Health

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November 6, 2022 In 2020, 559 million children were affected by four to five heatwaves a year; numbers could increase four-fold by 2050, as per a report by UNICEF
Heat-related mortality is four times higher among children under 1 year of age than in persons aged 1–44 years (Image: Taqver, Wikimedia Commons)
September 26, 2022 This study found that the sanitary quality of neighbourhood drains, in addition to toilets, affected sanitation and hygiene and incidences of ill-health in rural households.
Dirty drainages, harbingers of illhealth. Image for representation only (Image Source: SuSanA Secretariat via Wikimedia Commons)
September 9, 2022 Highlights from a new report released by iFOREST
An old coal-fired power plant has been dumping vast quantities of ash out in the open for many years. (Image: Lundrim Aliu/ World Bank; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
August 19, 2022 Better access to clean water coupled with health education to bring about changes in behaviour are critical to prevent exposure to dangerous cholera bacteria that lurk in untreated waters.
The hidden threat of cholera in India (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
July 20, 2022 This study found a high concentration of trihalomethanes (THMs) in water treatment plants in Delhi that were associated with increased risk of cancer.
What's in your tap water (Image Source: India Water Portal)
July 5, 2022 Studies reveal that children are the most vulnerable to the health risks associated with groundwater contamination due to nitrate and fluoride, highlighting the need for urgent remedial measures.
POisoned waters, dangerous outcomes (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Surviving in uncertainty
Gram Vikas stepped up to ensure access to adequate food and to strengthen dignified income-earning opportunities for the most vulnerable households. Posted on 08 Jul, 2020 07:33 PM

Uncertainty - the pervasive feeling that all of us have been living with from the middle of March 2020. It's the same in our partner villages in Odisha and Jharkhand. Communities we work with have been facing and overcoming uncertainties all through their lives. But this time, the crisis has put unusual stress on their abilities to cope.

Image: Ajaya Behera
Dharavi: From a dreaded hotspot to a model to be emulated
How Dharavi pulled off a miracle by not letting the disease spiral out of control. Posted on 02 Jul, 2020 10:10 AM

When the first positive case of Covid-19 was reported from Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, known for its narrow lanes and compact housing, a sense of panic gripped the nation. And the fear and panic were not unreasonable given the extraordinary characteristics of this slum.

Located between Mumbai's two main suburban rail lines, Dharavi provides an affordable option to those who move to Mumbai to earn a living (Image: Deepti KC and Mudita Tiwari; CC BY-SA 2.0, Flickr Commons)
Boosting rural livelihoods using agriculture and MGNREGA amidst Covid-19
Strengthening farm and non-farm livelihoods can pave the way for food and nutritional security. Posted on 28 Jun, 2020 10:13 AM

As the Covid-19 pandemic was leaving deep scars around the globe, it forced governments to take measures to protect citizens and ensure food security for its people. In India, initially, it looked as if the remote rural areas would skirt the pandemic.

MGNREGA can play an important role in integration of migrant labour in the rural economy (Image: Ashutosh Nanda)
Impact of the pandemic on the endemic
Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome could spread in the shadow of the pandemic. Posted on 25 Jun, 2020 03:08 PM

While the pandemic Covid-19 has completely taken over the health infrastructure in the country and all eyes were on it, the annual havoc created by Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), popularly known as Chamki Bukhar is already making news in districts of Bihar.

Will our fragile health care systems and infrastructure be able to deal with the burden of diseases like Japanese Encephalitis? (Image: Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group)
Flood threat looms amid Covid-19 in Bihar
Can Bihar deal with the double whammy of Covid-19 and the annual floods? Posted on 23 Jun, 2020 03:09 PM

Bihar’s annual floods are right around the corner and there is a fear that the flood hazard will collide with the Covid-19 pandemic and amplify it in a manner that emergency responses to both will get disrupted. The state’s strategy to mitigate the effects of flooding needs to be updated in light of the deadly pandemic.

An aerial view of flood affected areas in Kosi river, Bihar on August 28, 2008 (Image: Publi.Resource.Org; Flickr Commons (CC BY 2.0))
Elected women leaders of gram panchayats: Critical roles in Covid-19 response
Women leaders of gram panchayats have ideated and executed solutions innovatively and instinctively on dealing with Covid-19 pandemic. Posted on 17 Jun, 2020 01:33 PM

Radha Devi, the sarpanch of Bhadsiya, Nagaur tehsil, Rajasthan dissuaded the principal of the government school from forcing girl students to fetch water for mid-day meal preparation during school hours and sent these girls back to their classrooms.

Women are emerging as effective leaders who can play constructive roles in containing the Covid-19 spread (Image: UN Women/Gaganjit Singh; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Fire in Assam to have catastrophic effect on ecozones: Experts
News this week Posted on 11 Jun, 2020 09:04 PM

Fire breaks at an oil well in Assam damaging ecozones around the site

Migratory birds flock Maguri Beel, which is 500 m away from the incident site (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Battling Covid-19 in Jharkhand
While tribals in Jharkhand continue to struggle with the impacts of Covid-19, WOTR has been on the frontlines helping them cope with poverty and hunger. Posted on 11 Jun, 2020 04:07 PM

Jharkhand is a state dominated by tribal communities located in eastern part of India. Agriculture, NTFP (Non-timber forest produce) collection and daily wage laborers are the prime source of income for rural Jharkhand.

Distribution of ration to cope with the impacts of the pandemic (Image Source: WOTR)
Northeast fights Covid-19
While Northeast appears to be better off than the rest of India in the number of Covid cases, how are migrants from the North East coping? Posted on 09 Jun, 2020 11:34 PM

While Covid-19 has left many countries including India in the line of fire, the situation in India is now getting particularly alarming with the number of people infected by Covid-19 rising at a rapid pace.

Ration distribution to the migrants (Image Source: Sunbird Trust)
Living through Cyclone Amphan and Covid-19: Climate change and water security
In the face of frequent cyclones and floods in the region, investment and long term planning is needed on making basic services of drinking water resilient. Posted on 07 Jun, 2020 11:33 AM

The nomenclature of cyclones and hurricanes is developed much in advance through multilateral processes in the region. The name Amphan (Sky in Thai and Akash in Bangla) was chosen from a long list of potential disasters long back.

Millions of people in India and Bangladesh lost their means of employment, food, water and homes in one go during the cyclone (Image: Srikanth Kolari/ActionAid India)
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