029. Russian delegation in Kerala to experience pleasures of Ayurvedam!

Russian delegation in Kerala to experience Ayurveda first-hand

By Health India.Com

October 30, 2013 

A six-member Russian delegation, led by Deputy Health Minister Igor Kagramanyan and Sergei Kalashnikov, chairman of the Russian parliamentary committee on health is arriving in the state capital and stay for a week to have a first-hand experience of Ayurveda so that it can be promoted in their country. 

It is visiting under the aegis of NGO Ayurveda Russia-India Association to have talks with Kerala health and tourism ministers and officials. The NGO’s representative told IANS that the delegation would have an exposure to Ayurveda. They would undergo a week-long Ayurveda rejuvenation programme at resorts.

‘The department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, of the central Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is coordinating the visit. They will be taking care of the promotion of Ayurveda at the government level between the two countries,’ said the spokesman. He also said that the biggest beneficiary of meeting between representatives from the two countries would be the numerous resorts that offer Ayurveda packages in the state for Russian tourists.

‘Once this gets the approval, insurance companies in Russia would reimburse Ayurveda packages for them,’ said Narayanan. The visiting delegation is also expected to discuss about having short courses on Ayurveda at Russian universities.

Link: http://health.india.com/news/russian-delegation-in-kerala-to-experience-ayurveda-first-hand/

Republished here by courtesy of Health India. Com


Comment:

Health tourism is developing as a lucrative industry in Kerala, accompanied by prostitution in many resorts in the name of massage, occasional raids and media news. Ayurveda is on the decline in Kerala thanks to negligence of government and also due to pressure from allopathy profession. Due to forest laws and also due to de-forestation and eco-destruction, raw materials for ayurvedic preparations are rarely available now in Kerala, resulting in massive manufacture of bogus preparations. Professionals in the field of ayurvedam know that there is no scope for it in Kerala now, even though it is the only natural and dependable system of medicine advisable for Kerala. Thousands of delegations from all countries have come and gone, spending precious public revenue, and ayurvedam is still to be seen only in Kerala. What is going on even now is a farce. Co-existence of ayurvedam in government allopathic hospitals is condemned by medical bureaucrats and frowned upon by government. With this much number of half-learned physicians and academics practising in Kerala, there is today no need for anyone going to Kerala to study ayurvedam. This is only a publicity stunt for Russian politicians, Indian bureaucrats and a few massage centre owners. If the Russians are really interested in learning something about mingling traditional treatment systems with the modern scientific techniques of allopathy, it is better they visit the People’s Republic of China urgently, where we can see the harmonious co-existence of Acu-Puncture and Allopathy.

028. IAS officers more prone to corruption than regular department heads.

KSDCMSO urges govt to appoint IAS officer to head Kerala drug control dept

By Pharma Biz.Com

Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
August 03, 2013 

Kerala state drugs control ministerial staff organisation (KSDCMSO) has urged the government of Kerala to initiate steps to revamp and reorganize the state drugs control department by appointing an IAS officer as director general to head the department.

Raising the demand, the organization leaders submitted a memorandum to the chief minister and to the health minister in which they said either an officer in the cadre of IAS or IPS should be appointed to head the department, over and above the post of drugs controller.

An officer in the union civil service to control the enforcement wing can only prevent the clandestine activities of the drug mafia in the state and strengthen the organization with efficient administrative power, the memorandum said.

The general secretary of KSDCMSO, K A Mohammad Ashraf said that due to the lack of efficient and experienced officers, the department of drugs control could not reach the level and standard of other departments. Though the department of ayurveda is a separate entity under the department, its operations are also monitored by the state drugs controller. He added that the staff organization would reiterate the demand in its next general body which would be held at Thiruvananthapuram shortly.

He said the duties to be carried out by a drug inspector in one month include inspection on application for fresh licenses also. Instead of conducting inspections to check the flow of spurious/ substandard/ not of standard quality drugs, the inspectors are spending their valuable time to certify the area of medical stores for which the Drugs and Cosmetics Act does not stipulate the presence of a person with pharmacy background. The staff organization demands that the duty to calculate the area of a fresh pharmacy can be assigned to a senior officer in the administrative wing of the department so that the drug inspectors can concentrate their time more on inspection work which is now for name-sake only.

