongside existing childhood vaccination programmes. Results of a meta-analysis examining six clinical trials in Africa for the malaria intervention which the World Health Organization already recommends are published online today in the medical journal, The Lancet. Research experts say if IPTi-SP were expanded in other African countries, 6 million cases of malaria could be prevented each year in those most vulnerable to the disease.
“These results confirm the potential for IPTi using SP, which can be easily and rapidly implemented via existing WHO immunisation programmes, saving tens of thousands of lives every year across Africa,” commented Dr Pedro Alonso, a principal investigator, head of the Secretariat of the IPTi Consortium, associated with University of Barcelona, Spain. “IPTi provides a valuable addition to efforts to fight malaria and so international policy-makers and heads of national Malaria Control Programmes should consider its immediate adoption and integration into existing programmes,” he added.
Organised by the IPTi Consortium and supporting partners – a unique collaboration of more than 20 organisations in Africa, Europe and the United States – the pooled analysis of six randomised, placebo-controlled trials of IPTi-SP in Africa provides the best evidence to date that this approach is effective in preventing malaria in infants. The study analysed results from nearly 8,000 infants, in four African countries, over nine years, between 1999-2008. The efficacy results were re-analysed by the statistician of each of the six trials, and an independent panel made up of experts in safety and pharmacovigilance in Africa conducted an analysis of the safety. The IPTi Consortium is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
UNICEF’s Operational Research Coordinator, Dr Alexandra de Sousa, stated “UNICEF supports IPTi implementation scale up in Africa, a new intervention in the control of malaria with the potential to significantly reduce child illness”.
A separate study in Northern Tanzania shows that in areas of very high resistance to the medication, IPTi with SP is not efficacious and alternative anti-malarial drugs are needed. The long-acting medicine mefloquine was seen to reduce the incidence of clinical malaria in infants in the first year of life by 38%. For the long term, it is important that research is accelerated to develop additional drugs for use with IPTi in different settings and in different circumstances, especially in areas where parasite resistance is a problem.
Malaria represents an important public health burden in Africa, disproportionately affecting the youngest and most vulnerable. Of the 247 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2006, 86% occurred in Africa.ii African infants are most at risk of the worst forms of malaria, every 30 seconds an African child dies from malaria.
About IPTi
IPTi is the administration of an anti-malarial tablet to infants, two or three times in the first year of life, deliverable alongside established vaccination programmes such as WHO’s Expanded Programme for Immunisation. It is inexpensive (each dose costs between USD $0.13 - $0.23) and cost effective.
IPTi with SP has been reviewed by a committee of the US National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization’s Technical Expert Group – these committees recommend that it should be considered for implementation in areas of moderate to high levels of malaria transmission and low to moderate levels of parasite resistance to SP.
About the trials in the pooled analysis
Trials were conducted in Mozambique, Gabon, Tanzania and Ghana involving the following organisations in Africa and Europe: Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Spain; Centro de Investigação em Saude de Manhiça, Mozambique; University of Tübingen, Germany; Ifakara Health Research Development Centre, Tanzania; University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité, University Medicine Berlin, Germany; Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service/Ministry of Health, Ghana; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambaréné, Gabon; Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service; Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany; Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
About the trial in Northern Tanzania
The trial was conducted in two sites in northern Tanzania, Korgewe and Same, by the following organisations; Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; the National Institute for Medical Research, Tanga Centre, Tanga, Tanzania; and the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College, Moshi, Tanzania.
About the IPTi Consortium
The IPTi Consortium's Secretariat was the Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, headed by Dr Pedro L. Alonso. The IPTi Consortium consists of leading centres of malaria research in Africa, Europe, United States and Papua New Guinea including the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Lambaréné, Gabon; Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Spain; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA; Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre, Ifakara, Tanzania; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Dakar, Sénégal; Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya; Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Manhiça Health Research Centre, Manhiça, Mozambique; National Institute for Medical Research, Amani, Tanzania; PNG Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, Papua New Guinea; Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel, Switzerland; Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Dakar, Sénégal; University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, University of Melbourne, Australia; World Health Organization (WHO); United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
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Currency Transaction levy (CTL) could finance countries to meet MDGs for Health
Currency Transaction levy (CTL) could finance countries to meet MDGs for Health
The pressure is mounting with Stamp Out Poverty taking a lead with organizations from around the world in advocating for a Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) for Health, which when applied to the four major currencies (US dollar, Yen, Euro and British pound) could potentially raise up to USD 33 billion a year. This will raise sufficient finances to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for health, namely to reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combat the major diseases by 2015 (MDG numbers 4, 5 and 6).
The estimates that the CTL for Health, when applied to the four major currencies could raise up to USD 33 billion a year, don’t distort the financial markets, and thus provide an additional, predictable and sustainable source for funding. More information is available online at: www.stampoutpoverty.org
Stamp Out Poverty is a network made up of more than 40 UK charities, trade unions and faith groups that has been working on measures to help fund the finance gap required to pay for the Millennium Development Goals and is increasingly concerned with how the substantial costs of climate change are going to be met. Its flagship campaign is for a Currency Transaction Tax (CTL), where it has lead the way in commissioning work to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal when applied at a very low rate for the purpose of raising additional revenue for the alleviation of poverty.
In the run-up to the Group of Twenty countries (G-20) meeting later this month, the campaign is seeking endorsements from organizations in support of the Declaration of the Global Campaign for a Currency Transaction Levy for Health. This initiative is geared to push governments to take the necessary steps to introduce such a CTL levy, and make sure the benefits are dedicated to reach the health MDGs.
The Campaign acknowledges that neither allocated nor committed levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and domestic financing are sufficient to meet these MDG targets related to health, a situation compounded by the global financial crisis, which is severely affecting the poorest countries in the world.
The campaign call upon donors to keep their commitments to allocate 0.7% of their national budgets to ODA and that African countries, similarly, honour their Abuja Declaration pledge to commit at least 15% of their national budgets to health.
The campaign is committed to locating and harnessing additional, new and predictable income streams that are capable of meeting funding shortfalls. A Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) has the potential to raise revenue of at least USD 33 billion a year on a sustainable, predictable and on-going basis from the foreign exchange (fx) market, that has not been privy to levies or taxation to date.
The CTL is technically simple to implement: the foreign exchange market is fully electronic, revenue collection would be automatic, with no scope for avoidance.
At the proposed low rate of 0.005%, the foreign exchange market would not be adversely affected whilst at the same time significant income would be generated.
The CTL would be applied to the wholesale foreign exchange market only, and not affect the retail market nor have an impact on migrant remittances.
The proceeds of the CTL should benefit the health MDGs, most notably MDGs 4 and 5 on maternal and child health, which are seriously under-resourced, and Universal Access to HIV, TB and malaria prevention, treatment, care and support. The international community currently has the mechanisms in place to channel the funds and rapidly scale up interventions, (e.g., through the GAVI Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and UNITAID).
The campaign is so far supported by the Africa Japan Forum, Japan; PLUS Coalition, France; Health GAP, USA; Family Care International, USA; International HIV/AIDS Alliance, UK; International Civil Society Support, Netherlands; Partners in Health, USA; Physicians for Human Rights, USA; RESULTS, USA; Stamp Out Poverty, UK; Stop AIDS Campaign, UK; Treatment Action Group, USA among others.
Published in:
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India
Media from Freedom, Nepal
Modern Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Bihar and Jharkhand News, Bihar And Jharkhan
Banderas News
The pressure is mounting with Stamp Out Poverty taking a lead with organizations from around the world in advocating for a Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) for Health, which when applied to the four major currencies (US dollar, Yen, Euro and British pound) could potentially raise up to USD 33 billion a year. This will raise sufficient finances to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for health, namely to reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combat the major diseases by 2015 (MDG numbers 4, 5 and 6).
The estimates that the CTL for Health, when applied to the four major currencies could raise up to USD 33 billion a year, don’t distort the financial markets, and thus provide an additional, predictable and sustainable source for funding. More information is available online at: www.stampoutpoverty.org
Stamp Out Poverty is a network made up of more than 40 UK charities, trade unions and faith groups that has been working on measures to help fund the finance gap required to pay for the Millennium Development Goals and is increasingly concerned with how the substantial costs of climate change are going to be met. Its flagship campaign is for a Currency Transaction Tax (CTL), where it has lead the way in commissioning work to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal when applied at a very low rate for the purpose of raising additional revenue for the alleviation of poverty.
In the run-up to the Group of Twenty countries (G-20) meeting later this month, the campaign is seeking endorsements from organizations in support of the Declaration of the Global Campaign for a Currency Transaction Levy for Health. This initiative is geared to push governments to take the necessary steps to introduce such a CTL levy, and make sure the benefits are dedicated to reach the health MDGs.
The Campaign acknowledges that neither allocated nor committed levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and domestic financing are sufficient to meet these MDG targets related to health, a situation compounded by the global financial crisis, which is severely affecting the poorest countries in the world.
The campaign call upon donors to keep their commitments to allocate 0.7% of their national budgets to ODA and that African countries, similarly, honour their Abuja Declaration pledge to commit at least 15% of their national budgets to health.
The campaign is committed to locating and harnessing additional, new and predictable income streams that are capable of meeting funding shortfalls. A Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) has the potential to raise revenue of at least USD 33 billion a year on a sustainable, predictable and on-going basis from the foreign exchange (fx) market, that has not been privy to levies or taxation to date.
The CTL is technically simple to implement: the foreign exchange market is fully electronic, revenue collection would be automatic, with no scope for avoidance.
At the proposed low rate of 0.005%, the foreign exchange market would not be adversely affected whilst at the same time significant income would be generated.
The CTL would be applied to the wholesale foreign exchange market only, and not affect the retail market nor have an impact on migrant remittances.
The proceeds of the CTL should benefit the health MDGs, most notably MDGs 4 and 5 on maternal and child health, which are seriously under-resourced, and Universal Access to HIV, TB and malaria prevention, treatment, care and support. The international community currently has the mechanisms in place to channel the funds and rapidly scale up interventions, (e.g., through the GAVI Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and UNITAID).
The campaign is so far supported by the Africa Japan Forum, Japan; PLUS Coalition, France; Health GAP, USA; Family Care International, USA; International HIV/AIDS Alliance, UK; International Civil Society Support, Netherlands; Partners in Health, USA; Physicians for Human Rights, USA; RESULTS, USA; Stamp Out Poverty, UK; Stop AIDS Campaign, UK; Treatment Action Group, USA among others.
Published in:
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India
Media from Freedom, Nepal
Modern Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Bihar and Jharkhand News, Bihar And Jharkhan
Banderas News
Sardar Sarovar affected advasis to challenge submergence without rehabilitation
Sardar Sarovar affected advasis to challenge submergence without rehabilitation
NARMADA IN FULL SPATE AGAIN
GROSS ILLEGALITY AND CALLOUSNESS OF STATE EXPOSED
SAVE THE VALLEY – ENSURE JUSTICE
Narmada is in full spate, yet again! Maximum water has flown into the Sardar Sarovar dam affected areas since yesterday night, resulting into submergence of mainly farms, though the waters have also reached tens of houses and submerged some huts in the villages such as Kharya Bhadal in Badwani and Bhitada in Alirajpur (both in M.P.) and Chimalkhedi in Maharashtra. The swell in the waters has also been accentuated by release of waters from the reservoirs of the Tawa, Bargi Omkareshwar dams in the upstream.
The adivasis had to save their belongings, from the roaring sea-like Narmada by working over night while they have never even thought of leaving their villages, without fair and just rehabilitation, come what may. Not less than a few hundred farms / land holdings have got flooded with the rising waters and the crop stands destroyed in the hills and the plains.
Preliminary figures coming out are: 17 farms in Manibeli, 3 in Dhankhedi, 40 in Chimalkhedi, 3 in Sinduri, 33 in Bamni, 15 in Danel, 13 in Mukhdi, 4 in Savyari Digar as well as 19 in Bhadal (all in Maharashtra).
The numbers from Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh have not yet reached us since no means of communication were working and even the boats were defunct since the huge waves in Narmada did not relent. In village Kharya Bhadal in Badwani, however it is come to be known for sure that the farms of Lal sing and Jamsing which were not even acquired were submerged!! In Badwani (M.P.), farms in villages like Bhilkheda, Bavthi, Pichhodi too are flooded but marginally while the temples of Kalghat have gone under waters, though not the 3000-strong
thickly populated village.
In the region of Nimad, Narmada itself has come to help in establishing the fact that the adhocly changing Back Water levels (BWLs) and the related conflict amongst the central and state ministries and authorities on the one hand and the State of Madhya Pradesh. and its people on the other is exposing the fact of not just no rehabilitation, but not even the finalization of the total number of project affected families / villages, and the game of numbers continues.
Families in the villages of Gujarat who are not yet rehabilitated as per law and policy too have faced the brunt, but there is no concrete information reaching here till date. We are on the way to the villages and hence more info will come to you soon.
There has been no sign of the so called ‘mechanism of vigilance’ and support during submergence which the Government seemingly ‘plans’ and allots lakhs of rupees budget for and claims that it would ‘take care’ of the affected communities on a large scale and protect human life and property!
All this has proved the Government claims and affidavits to be false once again, since the families habitated in these villages have again faced destruction, in spite of their being entitled to rehabilitation prior to any submergence of any of their properties. The authorities such as NCA with the Ministry of Social Justice at the helm of affairs too have certainly failed in ensuing not just compliance but also instilling confidence in any one who is not begging for resettlement benefits but asserting his/her rights. Instead the huge corruption that the NVDA and State Governments have been involved in has exposed the hollow claims of rehabilitation, as Courts and Commission of inquiry continue to unearth corruption.
TAKE ACTION: WRITE TO AUTHORITIES: DEMAND JUSTICE
Come what may, the fight is on in the field and in the Court and we hope TRUTH WILL PREVAIL. We appeal to all conscientious supporters of ours to write to the concerned authorities, expressing your anguish and demanding immediate justice to the affected families:
1. Write to the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and Rehabilitation Minister of Maharashtra condemning the submergence and impact and demanding immediate purchase of private land and rehabilitation of all the hundreds of families.
(a) Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh
Ph: 0755-2551581, 0755-2551433; Fax: 0755-2551781, 0755-2540501
E-mail: cm@mp.nic.in
(b) Shri Ashok Chavan, Chief Minister, Maharashtra
Ph: 022-22025151, 022-22025222 ; Fax: 022-22029214, 23633272, 23631446
E-mail: chiefminister@maharashtra.gov.in
(c) Shri Dileep Deshmukh, Rehabilitation Minister, Maharashtra
Ph: 022-22875930; Fax: 022-22876342
E-mail: sec_r&r@maharashtra.gov.in
2. Write to Chairman and Director (Rehabilitation) of the statutory body, Narmada Control Authority, to play an honest role in monitoring the status of rehabilitation and not permitting any further submergence and further construction of SSP.
Dr. Afroz Ahmed, Director (Rehabilitation), NCA
Ph: 0731-2558603 (O) ; 0731-2574530 (R) ; Fax: 0731-2554333
E-mail: dir.rehab.nca@nic.in
3. Write to the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Minister of Environment and Forests to take appropriate action against the law-offending officials and authorities and ensure that NO submergence would occur without full rehabilitation, including guaranteeing alternative livelihoods and resettlement sites.
(a) Shri Mukul Wasnik, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
Tel No: 011-23381001, 23381390 (O); 011-24641888 (R)
Fax: 011-24636655 ; 011-23381902
E-mail: msje@nic.in , m_wasnik@hotmail.com
(b) Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Environment and Forests
Ph: 011-24361727, 23463958 ; 24362222 (Fax)
E-mail: mosef@nic.in , jairam@jairam-ramesh.com , jairam54@gmail.com
4. Urgently also write / fax to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court to convey your feelings and demanding protection of the constitutional rights of the affected population, asking if the courts are at least now convinced that justice needs to be accrued to the adivasis who are being forcibly and unceremoniously evicted from their home hearths and livelihoods?
Fax Nos: 011-23381508, 23381584, 23384336/23384533/23384447
E-mail: supremecourt@nic.in
Remember, even today, there are 40, 000 families in the submergence area of SSP and while no maximum flood has occurred this year also, if and when it occurs, anytime , any year, at the present height of 122 mts of dam wall, submergence threatens not less than 225 villages in 3 states including thickly populated 160 villages and 1 township in the plains of Nimad (M.P)
There are thus 2 lakh people in the submergence area even today, with farming, schooling, markers horticulture, agriculture and all community life on.
There is still HOPE THAT THE VALLEY WOULD BE SAVED with everyone’s support and prompt, persistent intervention.
Medha Patkar Ashish Mandloi Yogini Khanolkar Ratan (Kernet)
NARMADA IN FULL SPATE AGAIN
GROSS ILLEGALITY AND CALLOUSNESS OF STATE EXPOSED
SAVE THE VALLEY – ENSURE JUSTICE
Narmada is in full spate, yet again! Maximum water has flown into the Sardar Sarovar dam affected areas since yesterday night, resulting into submergence of mainly farms, though the waters have also reached tens of houses and submerged some huts in the villages such as Kharya Bhadal in Badwani and Bhitada in Alirajpur (both in M.P.) and Chimalkhedi in Maharashtra. The swell in the waters has also been accentuated by release of waters from the reservoirs of the Tawa, Bargi Omkareshwar dams in the upstream.
The adivasis had to save their belongings, from the roaring sea-like Narmada by working over night while they have never even thought of leaving their villages, without fair and just rehabilitation, come what may. Not less than a few hundred farms / land holdings have got flooded with the rising waters and the crop stands destroyed in the hills and the plains.
Preliminary figures coming out are: 17 farms in Manibeli, 3 in Dhankhedi, 40 in Chimalkhedi, 3 in Sinduri, 33 in Bamni, 15 in Danel, 13 in Mukhdi, 4 in Savyari Digar as well as 19 in Bhadal (all in Maharashtra).
