Reportage
POSHAN Maah 2021: Recipe competitions, local nutritious cuisines, plantation of fruit trees in focus as nutrition scheme charts out weekly themes
To improve nutrition levels in women and children, the central government has divided September month into weekly themes. These also include setting up ‘Poshan Vatikas’ in anganwadi centres and promotion of local nutritious meals for pregnant women through recipe competition. More details here.
Gaon Connection
India Clean Air Summit 2021: Energy, transportation should be managed better, industrial pollution needs to be reduced, says Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Prabhu
The India Clean Air Summit 2021 was organised by the Center for Air Pollution Studies (CAPS) at the Center for the Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) and was held on August 26-27
Gaon Connection
Single dose of Covaxin produces same immune response as two doses if person is previously infected with COVID19: ICMR
As a part of the ICMR study, blood samples were collected from 114 healthcare professionals and frontline workers who received Covaxin at vaccination centres in Chennai from February to May 2021.
englishteam
Is mandatory food fortification a boon or bane?
In a bid to address malnutrition and anaemia in the country, the Indian government has decided to provide rice fortified with iron under its PDS and mid-day meal schemes from 2024. Many public health and nutrition experts oppose the decision.
Shivani Gupta
Explained: How air pollution affects monsoon rains in India
The adverse effects of air pollution on human health are well-established. Now, scientists agree that pollutants interfere with the differential heating of land and sea and reduce the country-wide rainfall by at least 10 per cent and also cause extreme weather events like unusually heavy rainfall. More details here.
Gaon Connection
Diarrhoea outbreak in a tribal village in UP’s Sonbhadra leaves a pregnant woman dead and several others in hospital
The sole water tank has not been cleaned for 15 years, there are no safai karamcharis who clear the surroundings, and a single tap serves the entire population of 1,100. Belwania in Uttar Pradesh offers the perfect recipe for a disease outbreak, and currently, diarrhoea is rampaging through the village.
Brijendra Dubey
Centre launches e-portal for unorganised migrant workers; activists welcome the move but have a few concerns
A national database portal has been launched for unorganised sector workers to access benefits of government schemes. However, activists point out that the registration system does not take into consideration the digital divide in rural India. Organising registration camps and door-step registration services would help, they say.
Gaon Connection
Free treatment to COVID19 patients: ‘Eastern India’s largest life support medical facility inaugurated in Odisha’
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated what is claimed to be eastern India’s largest ECMO facility in Cuttack. Seriously ill COVID-19 patients in Odisha will no longer be required to go outside to avail this treatment, he said. What is an ECMO? Details here.
Gaon Connection
Urban flooding and rising temperatures cited as biggest challenges as Mumbai begins to draft its first ‘climate action plan’
Waste management, urban greening and biodiversity, urban flooding and water resource management, building energy efficiency, air quality and sustainable transport are in focus as India’s financial capital has initialised its maiden climate action plan. More details here.
englishteam
The virus aside, it was the lack of information about COVID19 that killed many in the second wave in rural India
When the second wave of the COVID19 pandemic hit India, the daily fatalities ran into thousands. Rural India bore the brunt of it. What made it worse was the absence of credible information about the disease, both with the villagers and the overworked frontline health workers. A two-part Gaon Connection report from rural Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.