The general secretary of KSDCMSO also wanted the government to hand over the power for inspecting shops for licensing fresh retail and wholesale shops to ministerial officials.

Further to their demand, the ministerial staff wanted the government to retain the ayurveda wing under the sole control of the drugs control department because the licensing and conduct of stability test of drugs in the market are coming under the D&C Act. Government should initiate measures to upgrade the existing three regional offices of the ayurvedic wing to the level of assistant drugs control offices under the state drugs controller.

Ashraf said more than 10,000 ayurvedic retail outlets in the state are having no licenses and they should also be brought under licensed category.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=76887&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz.Com


Comment: 

Being a member of the Indian Administrative Service does not necessarily mean he is beyond corruption. It is these IAS officers who are being appointed as Secretaries in Government Departments. Considering the elaborate powers vested with them, no corruption in government would be possible, without their approval, consent or involvement. But corruption continues to happen in spite of these elite officers being there, sitting there with unlimited powers. Beneath the state minister but above everyone else in that department, without their knowledge, no corruption can ever happen. Even state ministers can only take decisions but cannot implement their decisions except through these IAS secretaries. Logically speaking, these IAS personnel are the sole responsible for all corruption in the state. Today, due to media truthfulness and courage, we know that thousands of these officers are accused of and charge-sheeted with corruption, often each case involving millions and millions of rupees. Still, in the history of the Indian Administrative Service, how many of their members were removed from their rolls by them? Many of them are now in jails for corruption. These officers, when posted to a department, directorate or state corporation as its head, will not have any loyalty to that establishment and therefore will be exceptionally bolder and susceptible to corruption. But a long-served officer in that particular department will not be that much bold, for he will have to mind the hierarchical levels in that organization. It is a misled and evilish tendency to cry loudly for posting an IAS officer as department head. They are never better than a loyal department staff.

027. In spite of NRHM, pneumonia continues to kill children.

Pneumonia, diarrhoea leading causes of death among children below five years

By Pharma Biz.Com

New Delhi Bureau
August 22, 2012

In India, pneumonia and diarrhoea are leading causes of death among children below five years of age. As per report “Countdown to 2015”, pneumonia contributes to 11 per cent of deaths and diarrhoea accounts for another 11 per cent of total under-five deaths in India. 

Under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the Government has taken many steps for prevention and control of pneumonia and diarrhoea in children, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Sudip Bandyopadhyay said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha recently. 

One of the important steps was promotion of early and exclusive breast-feeding offers protection against common childhood illnesses including diarrhoea and pneumonia. Infant and young child feeding practices are being promoted through the national health programme.  Vitamin A supplementation programme covers children up to the age of 5 years and offers protection against diarrhoea and pneumonia by improving the immunity and is used as a preventive measure, he said. 

“Promoting use of zinc and ORS is one of the priority activities for child survival. Oral rehydration salt (ORS) packets and zinc tablets are made available free of cost and mothers are taught how to use them.  Awareness is being created amongst mothers on sanitation and hygiene and in the communities about the causes and treatment of diarrhoea through health education. Antibiotics for treatment of pneumonia and dysentery are made available through the public health system,” he said. 

“The community health workers and facility based health service providers are trained in the management of diarrhoea and pneumonia through the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) programme across the country. Under universal immunisation programme various vaccines are provided and these are DPT, measles and BCG that protect against diphtheria, pertussis, measles and tuberculosis. Vaccine against Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib) infection has been introduced in the national immunization schedule for infants in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the first phase,” he added.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=70758&sid=2

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz.Com

026. Drug alert system a costly futile attempt to eat money

Health ministry plans effective drug alert system, including placing newspaper ads

By Pharma Biz.Com

June 11, 2013 
Joseph Alexander, New Delhi

After launching the drug alert system to make the public aware of the drugs declared substandard after the tests in the regional labs, the Union health ministry is planning to make the mechanism more effective by asking all the States to follow the suit and even going for advertisements in the newspapers.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) had launched the system of publicizing through its website the brands and batches of drugs which were found to be substandard in the tests by the regional drug testing laboratories since last November.