The numbers from Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh have not yet reached us since no means of communication were working and even the boats were defunct since the huge waves in Narmada did not relent. In village Kharya Bhadal in Badwani, however it is come to be known for sure that the farms of Lal sing and Jamsing which were not even acquired were submerged!! In Badwani (M.P.), farms in villages like Bhilkheda, Bavthi, Pichhodi too are flooded but marginally while the temples of Kalghat have gone under waters, though not the 3000-strong
thickly populated village.
In the region of Nimad, Narmada itself has come to help in establishing the fact that the adhocly changing Back Water levels (BWLs) and the related conflict amongst the central and state ministries and authorities on the one hand and the State of Madhya Pradesh. and its people on the other is exposing the fact of not just no rehabilitation, but not even the finalization of the total number of project affected families / villages, and the game of numbers continues.
Families in the villages of Gujarat who are not yet rehabilitated as per law and policy too have faced the brunt, but there is no concrete information reaching here till date. We are on the way to the villages and hence more info will come to you soon.
There has been no sign of the so called ‘mechanism of vigilance’ and support during submergence which the Government seemingly ‘plans’ and allots lakhs of rupees budget for and claims that it would ‘take care’ of the affected communities on a large scale and protect human life and property!
All this has proved the Government claims and affidavits to be false once again, since the families habitated in these villages have again faced destruction, in spite of their being entitled to rehabilitation prior to any submergence of any of their properties. The authorities such as NCA with the Ministry of Social Justice at the helm of affairs too have certainly failed in ensuing not just compliance but also instilling confidence in any one who is not begging for resettlement benefits but asserting his/her rights. Instead the huge corruption that the NVDA and State Governments have been involved in has exposed the hollow claims of rehabilitation, as Courts and Commission of inquiry continue to unearth corruption.
TAKE ACTION: WRITE TO AUTHORITIES: DEMAND JUSTICE
Come what may, the fight is on in the field and in the Court and we hope TRUTH WILL PREVAIL. We appeal to all conscientious supporters of ours to write to the concerned authorities, expressing your anguish and demanding immediate justice to the affected families:
1. Write to the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and Rehabilitation Minister of Maharashtra condemning the submergence and impact and demanding immediate purchase of private land and rehabilitation of all the hundreds of families.
(a) Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh
Ph: 0755-2551581, 0755-2551433; Fax: 0755-2551781, 0755-2540501
E-mail: cm@mp.nic.in
(b) Shri Ashok Chavan, Chief Minister, Maharashtra
Ph: 022-22025151, 022-22025222 ; Fax: 022-22029214, 23633272, 23631446
E-mail: chiefminister@maharashtra.gov.in
(c) Shri Dileep Deshmukh, Rehabilitation Minister, Maharashtra
Ph: 022-22875930; Fax: 022-22876342
E-mail: sec_r&r@maharashtra.gov.in
2. Write to Chairman and Director (Rehabilitation) of the statutory body, Narmada Control Authority, to play an honest role in monitoring the status of rehabilitation and not permitting any further submergence and further construction of SSP.
Dr. Afroz Ahmed, Director (Rehabilitation), NCA
Ph: 0731-2558603 (O) ; 0731-2574530 (R) ; Fax: 0731-2554333
E-mail: dir.rehab.nca@nic.in
3. Write to the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Minister of Environment and Forests to take appropriate action against the law-offending officials and authorities and ensure that NO submergence would occur without full rehabilitation, including guaranteeing alternative livelihoods and resettlement sites.
(a) Shri Mukul Wasnik, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
Tel No: 011-23381001, 23381390 (O); 011-24641888 (R)
Fax: 011-24636655 ; 011-23381902
E-mail: msje@nic.in , m_wasnik@hotmail.com
(b) Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Environment and Forests
Ph: 011-24361727, 23463958 ; 24362222 (Fax)
E-mail: mosef@nic.in , jairam@jairam-ramesh.com , jairam54@gmail.com
4. Urgently also write / fax to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court to convey your feelings and demanding protection of the constitutional rights of the affected population, asking if the courts are at least now convinced that justice needs to be accrued to the adivasis who are being forcibly and unceremoniously evicted from their home hearths and livelihoods?
Fax Nos: 011-23381508, 23381584, 23384336/23384533/23384447
E-mail: supremecourt@nic.in
Remember, even today, there are 40, 000 families in the submergence area of SSP and while no maximum flood has occurred this year also, if and when it occurs, anytime , any year, at the present height of 122 mts of dam wall, submergence threatens not less than 225 villages in 3 states including thickly populated 160 villages and 1 township in the plains of Nimad (M.P)
There are thus 2 lakh people in the submergence area even today, with farming, schooling, markers horticulture, agriculture and all community life on.
There is still HOPE THAT THE VALLEY WOULD BE SAVED with everyone’s support and prompt, persistent intervention.
Medha Patkar Ashish Mandloi Yogini Khanolkar Ratan (Kernet)
Violence – a major cause of mortality and disability
Violence – a major cause of mortality and disability
Alka Pande
Ten years back a Lucknow-based voluntary organisation saved a girl victim of incest as she was being sexually abused by her father for years. The girl was eleven years old at that time. She is 21 today and she is no more a victim of sexual violence. But, even today she is facing mental violence as the case carries on in the court. The girl is suffering from an injury caused to her first due to sexual abuse and then due to mental violence.
Over 600 million people all across the globe are living today with some kind of disability or injury, 40 percent of which are caused due to violence of some or the other kind. These disabilities remain 20 times more the number caused by all the crippling diseases combined together.
The situation is worse for women and children as the statistics confirm that one of every fourth woman and one of every fiftieth child experiences sexual violence and this violence is either from their intimate partner or from a close family member/relative.
According to WHO Global Burden of Disease data, in 2002, over 700,000 children under the age of 15 were killed by some or the other injury. There is a high morbidity associated with childhood injuries -- for each injured child, who dies there are several thousand children who live on with varying degrees of disabilities. A large proportion of these injuries (caused due to falls, burns, drowning) occur either in the safe surroundings of home or at the leisure environments. However, most of such cases are ignored or go unreported or just dismissed as accidents.
"Violence and injuries account for more than 5 million deaths every year. The consequent disabilities are 20 times higher, which make it 100 million per year and unfortunately 40 percent victim of which, are children," commented Dr Bhasker Banerji, an orthopaedic surgeon and director of "Viklang Kendra" (centre for the disabled), in Allahabad.
The Viklang Kendra is at present working as teaching and training centre in rehabilitation, paramedical, medical and allied branches, besides functioning as a centre for care of children suffering from cerebral palsy or autism. The Kendra is also a centre for orthopaedic surgeries, including joint replacement, spinal surgeries and plastic surgeries. The efforts are on to set up a trauma and regional spinal centre to cater to the population of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Dr Banerji was making a presentation on Disability: Protection and Prevention at UP Press Club in Lucknow. The presentation was organised by the UNICEF and Media Nest under their joint initiative "Media for Children."
One in every 50 children experiences sexual abuse by a close relative or family member. "Still when we are talking about violence, we do not raise cases of disability and mortality due to violence, which can come in different forms and at different shades, for example – the violence faced by children of sex workers, or cases of children living in turbulent/ unrest areas or children who become witness in criminal cases," had opined Tulika Srivastav, a noted lawyer and a social activist.
Citing the anomalies, injustice and mental violence which the children face during court cases, Tulika gave instance of a case in which 200 lawyers signed the "vakalatnama" (undersigned pledge to represent their client) whereas the child who was the witness of the prosecution, could get just one lawyer.
Both the legal practitioner Tulika Srivastav and the medical practitioner Bhasker Banerji advocated that it's high time we start paying attention to mortality and disability to children and women, who become victim to some or the other kind of violence.
Help a victim of violence and save your taxes:
Adopt a child with disability: Rs 20,000 per year.
Donate for education of ten spastic/autistic children: Rs 120,000 per year.
Donate for medical treatment of ten children with disabilities: Rs 10,000 per month.
Donate for an appliance for a child with disability: Rs 1,900 per appliance.
Pay for corrective surgery of one child with disability: Rs 12,000
Alka Pande
(The author is a senior journalist)
Alka Pande
Ten years back a Lucknow-based voluntary organisation saved a girl victim of incest as she was being sexually abused by her father for years. The girl was eleven years old at that time. She is 21 today and she is no more a victim of sexual violence. But, even today she is facing mental violence as the case carries on in the court. The girl is suffering from an injury caused to her first due to sexual abuse and then due to mental violence.
Over 600 million people all across the globe are living today with some kind of disability or injury, 40 percent of which are caused due to violence of some or the other kind. These disabilities remain 20 times more the number caused by all the crippling diseases combined together.
The situation is worse for women and children as the statistics confirm that one of every fourth woman and one of every fiftieth child experiences sexual violence and this violence is either from their intimate partner or from a close family member/relative.
According to WHO Global Burden of Disease data, in 2002, over 700,000 children under the age of 15 were killed by some or the other injury. There is a high morbidity associated with childhood injuries -- for each injured child, who dies there are several thousand children who live on with varying degrees of disabilities. A large proportion of these injuries (caused due to falls, burns, drowning) occur either in the safe surroundings of home or at the leisure environments. However, most of such cases are ignored or go unreported or just dismissed as accidents.
