CNS: December 2010

Lucknow citizens come out in support of Dr Binayak Sen

A public demonstration was staged in Lucknow by various citizens and people's organizations and citizens in support of Dr Binayak Sen and to condemn the fraudulent punishment by the Court against Dr Binayak Sen. Across the country, citizens have taken to the streets protesting against the charges levelled against the prestigious 'Jonathan Mann Awardee for Global Health and Human Rights' (2008) Dr Binayak Sen, who is a well-known paediatrician and human rights defender in Chhattisgarh.

One of the most powerful and cost-effective mediums to educate consumers about the hazards of smoking is the pictorial health warning on the package of tobacco products itself. It has universal reach, and the cost of package warnings is paid for by the tobacco companies, not the government. It is empirically established from the experiences of other countries that strong pictorial health warnings on tobacco products are powerful communication tools that can take the message of the health hazards of tobacco to the masses, including the illiterate. Health warnings on tobacco product packages are critical to any effective tobacco control strategy, as they deter non starters and motivate consumers to quit. Read more

Christmas wasn't merry...
2011 will be unhappy
until Dr. Binayak Sen is free!
Some of us were fortunate to spend a few hours with this soft spoken civil liberties activist sometime back. His humility was touching and inspiring. It is extremely painful that an insecure state has imprisoned him again on irrational grounds. We hope that this humane spirit will return to remote parts of rural Chattisgarh to continue working for the benefit of some of the most excluded Indians through his organization, Rupantar, soon. Read more

Before leaving Diyarbakir on 19th December, 2010, for the last stop-over in Turkey, Gaziantep, the Asia to Gaza Solidarity Caravan visited the grave of Ali Haydar Bengi, the local man who got killed in the Israeli attack on flotilla from Turkey on 31 May, 2010, in international waters of Mediterrean Sea. His is one among the many graves with flowers planted on top in the graveyard but Bengi is now considered a proud martyr in Turkey as well as among Kurds. The members of caravan stood in silence for some moments at his grave. Read more

It is Christmas time once again. It is the season of rejoicing; of giving and receiving; of raising our hands in Thanksgiving. My earliest recollections of Christmas festivities are associated with the socks which, we as children (even in Hindu homes), would hang up somewhere (not by the fireside, as there would be none) on Christmas Eve for Father Christmas to fill up. We were always rewarded with sweets or a story book, or something similar, which was sometimes found tucked under our pillows next morning, if it did not fit inside our small socks. But then, we had small desires and these simple gifts made us immensely happy. Read more

The 70th Annual conference of the Association of Surgeons of India ASICON 2010, held recently in New Delhi was one of the largest medical conferences of surgeons in the world. Over 7000 national and international delegates from India, England, Scotland, USA, Egypt and SAARC nations attended the conference. Read more

The first Asia to Gaza solidarity caravan reached Tibriz from Tehran (Iran) on 13th December, 2010. On the way the people of Zanjan welcomed the caravan and offered lunch. The mayor of Tibriz, Alireza Novin, hosted the caravan. The member of the caravan from Republic of Azerbaijan, Hakim Alijade, was the most popular with the crowd as he spoke in Turkish which is a popular language in this region of Iran. Infact, Tibriz falls in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran. Upon reaching Tibriz and two days before crossing over into Turkey the caravan was greeted by the morale boosting news that seven members of parliament of Iran have decided to join the caravan to Gaza. Read more

One of the best chances of stemming the tide of tuberculosis (TB) epidemic in low- and middle- income countries is to thwart the transmission cycle – by diagnosing TB early, and treating it successfully without delay. The microscope has been around since 1882 as the key standard TB diagnostic tool, and with low sensitivity (50-60%) and other challenges in detecting TB in varying conditions and co-morbidities, it is clear that it is high time we use better, more effective and efficient tools to accurately detect TB, and neither mis-diagnose nor miss TB diagnosis in myriad settings. Read more

Flashback: CNS Stop-TB Initiative in 2010

As we move towards the end of 2010, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all Seasons Greetings and a happy, healthy and peaceful new year in 2011. We at CNS Stop-TB Initiative will like to thank our thousands of visitors for their support and participation on a range of issues around tuberculosis (TB) control and TB-HIV co-infection. Read more

The 70th annual conference of Association of Surgeons of India (ASICON) being held in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) campus, New Delhi, India, is showcasing recent and most modern advancements in surgery. More than 7000 surgeons from India and other countries are participating in ASICON 2010 (15-20 December ,2010), said Dr NK Pandey, national President of Association of Surgeons of India (ASI) and Managing Director of Asian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS). Dr Pandey is a recepient of the most coveted award in medicine in India - Dr BC Roy Award. Read more

Although significant advances in tuberculosis (TB) control have taken place over the past years, the TB levels are not going down as fast as expected earlier (10% decline every year was projected). Not to say that commendable work hasn’t happened in TB control – rather TB control has received major thrust over the past decade certainly in terms of programming, strategy (new Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015 was just released in October 2010), funding and research initiatives as well. However despite of all the good, the new TB cases continue to emerge and TB levels haven't reduced as earlier estimated (TB rates are coming down, but coming down too slowly). Read more

The TB Photovoice Project, the winner of the 2010 TB Survival Prize, started as a one man's way to deal with the loss of his beloved ones to tuberculosis (TB). By now, it is touching the lives of many people around the world, helping – through pictures and narratives – to empower and raise the voices of persons and communities affected by the disease. Read more