It is learnt that the Central authorities have now asked the State drug control units also to follow the same so that the public can come to know of the batches. Maharashtra and Kerala have already similar system in force and the Centre wants other States also to be pro-active in this manner.

Another suggestion under consideration is to place advertisements in the newspapers about such cases regularly so that wider attention could be ensured. Because, by the time some cases were found to be substandard, the damage would have already done and it would take time for the public to be aware about the particular batches.

However, sources said placing advertisements would be an expensive option and needs to get clearance and separate budget. Sources in the Ministry said the feasibility of the option was being studied.

The Parliamentary panel which went into the functioning of the CDSCO had last year raised the issue. Based on its recommendations, the CDSCO had started the system of uploading the information on its website every month. The panel had also urged the CDSCO to advise the retail chemists to stop selling the unsold stocks and return the same to local drug inspectors as per rules.

“The Committee is convinced that this is a Herculean task, which can be achieved only when the efforts of the Centre and State Governments are fully synergized. Drug alerts of evaluations by central drug laboratories though welcome would not take care of this acute problem in entirety as the state drug laboratories handle major volumes of such evaluations. The Committee, therefore, desires the Ministry to take up this matter with State Governments on a highly proactive basis to ensure its early fructification. It also desires early decision by the Ministry on utilizing newspapers in this task,” the Standing Committee on Health has noted in its recent report also.

Meanwhile, the CDSCO had so far declared 53 samples as substandard in the last six months after testing in the regional laboratories. On an average, the drug labs have been reporting around 10 cases as substandard every month out of hundreds of samples collected and sent by various zonal offices of CDSCO.  During the last four months from January this year, the drug testing laboratories reported a total of 43 cases. In January, the number of cases reported as substandard were 12 while it went down to 10 in February and 11 in March. In April, the CDSCO labs reported 10 cases, mostly from the Eastern region.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=75857&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz.Com

Comment: 

Who is going to maintain and update these government web sites? If we check, we can see that almost all government web sites remain as such when they were started, i.e., since when that publicity-crazy officer went out of that service or office. In every case, we would be seeing an outdated list of outdated drugs and a substandard site with a few pages on substandard medicines. Why spend this much money for this kind of futile attempts, and who permits them?

025. Government leads to collapse of small drug units in Kerala.

KMSCL’s faulty procurement policy led to collapse of small drug units in Kerala: KIDS study.

By Pharma Biz. Com

October 21, 2013 
Our Bureau, Chennai

An unhealthy and unscientific approach of the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) in procuring and supplying of drugs to government hospitals is the reason behind the collapse of the small scale pharma industries in the state, reveals a study conducted by Kerala Institute of Drug Studies (KIDS).

KIDS, a research institute floated by KMSCL, will submit the study report to the government in next week, it is learnt.

The report says that KMSCL has no standard and scientific method for procuring drugs from companies. Within the last three years about ten small scale pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Kerala have stopped production and downed their shutters for want of support from government. The study says that currently only three companies are working for government supply and they too are struggling.

The institute has conducted the study by employing 480 research associates who had visited almost all the closed units and held interviews with their managements and made the reports. KIDS, later conducted three meetings at three locations inviting all the units and identified their grievances. According to sources, there were 44 SSI units working in the state till a decade ago, and the number has come down to three now.

A major challenge faced by the companies is the rigid tender conditions put forward by the Corporation which unlike what is happening in other states, is giving orders for one time supply. This often becomes a huge burden for the small scale industry to comply with the conditions on time. More often the units have to employ additional laborers with over time work. Quarterly or half yearly orders could be viable for the industrial units to continue and supply quality products, suggests KIDS.