"Violence and injuries account for more than 5 million deaths every year. The consequent disabilities are 20 times higher, which make it 100 million per year and unfortunately 40 percent victim of which, are children," commented Dr Bhasker Banerji, an orthopaedic surgeon and director of "Viklang Kendra" (centre for the disabled), in Allahabad.
The Viklang Kendra is at present working as teaching and training centre in rehabilitation, paramedical, medical and allied branches, besides functioning as a centre for care of children suffering from cerebral palsy or autism. The Kendra is also a centre for orthopaedic surgeries, including joint replacement, spinal surgeries and plastic surgeries. The efforts are on to set up a trauma and regional spinal centre to cater to the population of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Dr Banerji was making a presentation on Disability: Protection and Prevention at UP Press Club in Lucknow. The presentation was organised by the UNICEF and Media Nest under their joint initiative "Media for Children."
One in every 50 children experiences sexual abuse by a close relative or family member. "Still when we are talking about violence, we do not raise cases of disability and mortality due to violence, which can come in different forms and at different shades, for example – the violence faced by children of sex workers, or cases of children living in turbulent/ unrest areas or children who become witness in criminal cases," had opined Tulika Srivastav, a noted lawyer and a social activist.
Citing the anomalies, injustice and mental violence which the children face during court cases, Tulika gave instance of a case in which 200 lawyers signed the "vakalatnama" (undersigned pledge to represent their client) whereas the child who was the witness of the prosecution, could get just one lawyer.
Both the legal practitioner Tulika Srivastav and the medical practitioner Bhasker Banerji advocated that it's high time we start paying attention to mortality and disability to children and women, who become victim to some or the other kind of violence.
Help a victim of violence and save your taxes:
Adopt a child with disability: Rs 20,000 per year.
Donate for education of ten spastic/autistic children: Rs 120,000 per year.
Donate for medical treatment of ten children with disabilities: Rs 10,000 per month.
Donate for an appliance for a child with disability: Rs 1,900 per appliance.
Pay for corrective surgery of one child with disability: Rs 12,000
Alka Pande
(The author is a senior journalist)
Positive Lives: Using photography to reduce HIV related stigma and prejudice
Positive Lives: Using photography to reduce HIV related stigma and prejudice
By using photographs of people living with HIV and their personal testimonies since 1993, Positive Lives (www.positivel
ives.org) has been dedicatedly fighting HIV-related stigma and prejudice in communities around the world. "We wanted to humanize the disease and so that people will see individuals living with HIV" said Kevin Ryan, a trustee of International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Project Director of Positive Lives.
Photographer Stephen Mayes and AIDS activist Lyndell Stein founded the Positive Lives Project in 1993 with a series of photographs and human stories of people living with HIV done to counter negative comments coming from the church, governments and other agencies about HIV. In 1993, given the high degrees of HIV-related stigma and prejudice, Positive Lives was undoubtedly a very innovative, bold and brave initiative to challenge the negative preconceptions about HIV. "Something has to be done to counter negative publicity and stigma and prejudice" says Kevin. "At the time there was no really effective medical treatment for HIV, because of which people used to become very sick and die with AIDS related illnesses. We wanted to humanize the disease and so that people will see individuals living with HIV. It was the first time, when faces of people who were living with HIV were shown in such a major and positive way" remarks Kevin.
The first public exhibition of Positive Lives was held in Central Gallery in London, UK, in 1993. Huge crowds flocked to see the Positive Lives exhibition making this initiative a corner stone in turning perceptions about HIV and countering negative publicity on HIV generated over past years. "It was also used as a platform to challenge the media's negative representation of people living with HIV (PLHIV)," says Kevin. "This exhibition was tremendously empowering for PLHIV community itself because it was the first time they were being seen as a human being and represented positively" further adds Kevin.
This exhibition was organized with support of a UK based charity, The Terrence Higgins Trust (www.tht.org.uk).
As a result of the success of the Positive Lives exhibition in London, and the enormous impact it had in countering the HIV-related stigma and prejudice, many organizations from around the world were making requests to use this initiative in countering stigma and prejudice they have to fight in their own communities. When Positive Lives exhibition was to be held in South Africa, it was consciously decided that it should be a "living exhibition" implying that new photographs of PLHIV and their personal testimonies will continue to be added on an ongoing basis, increasing the relevance of empowering stories and photographs and enhancing the impact in portraying HIV positively and countering negative publicity around HIV.
All photographs in Positive Lives initiative are taken by internationally acclaimed photographers from around the world. People whose stories and photographs appear have not only agreed upon their stories and faces being shown but were also explained what the Positive Lives project is about and how the photographs and personal testimonies will be used. In instances, where people weren't comfortable with their faces being shown, then the faces weren't shown. Also if these people consenting to show their photographs and share their stories, ever change their mind, then their decision is respected and photographs and stories removed from the Positive Lives archive.
Today, the Positive Lives archive has over 1,500 photographs and personal testimonies of people living with HIV - collected over the past 15 years from around the globe. "Photography is about respecting an individual, some stories are sad, some happy, every story is empowering" says Kevin. The International HIV/AIDS Alliance has committed to protect this archive of 1,500 empowering stories and photographs of PLHIV for times to come.
The Positive Lives Project works with many organizations, large and small, some community based, others international, agreeing on the values of the initiative and also on messaging to come up with effective and powerful photographs and stories to have the desired impact in communities. It works with country programmes and targetted marginalized groups around the world. "The Positive Lives engages hearts to change people's heads" says Kevin. The Positive Lives Project is in much in demand now and used in variety of settings - large galleries, exhibition spaces public spaces but also brothels, schools, market places, community centres, bars, hospitals, clinics, to name a few.
"People who make up positive lives are all volunteers - they do it because they believe it is an effective way to challenge stigma and prejudice" shares Kevin.
It is an effective tool to educate journalists about sensitive and humane reporting on HIV. It persuades governments to change their position on HIV policy, informs Kevin.
"As someone who is living with HIV, I find these stories inspiring, very brave, and a positive force to change people's attitude and make me feel good about myself" says Kevin.
The Positive Lives counterbalances the HIV-related negative portrayals, the ignorance and the lack of understanding that are at the core of the shame and discrimination that often surrounds those living with HIV. For more information on Positive Lives, go to: www.positivelives.org
Bobby Ramakant
(The author is a World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General's WNTD Awardee (2008), a Key Correspondent (www.HealthDev.net), and writes extensively on health and development. Email: bobbyramakant@yahoo.com)
Published in:
Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, India
Media for freedom, Nepal
Modern Ghana, Accra, Ghana
World News Network, USA
Manipur comments, India
Tweetmeme, Thailand
Citizen News Service (CNS)
The Morung Express, India
Med India News, India
Elites TV, USA
Bihar and Jharkhand News, Bihar And Jharkhand
HealthDev.net
Banderas News
HDN News, Thailand
News From Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Silobreaker.com
24dunia.com
Zivisoworldpress.com
Two days National Convention on RTI and NREGA concludes
Two days National Convention on RTI and NREGA concludes
The two days convention on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), being held under the aegis of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), concluded at Gandhi Bhawan, Lucknow on 10 September 2009. The convention was attended by about 400 people, from UP to Kerala, who projected their problems and solutions.
The first session was chaired by former Justice Mr Kamleshwar Nath, Mr SN Shukla (retd IAS), Mr IC Dwivedi, Mr Rakesh Mittal (retd IAS) and Mr SC Verma. Various problems encountered at the level of implementation of the RTI were highlighted in the presence of social activists Ms Aruna Roy and Mr Nikhil De. On the whole, it came out that the mind set of not giving the information is the biggest problem. It is clear that unless the information providers like Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appeal Authorities and information commissioners’ work with the proper mind-set, the people will not get the relief they want.
In the second session, the focus was on NREGA. The rural development commissioner Mr Manoj Kumar Singh, listened to the views of the labourers, social and political activists. Some of the major problems projected were: non-preparation of job cards, non-acceptance of applications for work, not getting 100 days work, non–abolition of contract system, taking out wages for fictitious work days, charging money forcibly after it is withdrawn from the bank account, improper social audit, persecution and assaulting the workers (or social activists for instance). Ms Aruna Roy suggested that every month a two day open session, at the state level, should be arranged between the workers, the concerned minister and officers for listening to the complaints and suggestions from the workers, and act upon these too. Mr Manoj Kumar Singh, rural development commissioner, welcomed the suggestion for providing 70-80 days of work to every labour family.
SR Darapuri (9415164845), Urvashi Sharma, Sandeep Pandey, Arundhati Dhuru
The two days convention on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), being held under the aegis of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), concluded at Gandhi Bhawan, Lucknow on 10 September 2009. The convention was attended by about 400 people, from UP to Kerala, who projected their problems and solutions.
The first session was chaired by former Justice Mr Kamleshwar Nath, Mr SN Shukla (retd IAS), Mr IC Dwivedi, Mr Rakesh Mittal (retd IAS) and Mr SC Verma. Various problems encountered at the level of implementation of the RTI were highlighted in the presence of social activists Ms Aruna Roy and Mr Nikhil De. On the whole, it came out that the mind set of not giving the information is the biggest problem. It is clear that unless the information providers like Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appeal Authorities and information commissioners’ work with the proper mind-set, the people will not get the relief they want.
In the second session, the focus was on NREGA. The rural development commissioner Mr Manoj Kumar Singh, listened to the views of the labourers, social and political activists. Some of the major problems projected were: non-preparation of job cards, non-acceptance of applications for work, not getting 100 days work, non–abolition of contract system, taking out wages for fictitious work days, charging money forcibly after it is withdrawn from the bank account, improper social audit, persecution and assaulting the workers (or social activists for instance). Ms Aruna Roy suggested that every month a two day open session, at the state level, should be arranged between the workers, the concerned minister and officers for listening to the complaints and suggestions from the workers, and act upon these too. Mr Manoj Kumar Singh, rural development commissioner, welcomed the suggestion for providing 70-80 days of work to every labour family.
SR Darapuri (9415164845), Urvashi Sharma, Sandeep Pandey, Arundhati Dhuru
National Convention on RTI and NREGA opens in Lucknow
National Convention on RTI and NREGA opens in Lucknow
A two day convention on Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) began today at Gandhi Bhawan, Lucknow under the aegis of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI). Activists and common citizens who have used the RTI Act to access information came to attend this convention from all over UP, as well as, from other parts of the country like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Delhi. More than five hundred participants were present. They shared their experiences with using this Act.
The highlight of the convention was the active participation by the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), UP, Mr Ranjit Singh Pankaj and Information Commissioner, Mr Virendra Saxena. It is noteworthy that any Information Commissioner in UP has come out after a gap of two years to interact with people on an open platform. Activist groups have been trying to engage the Information Commission as well as the administration to ensure proper implementation of the RTI Act, as well as, effective coordination between the Information Commission and the public at large. However, the administration had chosen not to participate in the past.
The issues raised by activists and citizens include: no response from Public Information Officers (PIOs) within the stipulated 30 days, lack of proper information and training at the level of PIOs, inactive role played by First Appeal Authority, First Appeal Authorities tend to protect the PIOs of their department, harassment of applicants at the level of PIOs sometimes leading to registration of criminal cases against them, large pendency in Information Commission, applicants have to make a number of visits to the Commission, PIOs not penalized under Section 20 of the Act which is mandatory and even if they are penalized the fine is not realized, non-compliance of Section 4(1)(b) by various departments. The inefficient functioning at the levels of PIOs and First Appeal Authority creates huge volume of complaints and appeals at the level of the Information Commission.
The CIC agreed that applicants should not be harassed by the PIOs and should not avoid fulfilling their responsibility by giving lame excuses. People also lamented the fact the PIOs come to the Commission at government’s expense whereas the applicants have to bear the expenses from their pockets.
Shri Pankaj, the CIC, assured that he would streamline the working of the Commission and would solve all the problems faced by applicants in the next 6 months.
Tomorrow, former IAS officer, Magsaysay Awardee and a noted social activist Aruna Roy and senior social activist Nikhil De will participate in this convention and give a boost to people’s campaign to ensure the effective implementation of the two Acts - RTI and NREGA. Commissioner, Rural Development, Mr Manoj Kumar Singh, will also attend the NREGA session in the afternoon to interact with labourers and activists.
Former IPS officer and vice president of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) SR Darapuri, noted author of books on RTI Dr Niraj Kumar, Izhar Ansari, Devdutt Sharma, journalist Akhilesh Saxena, Bahnu Pratap Dwivedi, noted RTI activist Urvashi Sharma, social activist Chunnilal, and Magsaysay Awardee (2002) and national convener of NAPM - Dr Sandeep Pandey had chaired the sessions of the first day of the two days convention.
- National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI)
Published in:
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Elites TV, USA
Wikio.com, UK
The South Asian News
Nabble.com
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A two day convention on Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) began today at Gandhi Bhawan, Lucknow under the aegis of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI). Activists and common citizens who have used the RTI Act to access information came to attend this convention from all over UP, as well as, from other parts of the country like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Delhi. More than five hundred participants were present. They shared their experiences with using this Act.
The highlight of the convention was the active participation by the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), UP, Mr Ranjit Singh Pankaj and Information Commissioner, Mr Virendra Saxena. It is noteworthy that any Information Commissioner in UP has come out after a gap of two years to interact with people on an open platform. Activist groups have been trying to engage the Information Commission as well as the administration to ensure proper implementation of the RTI Act, as well as, effective coordination between the Information Commission and the public at large. However, the administration had chosen not to participate in the past.
The issues raised by activists and citizens include: no response from Public Information Officers (PIOs) within the stipulated 30 days, lack of proper information and training at the level of PIOs, inactive role played by First Appeal Authority, First Appeal Authorities tend to protect the PIOs of their department, harassment of applicants at the level of PIOs sometimes leading to registration of criminal cases against them, large pendency in Information Commission, applicants have to make a number of visits to the Commission, PIOs not penalized under Section 20 of the Act which is mandatory and even if they are penalized the fine is not realized, non-compliance of Section 4(1)(b) by various departments. The inefficient functioning at the levels of PIOs and First Appeal Authority creates huge volume of complaints and appeals at the level of the Information Commission.
The CIC agreed that applicants should not be harassed by the PIOs and should not avoid fulfilling their responsibility by giving lame excuses. People also lamented the fact the PIOs come to the Commission at government’s expense whereas the applicants have to bear the expenses from their pockets.
Shri Pankaj, the CIC, assured that he would streamline the working of the Commission and would solve all the problems faced by applicants in the next 6 months.
Tomorrow, former IAS officer, Magsaysay Awardee and a noted social activist Aruna Roy and senior social activist Nikhil De will participate in this convention and give a boost to people’s campaign to ensure the effective implementation of the two Acts - RTI and NREGA. Commissioner, Rural Development, Mr Manoj Kumar Singh, will also attend the NREGA session in the afternoon to interact with labourers and activists.
Former IPS officer and vice president of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) SR Darapuri, noted author of books on RTI Dr Niraj Kumar, Izhar Ansari, Devdutt Sharma, journalist Akhilesh Saxena, Bahnu Pratap Dwivedi, noted RTI activist Urvashi Sharma, social activist Chunnilal, and Magsaysay Awardee (2002) and national convener of NAPM - Dr Sandeep Pandey had chaired the sessions of the first day of the two days convention.
- National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI)
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WHO's unique health emergency fund gets a boost from Timor‐Leste
WHO's unique health emergency fund gets a boost from Timor‐Leste
Timor‐Leste, the South‐East Asia Region’s youngest nation, has announced that it will make a contribution to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) unique million‐dollar health emergency fund, whose fast and flexible disbursement mechanism has already allowed it to make a difference to more than 200, 000 people affected by various humanitarian crises in the Region.
Timor‐Leste’s contribution of US$10, 000 to the South‐East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF) will add to the fund’s pool of US$1 million provided by the WHO Regional Office for South‐East Asia.
“From our history, we have seen the difference that prompt support can make to the lives of the people in humanitarian situations. That is why, today, we would like to give something back to support health in emergencies,” said Timor‐Leste’s Minister of Health, Dr Nelson Martins, currently in Kathmandu, Nepal, attending the annual South‐East Asian Region’s Health Ministers Meeting.
He added “It is a unique and important Fund that has already, since its inception, made a difference to the lives of those suffering humanitarian situations, in less than two years, since it was first used during Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in May 2008. We hope that it will continue to make a difference in emergencies in the Region.”
Dr Paramita Sudharto, WHO representative to Timor‐Leste said, “We are happy to receive this contribution from the Government of Timor‐Leste. This shows that Timor‐Leste is committed to global issues.”
In a disaster, speedy assistance can make all the difference between life and death. Yet most emergency funding takes days to arrive. The South‐East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund was launched in 2007 to bridge this gap. Its goal is to provide funds within 24 hours of a request from the Government following an emergency.
SEARHEF was first used following Cyclone Nargis which claimed over 130 000 lives in Myanmar in 2008. It has since been used to provide critical health needs in a number of emergencies, including the Kosi river floods in Nepal in 2008, and most recently, in the conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) separatist group which ended in May 2009.
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Timor‐Leste, the South‐East Asia Region’s youngest nation, has announced that it will make a contribution to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) unique million‐dollar health emergency fund, whose fast and flexible disbursement mechanism has already allowed it to make a difference to more than 200, 000 people affected by various humanitarian crises in the Region.
Timor‐Leste’s contribution of US$10, 000 to the South‐East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund (SEARHEF) will add to the fund’s pool of US$1 million provided by the WHO Regional Office for South‐East Asia.
“From our history, we have seen the difference that prompt support can make to the lives of the people in humanitarian situations. That is why, today, we would like to give something back to support health in emergencies,” said Timor‐Leste’s Minister of Health, Dr Nelson Martins, currently in Kathmandu, Nepal, attending the annual South‐East Asian Region’s Health Ministers Meeting.
He added “It is a unique and important Fund that has already, since its inception, made a difference to the lives of those suffering humanitarian situations, in less than two years, since it was first used during Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in May 2008. We hope that it will continue to make a difference in emergencies in the Region.”