Asia to Gaza Caravan
After overcoming the initial obstacles in South Asia, where, first the Pakistani government denied visas to some Indians, then Indian government delayed permission to those of its citizens who had obtained visas from the Pakistani government to cross the Wagha border on foot, and the biggest disappointment in the form of denial by Pakistani government to permit the caravan to travel the land route through Balochistan, the peace activists assembled in Zahedan after flying into Iran via Tehran. This is where they would have arrived if they had followed the land route from Delhi through India and Pakistan. Read more

Over 100 girl students of Husain Chutki Bhandar Inter College participated in a poster making and debate competition on the theme 'present condition of youth and their rights.' The competitors from classes 9 to 11, through the medium of brush, colors and words added their voice and support to the urgent need of a youth policy for Uttar Pradesh, which has a large population of youth. The movement for a legal youth policy for the state is being spear-headed through Uttar Pradesh Youth policy advocacy campaign. Read more

Last week, 33 organizations across India issued the following statement in support of Tehelka reporter Shahina KK. She faces charges from the Karnataka Police under IPC 506 for intimidating witnesses. Her expose in The Tehelka showed how the police case against Abdul Nasar Madani, head of the People's Democratic Front (PDP), accused in 2008 Bengaluru blasts, was fragile and based on non-existent and false testimonies. Read more

The "International Symposium on TB Diagnostics: Innovating to make an impact" (ITBS 2010) shall soon be held in New Delhi, India during 16-17 December 2010. It is being organized by the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB). ITBS 2010 is being co-sponsored by Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND). Read more

Those Were The Days In Lucknow

S H O B H A S H U K L A - C N S

Oft in the noisy nights, when smog hides the starry lights, the wafting smells of childhood make my world look bright.

Those were the days when innocence had not lost its naivety to the allure of the mobile phone, or the ready access to internet porn sites, or the dizzying effect of television reality shows.

An Asia to Gaza caravan is being planned from New Delhi to Gaza during the month of December, 2010, as part of the international effort to break the three year old blockade of Gaza by Israeli forces. This is probably the first time such an ambitious caravan, through land route, has been planned to express solidarity with the Palestinian cause. It is to travel through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Egypt. On the way a part of the caravan will also visit Jordan and Lebanon. Meetings will be organized along the route to mobilize public opinion against the blockade of Gaza by Israel, the anniversary of which falls on 27th December. If everything goes alright the caravan will reach Gaza to coincide with this date. Read more

Mumbai High Court hears NAPM's petition on Adarsh: Government of Maharashtra and CBI must take a final call on Adarsh investigation by 20th December
The Government of Maharashtra has sent Notices to 17 Bureaucrats (IAS, IPS and IFS) under the All-India Services Conduct Rules, seeking information on their sources of income and funding and property ownership, seeking a reply within eight days. Read more

BOMBAY HIGH COURT REFUSES TO STAY THE STOP WORK NOTICE ISSUED BY MOEF TO LAVASA FOR CARRYING OUT WORK OF HILL STATION ILLEGALLY
Lavasa Lake City Corporation approached the Bombay High Court’s Division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S J Kathawala on Thursday to get the stop work notice issued by the Ministry of Environment & Forests stayed. However, the Hon’ble Court refused Lavasa’s stay petition and clubbed the case with the NAPMs petition in the same matter. Read more

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to affect society's most vulnerable - those who live in abject poverty, are marginalized or economically and socially isolated. The poor and vulnerable people are much more likely to suffer from TB due to socioeconomic factors. The poor face significant costs and delays in accessing TB services and treatment outcomes are more likely to be adverse, said Rachael Thomson from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) who was nominated by the TB and poverty sub-working group of Stop TB Partnership to speak at the Biennial Conference of Irish Forum for Global Health (IFGH) held in Maynooth, Ireland (29-30 November 2010). The IFGH meet was organized by IFGH with support from Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium (CDPC), Irish Aid and National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM). Read more

A peacock seems to love the evening namaaz (the Muslim prayer) in a village of Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. It dances in the courtyard of the mosque throughout the evening prayer. So the locals call it the ‘jannat ka parinda’(the bird from heaven). It spreads its wings and dances in gay abandon as if paying obeisance to the Almighty. For the past two years, heera (as the villagers lovingly call him), has reportedly not missed the namaaz even once , come rain, hail or sunshine. Read more

An Irish non-profit, Right to Sight (RTS), partnered with a NGO – Lions Aravinda Institute of Community Ophthalmology (LAICO) and a private-for-profit company, Shalina, to deliver quality, affordable and sustainable eye care in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), shared Keerti Bhusan Pradhan, who was speaking at the Biennial Conference of Irish Forum for Global Health (IFGH) in Maynooth, Ireland (29-30 November 2010). This meet is being organized by IFGH with support from Irish Aid, National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM) and Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium (CDPC). Read more

To commemorate World AIDS Day, December 1, 2010 some AIDS affected children from Lucknow, Sultanpur, and Bara Banki districts of Uttar Pradesh, had a dialogue with the media at the Uttar Pradesh Press Club. The Uttar Pradesh Welfare For people living with HIV/AIDS (UPNP+) supported by UNICEF and Media Nest, a pan India body of Media professionals, facilitated this one hour long interaction under 'Media for Children'. Read more

Today, 1st of December, is World AIDS Day—a grim reminder of this killer disease, which has devastated millions of families all over the world. In Uttar Pradesh alone, more than 35,000 AIDS patients were registered with the state AIDS Control Office till September, 2010. How many more unregistered people would there be, is anybody’s guess. Amongst the registered ones, there are 1597 male and 777 female HIV positive children. Read more