The Institute is conducting another study on the subject ‘quality of medicines marketed in Kerala’. The study will be finished in this Month, said a research associate.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=78279&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz. Com

024. Small medical units forced to close down by medical marketing companies.

Growth in drug marketing cos. force closure of SSI units in Kerala

By Pharma Biz. Com

October 25, 2013 
Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai

The very few small scale pharma manufacturing companies that have survived all these years in Kerala are now set to bear the brunt of the increasing number of marketing companies, with most of the remaining units on the verge of closure.

According to a report given by the president of Kerala Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (KPMA), only eleven manufacturing units are now actively operating in Kerala thanks to the indifferent attitude of the state government towards pharma industry problems. Until a few years ago about twenty units were actively operating, but most of them have now turned into marketing business in order to avoid financial loss.

K P Purushothaman, who led a team to the health minister to brief him the problems in the industry, told Pharmabiz that manufacturers wanted to avoid risk in running the units and become marketers of MNC’s products. He said though there is no shortage of drugs of any category, the situation has left the SSI units into a sluggish position. The growth of marketing companies could lead to the closure of about 20 established manufacturing units in the last five years. Those operating units are only working for government supply.

KPMA’s study foresees that over the next two years the number of active units will drop from eleven to five if the current trend continues. Besides, there could be big loss of jobs for many persons including skilled workers and pharmacists due to this growing crisis. In the near future Kerala will become a land of medicine marketing for MNC’s products unless the state government heeds to their demands.

Meanwhile, the marketing companies’ business continues to grow and is predicted to acquire 80 per cent of the total requirement of the state by 2015.  The marketers-turned-manufacturers procure medicines from big players from Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad and distribute them to various retailers.

To name a few currently working SSI units in Kerala are Bescoat Pharma and Camerin Pharmaceuticals in Kannur, Chethana Pharmaceuticals in Malappuram, Variety Medicals at Shoranur, Lab Indus in Palakkadu, Southern Union and Vetas Pharma in Thrissur, Vaisali Pharma and capsulation and tablets in Ernakulam, Sance Pharmaceuticals in Pala, PCT pharma and TC Pharmaceuticals in Thiruvananthapuram. These units have their own branded products and manufacturing facilities.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=78385&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz.Com

023. Kerala fears to handover drug racket details to Tamil Nadu.

Action against TN-Kerala drug racket delayed as Kerala fails to provide information to Tamil Nadu Drug Controller.

By Pharma Biz. Com

November 21, 2012
Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai

The departmental action to be initiated by the Tamil Nadu drugs control department against a notorious group dealing in the illicit sale of medicines through the border areas in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala is getting delayed as there is no sharing of required information about the seized products by the drug authorities in Kerala, says G Selvaraju, director of drugs control, Tamil Nadu.

The delay in initiating legal action and further enquiry may help the culprits to escape from the scene, said the director by adding that he has alerted the district authorities in the south to check the movement of drugs in the area and monitor the situation. The flow of drugs to Kerala through the northern border close to Coimbatore is also being monitored.

Whereas, the drug control authorities in Tamil Nadu and Kerala will conduct a joint inspection in the border areas to thoroughly check if any clandestine business is operated through the borders, Selvaraj told Pharmabiz.

“We are waiting for the reports from Kerala DCA to know about the seized products, then only we can take action and conduct enquiry. We need the batch number and the quantity of medicines seized from the places raided. As soon as the news appeared in Pharmabiz, I contacted the DC in Kerala and he confirmed the seizure. The official communication is going on. We will set out action once we get the report from Kerala drugs controller,” said Selvaraj.

According to him the officials in Chennai and in Thirunelveli in south will inspect all the wholesale dealers’ premises to find out who has supplied the drugs to the racket involved in the furtive sale of medicines. “The source of the drugs has to be identified who supplied it or from whom the illegal dealer purchased the medicine, that we are enquiring now,” the DC said.

Meanwhile, the deputy drugs controller who led the operation in the border areas in Kerala, Revi S Menon said his office will pass on the required information to the Tamil Nadu DC soon after one more inspection at the site is completed, probably on Tuesday. He said that he would send a team of officials to Chennai to find out the details of the marketing company who deals in the distribution of Vovemac Plus.

To a query he said the batch number of the seized medicine, Vikram Anticold Tablet is 438 and of Vovemac Plus, the anti-inflammatory drug marketed by Macro Pharmaceuticals in Chennai is UJMC 1032. But, more enquiries are going on as the batch numbers given on the strips are confusing, he added.

He further said, for more enquiries, the department in Kerala needs the help of Tamil Nadu drugs control authorities. “They can only find out how much quantity of drugs the company in Chennai has supplied and what the stock at their premises is. Also we need the information from where the marketing company got the medicine,” Revi Menon said.

Link:http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=72223&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz.Com

022. Efficacy of herbal drugs doubted as raw drugs not available in market.

Efficacy of most herbal drugs need to be doubted as several raw drugs not available in market.

By Pharma Biz. Com

July 04, 2012
Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai

The claims about the quality of most of the herbal drugs available today, especially in Ayurveda and Siddha, are questionable because of non-availability of certain key raw drugs and other malpractices impacting the quality of these ingredients, according to a study conducted by a member of the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM).

Adulteration and substitution of raw materials are the two major factors that lead to the poor quality of conventional ayurvedic and Siddha medicines, said Dr K G Viswanathan, the CCIM member and the principal of Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda College in Thrissur in Kerala.

According to him some of the major manufacturing companies have stopped the production of certain key ayurvedic drugs because of shortage of raw drugs. He said the conventional Ayurveda medicine for fever “Draakshaadi Kashaayam” is not available today because the main ingredient of its production, the roots of “Kumizhu” (Gmelina arborea), is not available.

“If the medicine is available anywhere, its quality has to be tested as there is no substitution for its ingredients, especially for “Kumizhu”. The tree itself is not seen anywhere. So we are suspicious of the quality of 'Draakshaadi Kashaayam' if it is available in any shop. The production of the Kashaayam was stopped years ago,” he told Pharmabiz in a telephonic conversation.

There are Draakshaadi tablets and Arishtams coming to Kerala from other states claiming as drugs made from the roots of ‘Kumizhu’, but the veracity of those claims is also questionable, he said.

There are more than 60 species of medicinal plants in the list of endangered species and government has banned their collection for commercial production of medicines. Even for samples for the purpose of study, special permission is required from the forest department. Collection of the plants ‘Kottam’ (Saussurea lappa), used for the manufacture of the popular ‘Kottamchukkaathi Thailam”, ‘Rakthachandanam’ (Red sandalwood) used for “shaarivadyaasavam” and the bark of Ashoka tree (Sarca indica) used for ‘Ashokaarishtam’ is restrained by laws. “In such a situation, the manufacturing companies are forced to stop production of these drugs or use substitutions which will impact the quality of the drugs”, Dr Viswanathan said.  He added that several conventional ‘Kashaayams’ are not available now in the market due to the non-availability of raw materials.

The bark of Ashoka tree is very much beneficial for women who suffer from  irregular or painful menstruation. It is also useful in internal bleeding haemorrhoids and haemorrhagic dysentery, the doctor said.

For industry purpose, sufficient quantity of these raw drugs cannot be assured. In his study report, Dr Viswanathan says that almost all the raw drugs available today seem to be suspicious of their quality. The manufacturers claim that they bring these rare species of plants from north India, but the quality of the products has to be questioned as in the local herbal markets in north India more adulteration and substitutions  take place. These malpractices may be deliberate or sometimes unintentional, but it affects the efficiency of the drugs.  In place of genuine drugs, substitutions are taking place where the raw drugs have similar appearance to that of genuine drugs and are deliberately sold in some herbal markets, the CCIM member alleged.

Further, the study shows that, the recent habitat destruction being occurred due to infrastructure development for urbanization and over exploitation by the increasing number of manufacturers, many of the ‘annual herbs’ and bio diversity spots are permanently getting depleted and destroyed at an alarming rate. The road sides and village court yards in Kerala, once up on a time, were rife with medicinal plants, shrubs and annual herbs like “Kurunthotti” (Sida rhombi folia), Chittamruth (Tinospora cordifolia), Vayalchulli (Hygrophila Auriculata), Keezharnelli (Phyllanthus amarus) etc. are now permanently getting lost.

The doctor said increase in the use of drugs also cause for shortage of raw drugs. In the year 1990, Kerala had only 200 manufacturing units, the number has increased to 700 in 2012. Apart from production of number of medicines, the quantity also has increased. Considering such fast rate of growth of this segment, measures have to be taken for development of medicinal plants.

The study recommends for cultivation of medicinal plants by hi-tech methods with the help of agricultural universities. Besides community herbal garden, kitchen garden, medicinal plant board projects etc. should be encouraged. Coordinated efforts of the departments of Forest, Agriculture and Health must be initiated and opportunities for researches in the field should also be given.

Dr Viswanathan said that he would submit his report to the government of Kerala for Vision 2030 and also to the Central Medicinal Plant Board.

Link:http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=69887&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz.Com

021. NRHM completes five years, but rural health still in disarray.

NRHM completes five years, rural health still in disarray.
Apr 11, 2010

By RxPG NEWS

By IANS, [RxPG] New Delhi.

The flagship National Rural Health Mission - has completed five years of operation and has achieved several targets but its main objective to put the rural health system in place needs a lot more attention, according to health ministry data.

The NRHM was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in April 2005. 

While both maternal and infant mortality rates have come down to an extent - the former from 304 to 254 per a lakh live births and the latter from 66 to 53 per a lakh live births - the undernourishment in the country has remained almost unchanged. In India, about 46 percent of kids are stunted. 

One of the key achievement of the NRHM is a visible growth in the field of institutional delivery, which means now more and more women are going to hospital for giving birth to babies and availing expert guidance, data indicates. 

However, the situation in primary health care centres remains grim with nearly 150,000 of them not having a single doctor, according to the data. The shortage of doctors in rural areas has pushed poor people to avail private medical services. 

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has already admitted that in India, rural health needs a lot more attention and the government spending of just one percent of the GDP on health is too less. 

'We need to increase public spending,' Azad said at a recent function. He also said that 80 percent of the medical human resource is serving just 20 percent of the people, mainly those who are living in cities and towns. 

The health ministry is holding a conference Monday to commemorate five years of the NRHM and Vice President Hamid Ansari will be the guest of honour.

Link: 

http://www.rxpgnews.com/medicalnews/NRHM-completes-five-years-rural-health-still-in-disarray_391528.shtml


Republished here by courtesy of RxPG NEWS

020. Silent Genocide: Kerala's Health Model Has Failed In Tribal Heartland

Silent Genocide: Kerala's Health Model Has Failed In Tribal Heartland

By Cracktivist.Wordpress.Com

22 May 2013 

B. Ekbal, public health activist and neurosurgeon, who headed a six-member medical expert team appointed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to study the health problems faced by the tribal people of Attappady, has said that “what the team saw in this tribal heartland is silent genocide.” The team has been sent to study the problems and suggest remedial measures as 48 tribal infants died of malnutrition during the past 16 months in the hill region.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, he said: “The tribal population is facing extinction in Attappady. If the government does not intervene to stop this genocide, it will remain a black mark on Kerala society.” He said such a grave situation had not developed suddenly, but over many years. So no particular government or political party was to blame. Everybody was responsible for this deteriorating situation. He said the medical team, during its two-day visit to the tribal hamlets, found that 99 per cent of the tribal women were anaemic. Almost all tribal children were malnourished.

Dr. Ekbal said the Kerala health model had failed in Attappady. He would no more speak about the model, which claimed that the State had achieved health standards on a par with those of some developed nations. But in Attappady, the health standards were much below the average health indicators of India. The infant mortality rate in Attappady was 66 per 1,000 births as against the national average of 40. He said intervening in the health sector alone would be insufficient to address the grave situation in the tribal area. An integrated approach covering other sectors too was required. He urged Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to appoint a young, dynamic IAS officer to coordinate the works of various departments in Attappady to implement the various special packages announced by the government.

No co-ordination

He said that what one could see was total anarchy in Attappady. There was no coordination among the various departments and the three grama panchayats to take urgent steps to provide relief in this emergency situation. He said that tribal people were supplied the Matta variety of rice through ration shops, which they did not eat. They should be supplied their traditional food. Thus, there should be structural changes in the rationing system. Nutritious food such as milk, egg and bananas should be directly supplied to the Anganwadis. Accredited social health activists, Anganwadi workers and Integrated Child Development Scheme promoters should be given reorientation training to take up new challenges in Attappady.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme should be restarted in Attappady to provide employment to the tribal population. The tribal people should be brought back to their traditional agriculture, which had ensured food security to them. The Right to Forest Act should be implemented in Attappady to provide land to landless people. It was only in Kerala that the Act had not been implemented.

Link:
http://kractivist.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/silent-genocide-kerala-health-model-has-failed-in-tribal-heartland/


Republished here by courtesy of:Cracktivist.Wordpress.Com

019. Kerala Struck By Jaundice And Dengue

Kerala struck by jaundice and dengue

By India.com Health

June 5, 2013 

Nine people have died of fever in Kerala and 14,000 new cases, including those of jaundice and dengue, have been reported from across the state, an official said on Tuesday. Thiruvananthapuram has reported the highest number of such cases. More than 2,000 fresh cases have been reported from the hilly district of Wayanad. At least 91 people Monday tested positive for dengue. Nine people died Monday, and 14,000 new cases were reported, the official said. ‘The health department has now come out with guidelines for the doctors for treating fever… depending on their condition,’ said state Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar.

‘Three categories A, B and C have been drawn up. Those in the C category have to get treated from any of the state-run medical colleges. The medical professionals will now go according to the protocol that has been published,’ Sivakumar said. For each of the district medical officers Rs.7 lakh has been allocated to tackle the outbreak of the disease. ‘The chief minister is calling a special meeting to discuss this issue Tuesday and all the legislators (140) have been asked to call a meeting in their respective constituencies before the 10th of this month to get a first-hand information on the steps taken to address the issue,’ said an official attached to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s office.

State secretary of Communist Party of India-Marxist Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the government for not coming out with effective steps to contain the spread of fever. ‘The health of the people is an important factor for the overall health of the state. Kerala’s acclaimed health status has taken a beating… as no scientific method of waste disposal has been commissioned… even after this government completed two years in office,’ said Vijayan. Monday night, a premier private hospital in the state was refusing to take in more patients.

‘What can we do, even the corridors are full of patients and we have outlived our capacity and hence we have no other go,’ said the director of the hospital. Chandy has expressed his helplessness in finding a solution for waste disposal because all the past efforts of successive governments failed and people do not have faith in any model. He has formed a special cabinet subcommittee to tackle the waste issue and with the assembly session coming up on the 10th of this month, the Left opposition is certain to nail the Chandy government.

Source: IANS

Link:
http://health.india.com/news/kerala-struck-by-jaundice-and-dengue/

Republished here by courtesy of: Health. India. Com

018. Cities In Kerala Have Low Doctor Density

Cities in Kerala have low doctor density: Study

By The Hindu Business Line

P.T.Jyothi Datta
Mumbai, 31 July 2013

Cities like Malappuram, Kannur and Thrissur in Kerala share a common trait with Dhanbad in Jharkhand — they have a low density of doctors, reveals a study by IMS Health. Compared to Gurgaon that has three doctors per 1,000 patients, some cities in Kerala have less than one doctor for 1,000 patients, said the study that covered 120 top cities in the country, mapping the details of their doctors and chemists. Explaining the findings, against the backdrop of Kerala’s strong health indicators, Amit Backliwal, Managing Director of IMS Health (South Asia), said that low density did not necessarily translate into health indicators in the State. Kerala’s literacy, awareness and hygiene levels, for instance, also contributed to its strong health indicators.

New methods

In fact, even within cities there is a skew, where the doctors or healthcare providers sit, and patients have to travel to them. What needs to be done is to device methods to take healthcare to patients through other methods, including tele-medicine etc, he said. Kumar Hinduja, a Senior Director with IMS Health, further points out that low doctor density also presents an opportunity for setting up hospitals, for instance. Absence of doctors in the vicinity would result in people travelling out of the city for treatment.

The global parameter is 1.2 doctors for 1,000 people. And while the study found that 76 of these top cities were comparable, it meant 44 were below this parameter, and this further meant that other smaller cities could be in a similar situation, he observed.

Other interesting insights from the study were that North India was “over-served” by the healthcare system, compared to East and South India, that have a lower density of general practitioners (GPs- non-MBBS), compared to the Indian average, the study said. Explaining non-MBBS, he said it included practitioners of other forms of medicine, who also prescribed allopathic drugs.

High doctor fees

Cities in North India account for 31 per cent of doctors in the country, but only 28 per cent of the country’s people reside there. Delhi has the highest number of doctors, at about 40,500, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences being a huge magnet, they said. Kolkata and Mumbai were neck-to-neck at over 30,000 doctors, Hinduja said.

But Mumbaikars paid the highest doctor consultation fee, about 20 per cent higher than the rest of the country, the study found, for predictable reasons like the high realty cost, among other things. Interestingly, less than three per cent of doctors surveyed where tech-savvy, or used technology to maintain medical records.

Chemists’ sales

In other findings, the study found that 42 per cent of chemists in India were in the top nine most populated cities and 29 per cent of chemists’ sales were done without prescription. Over 35 per cent of chemists’ sales came from non-pharma products, such as over-the-counter products and medical devices like glucometers to check blood-sugar and blood pressure monitors, for instance.

Link:http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/cities-in-kerala-have-low-doctor-density-study/article4973208.ece

Republished here by courtesy of: The Hindu. Business Line

017. Blood Banks In Kerala Function Without Licenses, No Inspection For Years

Blood banks in Kerala function without licenses, no inspection for last 10 years

By Pharma Biz.Com

Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
August 22, 2013

More than 160 blood banks and 50 blood storage centres in Kerala are working without licenses for the last ten years as these units did not receive their renewed licenses and no inspection has been carried out in these units during the last several years, thanks to the apathy of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). The renewal applications of these units are pending with the drug authorities for long time, it is learnt. The AG’s and CAG’s reports had also carried remarks about the pending of renewal applications of blood banks with the drug control authorities and lack of inspections in these centres. According to sources, if inspections are not carried out on time, the entire operations of the blood banks are likely to fall in total fiasco. In Kerala, joint inspections were not conducted in two terms of renewal periods, in 2007 and 2012. The state authorities alone cannot do anything in the case of blood banks as it mandates a combined team of central and state agencies to inspect the units. As per the letter given to the comptroller and auditor general of India (CAG) by the state drug control authorities, the reason for the long delay is the non-cooperation from the side of CDSCO’s Chennai office. Sources said the Chennai office is not concerned about the seriousness of Kerala’s problems, so renewal applications of 161 blood banks are pending with the state drug control (DC) department. When contacted, sources in the state DC department said a total of 161 blood banks are working in Kerala, out of which 33 units are functioning under government control, and 128 in the private sector. The number of blood storage centres is 50. “We are forwarding all the applications to the CDSCO Chennai office as soon as we receive them. But they are not responding to our letters. The renewal of licences of blood banks is done after a combined inspection of officials from central and state departments. We have informed the matter to the CAG also,” said B Hariprasad, drugs controller of Kerala. To a question whether the units can function without renewing their licences, the DC said the blood bank units are doing the procedures for renewal properly. They can continue functioning after submitting the application. But it is the duty of the inspecting agencies to conduct inspection and issue licenses. He said more than 50 applications for fresh licenses are also pending with the office. All the attempts to contact the CDSCO officers were failed. There is report that the central office has no sufficient staff to carry out all the work on time.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=77257&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of: Pharma Biz. Com