Dr Paramita Sudharto, WHO representative to Timor‐Leste said, “We are happy to receive this contribution from the Government of Timor‐Leste. This shows that Timor‐Leste is committed to global issues.”
In a disaster, speedy assistance can make all the difference between life and death. Yet most emergency funding takes days to arrive. The South‐East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund was launched in 2007 to bridge this gap. Its goal is to provide funds within 24 hours of a request from the Government following an emergency.
SEARHEF was first used following Cyclone Nargis which claimed over 130 000 lives in Myanmar in 2008. It has since been used to provide critical health needs in a number of emergencies, including the Kosi river floods in Nepal in 2008, and most recently, in the conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) separatist group which ended in May 2009.
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Shazar Stone Designs: Painted On God's own Canvas!
Shazar Stone Designs: Painted On God's own Canvas!
Anjali Singh
Lucknow: One look at it and it will surely capture your imagination. No wonder pendants, bracelets, paper weights, tie pins, broaches and now even window panes all craved out with beautiful natural designs etched into the stone are a must have for every foreign tourist visiting Uttar Pradesh.
What are we talking about? Well, the most breathtakingly beautiful natural creation of nature-the Shazar Stone.
Also known as the Dendrite Agate the stone represents nature in its full glory. Natural and pristine it holds within its self beauty of the bygone era captured in its mosaic designs of shrubs, trees, waterfalls, scenic landscapes and even the Sun and the waves rippling in the river.
On the other hand it is special as it has a divine quality about it that will draw you to the ornaments made from it. And why not? When the designs have be created by a divine hand itself!
Making it even more unique is the fact that each design is different from the other and the delicate ivy like vines and creepers are not only perfectly created but naturally occurring as well. Leaving the spectator spell bound in disbelief.
“Anyone who see these stones thinks I have got the designs painted on them by an artist. But that is not so it takes a lot of convincing to get them to understand that these are miracles of nature and are created by biological process in the earth,” explains Gaurav Gupta, an exporter of the Shazar Stone Jewellery .
But how does the scenic patterns emerge on the stone?
“Its very simple,” avers Gaurav, “The stone is formed by the seepage of liquid manganese and iron minerals in the layers of liquid silica oxid. This gets solidified by nature in thousands and millions of years. The agate itself with dendrite inclusion becomes semi-precious with a hardness of 7 on moh’s scale near to Topaz and Sapphire. Slowly over the years the patterns emerge on the stone. A finished, polished stone when set into precious metals like gold or silver becomes a lady’s delight and a treasured possession. As no two stones are similar in any way, once you have a piece it becomes unique to you as nobody can acquire a duplicate of it. The patterns, color and shape of the stone is rare in every rock and never repeated again even by mother nature.”
As alluring as that sounds the prospect of owning the one and only ornament design of it’s kind acts as the jewellry’s biggest brand promotion. With buyers from as far as Switzerland, Paris and Germany coming all the way to Lucknow to pick a piece up. Some even have it shipped all the way to their doorstep and Gaurav, who is the only exporter in India of the Shazar Jewellery is more than happy to oblige.
But it was not easy to capture the attention of the international markets. Though Gaurav today is the only exporter of Shazar Jewellery, he had to work hard to create a market for the stone.
Says he, “I first saw the stone at a seminar I had attended in New Delhi where some foreign tourist were wearing it. It caught my attention as the work was very intricate and the look of the ornament was very captivating unlike anything I had ever seen before. When I inquired about it they told me that it was a natural stone and the design was only one of its kind. But when they told me from where they purchased it I was dumb struck as living in Uttar Pradesh since birth I had never heard of the Shazar Stone!”
His curiosity grew and Gaurav set about researching the stone and tracked it down to the riversides of Banda in Uttar Pradesh.
“I was surprised to see that it was being cut from the stones strewn around the river bed by the laborers working there. Untrained and amateurs they were unable to recognize the designs and even ended up ruining it by smashing the stones to be used for construction material. On looking closer I was able to see designs of scenery, Om, 786, cross and even swastika. I immediately decided to develop it as ornaments and the rest is history,” he laughs.
That was then in 2000 and today nine years later he has seen a rail engines, all the holy signs, animal figurines and a number of designs of flowers, vines, landscapes etc etched on these stones.
Explains Guarav, “Agate being a religious stone among Islamic Community it’s preferred by them i.e. in the Middle East Countries the stone is all the more sacred to them as it finds mention in the holy Quran as a healing stone. It has been known to cure ailments like B.P, Chronic ailments, depression etc and protect its wearer from all harm.”
Quite a mystery stone this!
Anjali Singh
(The author is a Special Correspondent to Citizen News Service (CNS) and also the Director of Saaksham Foundation. Email: anjali@citizen-news.org)
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Anjali Singh
Lucknow: One look at it and it will surely capture your imagination. No wonder pendants, bracelets, paper weights, tie pins, broaches and now even window panes all craved out with beautiful natural designs etched into the stone are a must have for every foreign tourist visiting Uttar Pradesh.
What are we talking about? Well, the most breathtakingly beautiful natural creation of nature-the Shazar Stone.
Also known as the Dendrite Agate the stone represents nature in its full glory. Natural and pristine it holds within its self beauty of the bygone era captured in its mosaic designs of shrubs, trees, waterfalls, scenic landscapes and even the Sun and the waves rippling in the river.
On the other hand it is special as it has a divine quality about it that will draw you to the ornaments made from it. And why not? When the designs have be created by a divine hand itself!
Making it even more unique is the fact that each design is different from the other and the delicate ivy like vines and creepers are not only perfectly created but naturally occurring as well. Leaving the spectator spell bound in disbelief.
“Anyone who see these stones thinks I have got the designs painted on them by an artist. But that is not so it takes a lot of convincing to get them to understand that these are miracles of nature and are created by biological process in the earth,” explains Gaurav Gupta, an exporter of the Shazar Stone Jewellery .
But how does the scenic patterns emerge on the stone?
“Its very simple,” avers Gaurav, “The stone is formed by the seepage of liquid manganese and iron minerals in the layers of liquid silica oxid. This gets solidified by nature in thousands and millions of years. The agate itself with dendrite inclusion becomes semi-precious with a hardness of 7 on moh’s scale near to Topaz and Sapphire. Slowly over the years the patterns emerge on the stone. A finished, polished stone when set into precious metals like gold or silver becomes a lady’s delight and a treasured possession. As no two stones are similar in any way, once you have a piece it becomes unique to you as nobody can acquire a duplicate of it. The patterns, color and shape of the stone is rare in every rock and never repeated again even by mother nature.”
As alluring as that sounds the prospect of owning the one and only ornament design of it’s kind acts as the jewellry’s biggest brand promotion. With buyers from as far as Switzerland, Paris and Germany coming all the way to Lucknow to pick a piece up. Some even have it shipped all the way to their doorstep and Gaurav, who is the only exporter in India of the Shazar Jewellery is more than happy to oblige.
But it was not easy to capture the attention of the international markets. Though Gaurav today is the only exporter of Shazar Jewellery, he had to work hard to create a market for the stone.
Says he, “I first saw the stone at a seminar I had attended in New Delhi where some foreign tourist were wearing it. It caught my attention as the work was very intricate and the look of the ornament was very captivating unlike anything I had ever seen before. When I inquired about it they told me that it was a natural stone and the design was only one of its kind. But when they told me from where they purchased it I was dumb struck as living in Uttar Pradesh since birth I had never heard of the Shazar Stone!”
His curiosity grew and Gaurav set about researching the stone and tracked it down to the riversides of Banda in Uttar Pradesh.
“I was surprised to see that it was being cut from the stones strewn around the river bed by the laborers working there. Untrained and amateurs they were unable to recognize the designs and even ended up ruining it by smashing the stones to be used for construction material. On looking closer I was able to see designs of scenery, Om, 786, cross and even swastika. I immediately decided to develop it as ornaments and the rest is history,” he laughs.
That was then in 2000 and today nine years later he has seen a rail engines, all the holy signs, animal figurines and a number of designs of flowers, vines, landscapes etc etched on these stones.
Explains Guarav, “Agate being a religious stone among Islamic Community it’s preferred by them i.e. in the Middle East Countries the stone is all the more sacred to them as it finds mention in the holy Quran as a healing stone. It has been known to cure ailments like B.P, Chronic ailments, depression etc and protect its wearer from all harm.”
Quite a mystery stone this!
Anjali Singh
(The author is a Special Correspondent to Citizen News Service (CNS) and also the Director of Saaksham Foundation. Email: anjali@citizen-news.org)
Published in:
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"Good health is India's basic need": Easier said than done!
"Good health is India's basic need": Easier said than done Mr Prime Minister!
“Good health is one of our basic needs” said India’s Prime Minister Dr Mammohan Singh in his speech on the last Independence Day (15 August 2009).
But this basic health need is denied to the millions of those disadvantaged in India. “India is fifth from the bottom in the world if we look at the government expenditure on health,” said Dr Amit Sengupta from People’s Health Movement (PHM) and All India People’s Science Network, at a meeting in Delhi recently. With a battery of vertical health interventions and research, funded by sources other than government, sustainability is undoubtedly of key concern.
Those who are dealing with most preventable causes of diseases, disabilities and deaths on daily basis, are slipping farther away from accessing the existing healthcare services as a direct impact of neo liberalization and globalization policies which India is aggressively pursuing, including and not limited to, the range of free trade agreements (FTAs) India has entered into or negotiating with countries – that in effect – are likely to take away access to seeds, health, livelihood and dignity from the most underserved communities. Is this the way India is going to ensure every citizen has good health?
According to a report by Asian Development Bank (ADB), 41.6% Indians live below poverty line and the income gap between the rich and the poor is widening as a consequence of its “development” paradigm. Growing concentrated populations of people living in extreme poverty and hunger exist in India, in urban and rural areas both. In 19 Asian economies, including the most populous China and India, more than 10% of people live on less than USD 1.25 a day and more than 10% are malnourished.
With appalling health systems left to serve the healthcare needs of an increasing deprived population in urban and rural areas, Mr Prime Minister, how are we going to save these lives that, by the way, form the foundation of our production economy?
The skewed health priorities are obvious. Not to say that vertical health interventions are not adequately funded, but to argue that all health priorities – set by the people – should be optimally funded and addressed to make true the commitment of Manmohan Singh to ensure good health for all.
“There is clear evidence that public financing is critical for good healthcare and health outcomes in any country. Yet in India, only 15% of the Rs 1,500 billion healthcare sector is publicly financed. Investment and expenditure in the public health sector is shrinking” had said Ravi Duggal, in a paper published by Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT). “In a situation of continuing poverty, this can only lead to increased adversities in health outcomes” further adds Duggal in that paper.
When Mr Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister of India in 2004, his ascendency to this office also coincided with the release of India Health Report (IHR). IHR was undertaken as a background study for the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s Commission on Macroeconomics and Health. According to the India Health Report, the biggest problems with the health system are the lack of government spending and the inefficiencies and misuse of the meagre resources that are available. It highlighted the importance of investing in health to promote economic development and reduce poverty. Extending the coverage of crucial health services, including a relatively small number of specific interventions, to the world's poor could save millions of lives each year, reduce poverty, spur economic development, and promote global security. Years since then, Mr Singh got the second term as Prime Minister and had made a commitment to achieve good “health for all” (by the way in 1978 India had committed to Alma Ata Declaration to achieve health for all by 2000, and miserably failed to keep the promise), yet the situation for the millions of people haven’t changed much.
No one should die due to entirely preventable causes like hunger, malnutrition, diabetes, chikungunya, malaria, polio, tuberculosis, HIV, diarrhea, dengue, influenza (about 600 die daily due to common flu), swine flu, and a range of other infectious and non-infectious diseases people of India are dealing with on daily basis. Add to this the other direct non-medical conditions that exacerbate the vulnerabilities of people to diseases, disabilities and deaths – poor infection control, lack of safe water, sanitation, and a complex matrix of other development indices.
For instance, the largest ever mass immunization campaign against polio since 2003 (and adequately funded), the war against polio isn’t over. Highest numbers of polio cases get reported from India even today. India not only is failing on polio immunization, it is also failing to provide routine immunization to new born children. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) – III, the all-India average of children getting routine immunization is 43.5 per cent, which is a nominal improvement from the 42 per cent in the NFHS-II in 1998-99. It is clear that India is failing miserably to provide routine immunization to more than 50% of children even after 63 years of Independence.
Infant and maternal mortality rates continue to cloud the tall claims on health in India. There has been an increase in the number of pregnant anaemic women by 8% since the NFHS-II.
Take another example, which is probably as old as Independent India – the fight against TB after discovery of effective powerful anti-TB drugs in 1940s. Despite of global accolades and awards received by India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), the number of drug-resistant TB cases is escalating – which according to the WHO is due to poor TB programme performance. According to the recent research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, drug-resistant strains of TB are just as likely to be transmitted between people as drug-sensitive TB, which could make drug-resistant forms of TB "highly prevalent in the next few decades". The study also found that 99% of patients who had anti-TB drug resistance, didn’t contract the drug-resistant strain as a direct result of treatment failure (so stop blaming TB patients) but as a result of transmission of drug-resistant TB from initial TB treatment failure of someone else. Treatment options for those with drug-resistant TB are seriously limited and it costs USD 7000 to treat a single patient. With India’s 1/3 population estimated to be living with latent TB, and alarmingly poor standards of infection control even in healthcare settings, Mr Prime Minister, I am wondering without radical people-centric healthcare reforms how else are we going to realize your statement?
We trust your intentions Mr Prime Minister, however the recent aggressiveness with which your government is pushing the negotiations for FTAs with countries, we honestly doubt the outcome. India is currently negotiating 19 regional trade agreements; four in the pipeline (China, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia); 10 that have been concluded and at least 17 trade talks at various stages with US, Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chile, Korea, among others. Such FTAs commit countries not only to fast-track liberalisation of trade in goods, such as agricultural, and fish products, but bring in new rules for trade in services, workers rights, etc. and stringent intellectual property standards that affect, seed uses, essential medicines and small scale industries. With access to food, livelihood, health and a life of dignity at stake of a large majority of our population, we are left with no clue how is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh going to realize what he has committed us with on the last Independence Day – good health for all?
The provisions on intellectual property rights in FTAs that are legally binding on India will jeopardize generic production of medicines and also the access of those who need these essential life-saving medicines the most. FTAs are also adversely affecting patents – and threatening to undo the gains made earlier by civil society on protecting generic production of essential medicines. Until 2005 India excluded pharmaceutical products from patenting (under 1970 Patents Act). However in 2005, the WTO TRIPS Agreement was fully implemented and medicines become patentable everywhere. India started granting product patents following amendment of the Patents Act in 2005.
“It is crucial for us to stop the FTA negotiations, because our lives are at stake. I know I might get arrested or injured in clashes with police, but we are all willing to face that, because we have more to lose if the [FTA] talks succeed” said a presentation credited to Loon Gangte, President of Delhi Network of people living with HIV (DNP+) and a board member of World Care Council (WCC) in Asia in a meeting recently (Loon was not present, his presentation took place with someone else narrating). “Essential medicines are not luxury goods, to be reserved for the wealthiest of the world but are too often priced like them, causing preventable suffering and death” remarked Loon's slides. The monopoly keeps prices high – essential drugs can be 100 times more expensive due to this monopoly of drug manufacturers.
These corporate led government negotiations in FTAs are further going to exacerbate the health crisis. The patent protection on medicines in developing countries shuts down domestic production of medicines which will clearly make healthcare inaccessible to the population that needs it most.
As per the WHO Global Price Reporting Mechanism, 92% of patients on anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) in low- and middle-income countries use generic drugs mostly produced in India (2007- 2008). 92% of patients on ARVs in low- and middle-income countries use generic drugs mostly from India (2007- 2008). 67 % of medicines exports from India go to developing countries. Approximately 50% of the essential medicines that UNICEF distributes in developing countries come from India. 75-80% of all medicines distributed by the International Dispensary Association (IDA) are manufactured in India. Lesotho, buys nearly 95% of all ARVs from India. In Zimbabwe, 75% of tenders for medicines for all public sector health facilities come from India. All ARV medications (100%) supplied by India’s National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) come from domestic generic companies. This is clearly under threat if FTA negotiations go forward.
The stakes are high for people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease, blood pressure and other chronic conditions whose survival depends on availability of affordable drugs. What happens in India will impact the whole of the developing and least developed world.
Rapid advances that India has reported in healthcare recently, sadly doesn’t reflect the needs of the underserved communities. It rather stinks of capitalism, sorry.
Take for instance, exponential growth of medical tourism – it had a market of USD 310 million in 2005-2006 with 100,000 medical tourists every year which is predicted to grow to USD 2 billion by 2012. India has also become the largest exporter of medical personnel in the globe – 41,000 trained Indian doctors work in the US! “Medical tourism and medical personnel exports are drawing away resources and personnel from providing health care for the Indian people” explains Dr Amit Sengupta. Making India the “basket case” in terms of Health Care in the World – with indicators now worse than that of Bangladesh and Nepal, it is clear that India is slipping further away from achieving what its Prime Minister has committed to weeks ago.
“Good health is one of our basic needs. The National Rural Health Mission that we have started aims at strengthening the infrastructure for rural public health services. We will expand the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana so as to cover each family below the poverty line. In our journey on the road of development we will pay special attention to the needs of our differently abled brothers and sisters. We will increase facilities available for them” had said the Prime Minister. We, the people, want to partner with you Sir to bring this dream come true – only if we are treated as partners and not as commodity to serve the healthcare industries.
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“Good health is one of our basic needs” said India’s Prime Minister Dr Mammohan Singh in his speech on the last Independence Day (15 August 2009).
But this basic health need is denied to the millions of those disadvantaged in India. “India is fifth from the bottom in the world if we look at the government expenditure on health,” said Dr Amit Sengupta from People’s Health Movement (PHM) and All India People’s Science Network, at a meeting in Delhi recently. With a battery of vertical health interventions and research, funded by sources other than government, sustainability is undoubtedly of key concern.
Those who are dealing with most preventable causes of diseases, disabilities and deaths on daily basis, are slipping farther away from accessing the existing healthcare services as a direct impact of neo liberalization and globalization policies which India is aggressively pursuing, including and not limited to, the range of free trade agreements (FTAs) India has entered into or negotiating with countries – that in effect – are likely to take away access to seeds, health, livelihood and dignity from the most underserved communities. Is this the way India is going to ensure every citizen has good health?
According to a report by Asian Development Bank (ADB), 41.6% Indians live below poverty line and the income gap between the rich and the poor is widening as a consequence of its “development” paradigm. Growing concentrated populations of people living in extreme poverty and hunger exist in India, in urban and rural areas both. In 19 Asian economies, including the most populous China and India, more than 10% of people live on less than USD 1.25 a day and more than 10% are malnourished.
With appalling health systems left to serve the healthcare needs of an increasing deprived population in urban and rural areas, Mr Prime Minister, how are we going to save these lives that, by the way, form the foundation of our production economy?
The skewed health priorities are obvious. Not to say that vertical health interventions are not adequately funded, but to argue that all health priorities – set by the people – should be optimally funded and addressed to make true the commitment of Manmohan Singh to ensure good health for all.
“There is clear evidence that public financing is critical for good healthcare and health outcomes in any country. Yet in India, only 15% of the Rs 1,500 billion healthcare sector is publicly financed. Investment and expenditure in the public health sector is shrinking” had said Ravi Duggal, in a paper published by Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT). “In a situation of continuing poverty, this can only lead to increased adversities in health outcomes” further adds Duggal in that paper.
When Mr Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister of India in 2004, his ascendency to this office also coincided with the release of India Health Report (IHR). IHR was undertaken as a background study for the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s Commission on Macroeconomics and Health. According to the India Health Report, the biggest problems with the health system are the lack of government spending and the inefficiencies and misuse of the meagre resources that are available. It highlighted the importance of investing in health to promote economic development and reduce poverty. Extending the coverage of crucial health services, including a relatively small number of specific interventions, to the world's poor could save millions of lives each year, reduce poverty, spur economic development, and promote global security. Years since then, Mr Singh got the second term as Prime Minister and had made a commitment to achieve good “health for all” (by the way in 1978 India had committed to Alma Ata Declaration to achieve health for all by 2000, and miserably failed to keep the promise), yet the situation for the millions of people haven’t changed much.
No one should die due to entirely preventable causes like hunger, malnutrition, diabetes, chikungunya, malaria, polio, tuberculosis, HIV, diarrhea, dengue, influenza (about 600 die daily due to common flu), swine flu, and a range of other infectious and non-infectious diseases people of India are dealing with on daily basis. Add to this the other direct non-medical conditions that exacerbate the vulnerabilities of people to diseases, disabilities and deaths – poor infection control, lack of safe water, sanitation, and a complex matrix of other development indices.
For instance, the largest ever mass immunization campaign against polio since 2003 (and adequately funded), the war against polio isn’t over. Highest numbers of polio cases get reported from India even today. India not only is failing on polio immunization, it is also failing to provide routine immunization to new born children. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) – III, the all-India average of children getting routine immunization is 43.5 per cent, which is a nominal improvement from the 42 per cent in the NFHS-II in 1998-99. It is clear that India is failing miserably to provide routine immunization to more than 50% of children even after 63 years of Independence.
Infant and maternal mortality rates continue to cloud the tall claims on health in India. There has been an increase in the number of pregnant anaemic women by 8% since the NFHS-II.
Take another example, which is probably as old as Independent India – the fight against TB after discovery of effective powerful anti-TB drugs in 1940s. Despite of global accolades and awards received by India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), the number of drug-resistant TB cases is escalating – which according to the WHO is due to poor TB programme performance. According to the recent research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, drug-resistant strains of TB are just as likely to be transmitted between people as drug-sensitive TB, which could make drug-resistant forms of TB "highly prevalent in the next few decades". The study also found that 99% of patients who had anti-TB drug resistance, didn’t contract the drug-resistant strain as a direct result of treatment failure (so stop blaming TB patients) but as a result of transmission of drug-resistant TB from initial TB treatment failure of someone else. Treatment options for those with drug-resistant TB are seriously limited and it costs USD 7000 to treat a single patient. With India’s 1/3 population estimated to be living with latent TB, and alarmingly poor standards of infection control even in healthcare settings, Mr Prime Minister, I am wondering without radical people-centric healthcare reforms how else are we going to realize your statement?
We trust your intentions Mr Prime Minister, however the recent aggressiveness with which your government is pushing the negotiations for FTAs with countries, we honestly doubt the outcome. India is currently negotiating 19 regional trade agreements; four in the pipeline (China, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia); 10 that have been concluded and at least 17 trade talks at various stages with US, Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chile, Korea, among others. Such FTAs commit countries not only to fast-track liberalisation of trade in goods, such as agricultural, and fish products, but bring in new rules for trade in services, workers rights, etc. and stringent intellectual property standards that affect, seed uses, essential medicines and small scale industries. With access to food, livelihood, health and a life of dignity at stake of a large majority of our population, we are left with no clue how is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh going to realize what he has committed us with on the last Independence Day – good health for all?
The provisions on intellectual property rights in FTAs that are legally binding on India will jeopardize generic production of medicines and also the access of those who need these essential life-saving medicines the most. FTAs are also adversely affecting patents – and threatening to undo the gains made earlier by civil society on protecting generic production of essential medicines. Until 2005 India excluded pharmaceutical products from patenting (under 1970 Patents Act). However in 2005, the WTO TRIPS Agreement was fully implemented and medicines become patentable everywhere. India started granting product patents following amendment of the Patents Act in 2005.
“It is crucial for us to stop the FTA negotiations, because our lives are at stake. I know I might get arrested or injured in clashes with police, but we are all willing to face that, because we have more to lose if the [FTA] talks succeed” said a presentation credited to Loon Gangte, President of Delhi Network of people living with HIV (DNP+) and a board member of World Care Council (WCC) in Asia in a meeting recently (Loon was not present, his presentation took place with someone else narrating). “Essential medicines are not luxury goods, to be reserved for the wealthiest of the world but are too often priced like them, causing preventable suffering and death” remarked Loon's slides. The monopoly keeps prices high – essential drugs can be 100 times more expensive due to this monopoly of drug manufacturers.
These corporate led government negotiations in FTAs are further going to exacerbate the health crisis. The patent protection on medicines in developing countries shuts down domestic production of medicines which will clearly make healthcare inaccessible to the population that needs it most.
As per the WHO Global Price Reporting Mechanism, 92% of patients on anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) in low- and middle-income countries use generic drugs mostly produced in India (2007- 2008). 92% of patients on ARVs in low- and middle-income countries use generic drugs mostly from India (2007- 2008). 67 % of medicines exports from India go to developing countries. Approximately 50% of the essential medicines that UNICEF distributes in developing countries come from India. 75-80% of all medicines distributed by the International Dispensary Association (IDA) are manufactured in India. Lesotho, buys nearly 95% of all ARVs from India. In Zimbabwe, 75% of tenders for medicines for all public sector health facilities come from India. All ARV medications (100%) supplied by India’s National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) come from domestic generic companies. This is clearly under threat if FTA negotiations go forward.
The stakes are high for people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease, blood pressure and other chronic conditions whose survival depends on availability of affordable drugs. What happens in India will impact the whole of the developing and least developed world.
Rapid advances that India has reported in healthcare recently, sadly doesn’t reflect the needs of the underserved communities. It rather stinks of capitalism, sorry.
Take for instance, exponential growth of medical tourism – it had a market of USD 310 million in 2005-2006 with 100,000 medical tourists every year which is predicted to grow to USD 2 billion by 2012. India has also become the largest exporter of medical personnel in the globe – 41,000 trained Indian doctors work in the US! “Medical tourism and medical personnel exports are drawing away resources and personnel from providing health care for the Indian people” explains Dr Amit Sengupta. Making India the “basket case” in terms of Health Care in the World – with indicators now worse than that of Bangladesh and Nepal, it is clear that India is slipping further away from achieving what its Prime Minister has committed to weeks ago.
“Good health is one of our basic needs. The National Rural Health Mission that we have started aims at strengthening the infrastructure for rural public health services. We will expand the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana so as to cover each family below the poverty line. In our journey on the road of development we will pay special attention to the needs of our differently abled brothers and sisters. We will increase facilities available for them” had said the Prime Minister. We, the people, want to partner with you Sir to bring this dream come true – only if we are treated as partners and not as commodity to serve the healthcare industries.
Published in:
Northern Voice Online, India
Media For Freedom, Nepal
Modern Ghana, Accra, Ghana
World News Network, USA
Citizen News Service (CNS)
Weeklyblitz News, Daka, Bangladesh
Scoop World News, New Zealand
Indonesia Post, Indonesia
Bihar and Jharkhand News, Bihar And Jharkhand, India
Khabar Express News, India
Silobreaker.com
World Care Council
Daylife.com
HealthDev.net
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