World Bank boosts focus on reproductive health

A Sudanese woman carries her child in their home outside Sudan’s capital Khartoum April 17, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The World Bank said on Tuesday it will focus more on tackling high fertility rates and maternal deaths in poor countries, warning that family planning and other reproductive health services have fallen off the radar of many governments, donors and aid agencies.

In releasing a new 5-year Reproductive Health Action Plan, the World Bank said it would increase lending to reduce high fertility rates and prevent deaths of mothers and their children in 58 developing countries.

It will do this by increasing access to contraceptives, encouraging more frequent prenatal visits for pregnant women, expanding education on the subject and investing more in training new health workers.

Bank health financing tripled to a record $4.1 billion in fiscal year 2010 ending June, a 40 percent increase over the previous year’s record.

That said, lending to reduce high fertility or improve access to family planning accounted for only 4 percent of the Bank’s health portfolio over the last decade, dropping by two-thirds between the first and second half of the decade.

“A mother’s unnecessary death in childbirth is not just a human tragedy, it is also an economic and social catastrophe” said Julian Schweitzer, acting vice president of human development at the World Bank.

Some 350,000 women die each year, mainly in developing countries, due to complications associated with pregnancy and child birth.

Many women in poor countries use abortions as a last-resort means of birth control. Some 68,000 women die each year due to unsafe and illegal abortions, while another 5.3 million suffer temporary or permanent disability, the Bank said.

Meanwhile, new World Bank figures show that while development aid for health skyrocketed almost five-fold to $14 billion in 2007 from $2.9 billion in 1995, funding for population and reproductive health services increased by just $1.9 billion from $901 million during the same period.

In the 35 highest-fertility countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, funding for women’s family planning and reproductive programs began at $150 million in 1995 and increased to $432 million in 2007. Meanwhile, overall aid for health in the same countries went from $915 million in 1995 to $4.9 billion in 2007.

Reference Link
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64A53620100511?feedType=nl&feedName=ushealth1100

Courtesy
Thomson Reuters

Plan to modernise system tanks in Thanjavur district

Farmers encouraged to put up vermicompost units —Photo: M. Srinath

Manure:A farmer showing the worms grown in the vermicompost yard under the IAMWARM scheme at Sendakottai near Pattukottai in Thanjavur district.

THANJAVUR, India: World Bank funded Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation of Water Bodies Restoration Management Project (IAMWARM) has helped in popularising vermicompost and pulses, maize and red gram cultivation in Pattukottai and Peravurani areas of Thanjavur district.

IAMWARM aims at modernising system tanks under Agniyar and Ambuliyar divisions in the area and utilising the water from the tanks for taking up demonstration cultivation of pulses, maize and red gram.

Farmers of the area have also been encouraged to put up vermicompost units. Vermicompost units have been put up using Sil paulin method under the project. “Seventy such vermicompost units have been put up in the area” said P. Loganathan, Joint Director of Agriculture, Thanjavur district and Eashwar, Agriculture Officer.

A sum of Rs. 6000 is given as subsidy for a unit. The subsidy is given in the form of inputs like five kg of earthworms for a unit of one tonne capacity, coir compost, shade nets etc. The worms are fed on coir compost and the excreta by them which is the vermicompost is collected and used as manure by farmers. Vermicompost can be harvested in 120 days. For a unit which is fed with one tonne coir compost, 750 kilos of vermicompost is taken.

“Vermicompost is rich in nutrients. It can easily replace bio manure. As cattle population is dwindling there is problem in getting bio manures and also green manures. In such a situation vermicomposts can help the farmers. It can be applied to any crop.” said S. Rajkumar, Deputy Director, State Schemes, Agriculture Department.

Johon Bosco, a farmer of Punavasal village in Peravurani block has put up a unit. He said that he could harvest good vermicompost and use it for his land.

Under IAMWARM scheme, maize cultivation has been taken up at Rettavayal in Sethubavachathiram block and Red gram at Kurichi in Peravurani block.

“Inputs worth Rs. 4,000 is given as subsidy per hectare for maize, groundnut and red gram. Similarly, inputs worth Rs. 2,500 is given as subsidy for pulses.” said Ragunathan, Deputy Director, Government of India Schemes, Agriculture Department.

“Red gram is rarely cultivated now. We are popularising this in Kurichi area” said Janani, Assistant Agriculture Officer.

