Do it when crops don't

South Asia

CHILDREN STUNTED IN SRI LANKA: The infant mortality rate (IMR) of Sri Lanka, as per the latest demographic and health survey

Consumed by hunger

A survey in Maharashtra villages links malnutrition to lack of sustainable livelihood Over 40 children below five years of age died of malnutrition and related complications in Nandurbar--a tribal district in Maharashtra--between April 2007 and March 2008. Another 900 children are suffering from malnutrition. A local ngo, Lok Sangharsh

National Family Health Survey out

The final report of the third National Family Health Survey (nfhs-3) is out, but doubts remain whether it will be used to improve national health policies. Although 100-odd research papers have been written using data from the previous two national family health surveys--in 1998-99 and 1992-93--they have contributed little to policies.

Ecotourism can backfire if mismanaged

wildlife and environmental experts say promoting ecotourism helps generate funds for wildlife protection and conservation of their habitat. But a recent study in China suggests the concept can backfire if not managed properly.

Malnutrition count up in Orissa

in a repeat of last year's grim toll, over 20 children, including infants, died of malnutrition and other diseases in two gram panchayats in Orissa's Similipal Wildlife Sanctuary since January 2007. A report by an independent fact-finding team links poverty, unhygienic drinking water and absence of healthcare facilities to the deaths. The team visited the Gudgudia and Barehipani panchayat s in Mayurbhanj district in early June this year. Diseases such as diarrhoea,

Charges of culpable homicide against Kerala minister dropped

The police dropped charges against the Kerala health minister P K Sreemathi and Sheela Shenoy, a gynaecologist on May 23, 2007. A case of culpable homicide was registered against them and others after the death of as many as 38-new borns over the last few months at a government hospital in Thiruvananthapuram district. The case had been registered on a directive of the additional chief judicial magistrate after a complaint by P Vikraman Nair, Thiruvananthapuram's

22 infants die in Kolkata hospital

Twenty-two babies died at Kolkata's B C Roy Hospital in the first week of November, just in 72 hours. Officials say the deaths were "a coincidence" and "not alarming at all". Four to seven deaths a day is a "routine affair" at this only facility in eastern India, which deals with critical child illness, they say.

Ailments caused due to environmental factors

Click here to view the factsheet (.pdf format)

Bytes

smokescreen: As per a study by UK-based London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Philip Morris, the world's leading tobacco manufacturer, studied the effects of smoking 30 years ago, but it did not reveal the dangers of passive smoking.