Under IAMWARM scheme, paddy cultivation is also taken up under System of Rice Intensification Method. In this a farmer is given Rs. 1500 as subsidy for raising green manure, Rs. 6,000 for paddy cultivation and another Rs. 1,500 for raising rice fallow pulses per hectare. Two cono weeders and a marker worth Rs. 1,750 was given.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/22/stories/2010042258780300.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Giving direction to the future of deafblind

There are nearly 2.5 million deafblind people in the world, according to data from World Bank, with 4.25 lakh children from India alone – a rough estimate. Inspired by the work of four mothers in the U.K. for persons with multiple disabilities, Akhil Paul started Sense International (India) with 23 deafblind people in Ahmedabad. Today, it works with 38 partner organisations in 19 states and has reached out to 32,000 people.

Brahada Shanker , Regional Coordinator (South), Sense International (India), monitors the four southern states by helping produce resource material, conducing training and promoting networking activities. She spoke to Liffy Thomas on the organisation’s journey so far.

“Identifying people who are deafblind and those with multi-sensory impairment is a big challenge in India. They are a minority within a minority and parents practically do not know how to identify, while most NGOs work with one disability,” says Brahada Shanker, Regional Coordinator (South), who was in the city to participate in a workshop organised by the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities.

That’s when Sense International (India) entered in 1997. From disseminating information, sensitising, conducting training and providing support to advocacy, it is an ongoing process. The 15-member core team is building a network of partners, which carries out the activities.

It offers home-based programmes, vocational training, community based rehabilitation and teacher training sessions. They adopt communication methods such as tactile signs, writing on the palm, tadoma (holding the jaws) and using pictures.

“The functional level of every person is different, so it is an evolving process,” says Ms. Shanker, who has been with the social sector for 13 years and specialises with children with vision and additional disabilities.

Starting four Regional Learning Centers in the country was one major step that Sense International (India) took to reach out to small network organisations. In south India, for instance, the Holy Cross Service Society, Tiruchi, has identified 13 partners. “We even network with neo-natal and paediatric clinics such that they refer to our Regional Learning Centers if new cases have been identified,” she says, adding that 2,000 teachers have been trained by them.

“Getting deafblind a certificate is the most difficult; unless otherwise there is a unique category it creates a lot of problems for which we are fighting,” she says. Until then, reducing social exclusion and improving the quality of deafblind people is their motto. The deafblind helpline is 1800 233 7913.

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/18/stories/2010041860510200.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu

Bihar turning around, says World Bank

‘Improved law and order gave the vital impetus’

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‘State Govt. has ushered in wide-ranging reforms’

‘Development expenditures have increased’

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New Delhi: One of India’s poorest State Bihar has started turning around based on the all-inclusive reforms initiated by the State Government, including improved law and order and higher public expenditures, the World Bank has said.

“There are visible signs of a turnaround where the Bihar Government has been implementing wide-ranging reforms. State revenues and development expenditures have increased,” the multilateral lending agency said in a statement.

The World Bank said Bihar is home to some of the country’s poorest people, but a new reform effort by State Government along with the bank’s support, has helped it improve public finance management and better utilisation of proceeds.

It has improved in directing funds to get more children to schools, to immunize its people and to fight corruption.

The government is now able to spend money on hitherto underfunded public services, the World Bank said.

“Reducing poverty and accelerating growth in the State are likely to have national implications,” it said. Until 2007, economic growth in Bihar was much slower and its public services and infrastructure were among the worst in India.

“Pinpointing the roots of economic growth is complex, the faster growth experienced by Bihar after 2004 can be reasonably linked to improvements in the rule of law, more efficient and larger public expenditures, and better infrastructure,” the bank said. The bank cited various indicators across sectors to show the turnaround in Bihar.

“In almost three years time, by October 2008, the number of out-patients visiting a government hospital surged from some 39 per month to almost 4,500 per month,” it said adding the number of babies delivered in healthcare facilities shot up to 7,80,000 by 2008 from some 1,00,000 in 2006.

Further, enrolment in primary and upper primary schools rose, while the number of out-of-school children fell steeply.

The pupil-teacher ratio is expected to reach the national norm of 40:1 when newly hired teachers are placed in schools, it said.

On the anti-corruption front, the government has sought to promote greater transparency through various steps, including setting up of a Special Vigilance Unit to pursue cases against high-level civil servants.

“Two of the State’s major governance initiatives under the Right to Information law and service delivery have won national awards,” it said.

Besides, consumer spending has increased indicating improved conditions. The number of tourist arrivals in Bihar increased to 10.5 million in 2009 from 6.9 million in 2005, it said.

The number of motor vehicles in Bihar also rose by 239 per cent in 2007 alone, reflecting better infrastructure and heightened economic activity.

The number of mobile phones also rocketed from only one million in 2004 to 12 million in 2008.

World Bank also said some 1,900 km of National Highways and 3,500 km of district roads have been refurbished in the State. — PTI

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/15/stories/2010031559280300.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu