PHA-Exchange> Re: PHA-Exchange digest, Vol 1 #306 - 4 msgs(message 1)
mohammad ali barzgar
m_barzgar at hotmail.com
Mon Mar 17 06:53:25 PST 2003
Dear Claudio,
You realy deserve a lot of credits and appreciation for administrating so
efficiently the interesting messages PHA- Exchange.Furthermore I have
enjoyed to read the best name that you have found for so called
research,i.e."STEALING" I fully agree with you that no body has the right to
collect data about the life of the people and then manipulate it and write
some articles and publish it for his/her own promotion, as you rightly noted
without sharing with them or doing anything for them.To my point of view if
any research supposed to be done the first question which the resaercher
should aske from himself is:What problem of the people will be addressed by
the findings of the research? Otherwise there is no any justification for
the research.Or in other word what is the IMPACT of the research on the well
being of the people.But one valuable point was in your message that how an
outsider has the right to collect data about the life situation of the
people.Ofcourse the information is not very correct,because the people will
not trust the outsider for provision of all the facts.I had the opportunity
to be exposed to the Thai Basic Minimum Needs(BMNs),experience in 1987,and
since then I have initiated it in several countries,where it worked fine
everywhere.The goal of the programme is "IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE
THROUGH MEETING THE BMNS OF THE PEOPLE".The concept is an integrated
socio-economic development,initiated (planned,implemented,and evaluated)by
the people supported technicaly and financialy by government.The technical
support of the government is comming through an intersectorial team,and
finacial support through soft loan for micro income- generation,and social
projects.The strategy is based on self-reliance and self-management.
The most interestig thing after sensitazation,prepration and mobilization of
the community is that,the Village is divided to several clusters of 20-30
families,in order to do not miss the poorest of the poor at the corner of
the village.Each cluster elect its own representative(CR).The Intersectorial
trained team(BMNsTeam),trains the village Development Committee and CRS
about the BMNs survey methodology.The survey is about the all inter-related
needs of the community.The CRs who are the close relative of the cluster
inhabitants,collect data from its own cluster,with support of VDC and BMNs
team.Then all the CRS tabulate and analyse the data and discuss it with its
own cluster family and in a public meeting of the community and reach to a
list of priorities and income generation & social projects after long and
through discussion of all concerned.i.e VDC,CRS,BMNs team members and the
public.Then the committment of each party is identified.Finally the projects
are planned and implemented by the people with support of BMNs team.The
conclusion is that the data is collected by the representative(CR) of the
people and not by an outsider.And all the public are sharing the data and
decision is made based on evidence which the public are in the picture.The
information is true and accurate,and finaly the data are used for action by
the community.Lastly there is much less stealing,but more action oriented
research or applied research.I thouth it might be relevant to your
interesting message,therefor I shared with you and other friends.Nowdays I
am trying it in my home province in Iran,after successful experience
abroad.Thanks and regards.Dr.M.A.Barzgar,PHM,Iran
>From: pha-exchange-request at kabissa.org
>Reply-To: pha-exchange at kabissa.org
>To: pha-exchange at kabissa.org
>Subject: PHA-Exchange digest, Vol 1 #306 - 4 msgs
>Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 10:26:11 -0600
>
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>
>Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re posting "Whose data? 'Stealing' from the poor" (claudio)
> 2. SWAZILAND: Traditional healers, new partners against HIV/AIDS
>(George(s) Lessard )
> 3. Expert group stresses that unsafe sex is primary mode of HIV
>transmission in Africa (claudio)
> 4. IRAQ- Looming health disaster- a first hand report from Baghdad
>(PART 2) (UNNIKRISHNAN PV (Dr))
>
>--__--__--
>
>Message: 1
>From: "claudio" <aviva at netnam.vn>
>To: "pha-exch" <pha-exchange at kabissa.org>
>Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 22:23:39 +0700
>Subject: PHA-Exchange> Re posting "Whose data? 'Stealing' from the poor"
>
>From: "FIVDB" <fivdbdhk at citechco.net>
>
> > Lets remember the proverb once again:
> > 'To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism;
> > To steal from many is RESEARCH !'
> >
> > Isn't it?
> > Another important issue I would like to raise is: most of the
> > leading academics, economist, researchers are doing the same thing for
>a
> > long time, because they believe this is their right (!), i.e. to
>capture
>poverty
> > data (eventually all types of data)... without de-briefing or sharig the
> > analyzed data/outputs/findings with the kind respondents. Sometimes
>data
>collectors completely forget/ignore that they are dealing
> > with human beings who are not bound to provide info to a complete
>stranger
> > with a very different mind set!
> >
>We should raise our voices in proper fora
> > about this and our own professional research ethics.
>
>
>
>--__--__--
>
>Message: 2
>From: "George(s) Lessard " <media at web.net>
>Organization: http://www.mediamentor.ca
>To: creative-radio at egroups.com, pha-exchange at kabissa.org
>Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 10:04:50 -0600
>Subject: PHA-Exchange> SWAZILAND: Traditional healers, new partners against
>HIV/AIDS
>
>
>------- Forwarded message follows -------
>From: IRIN <IRIN at irinnews.org>
>Date sent: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 12:37:16 GMT
>Subject: SWAZILAND: Traditional healers, new
>partners against HIV/AIDS
>
>U N I T E D N A T I O N S
>Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
>Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)
>
>SWAZILAND: Traditional healers, new partners against HIV/AIDS
>
>MBABANE, 25 February (IRIN) - Swaziland's health ministry has
>begun enlisting traditional healers in efforts to contain HIV and assist
>patients with AIDS-related illnesses. The cooperation between
>modern and traditional medicine reverses decades of separation,
>and highlights the extent of the AIDS emergency in Swaziland.
>
>"We are a little behind the curve in getting the 'tinyanga' (traditional
>medicine men and women) on board, but by now the medical
>establishment agrees that these healers can be enormously helpful
>because they have such close ties with the community," Dr John
>Kunene, principal secretary at the Ministry of Health, told IRIN.
>
>The Swaziland branch of the Traditional Healers Association of
>South Africa estimates that about 3,000 traditional healers are at
>work in the country. Exact figures are hard to establish, because
>customarily healers work independently, and do not belong to any
>professional group.
>
>"I trained under a healer in my community, and I never had any
>contact with the Western doctors until the health ministry held an
>AIDS seminar for us," Gogo Shongwe, a healer in Kwaluseni, in rural
>central Swaziland, told IRIN.
>
>Organised by agencies like UNAIDS, the AIDS Support Centre of
>Manzini and the health ministry, the seminars seek to both enlist
>healers in anti-AIDS efforts, and inform them about the disease.
>
>"We respect traditional healers because they are knowledgeable in
>their own way about medicine, and they have a great following in the
>communities," AIDS activist Pholile Dlamini said.
>
>A World Health Organisation survey in the 1990s found that a
>majority of Swazis use traditional healers as their primary source of
>health care, despite a growing network of health clinics and private
>physicians.
>
>"At the clinics there are long queues, and there is often no
>medicine," said Stella Magongo from Manzini, the country's
>commercial centre. The main hospital in Manzini faces bankruptcy
>due to mismanagement.
>
>Understaffed and lacking in resources and medicines, health clinics
>cannot devote the time to individual patients that traditional healers,
>working from home, can provide. Supplies of traditional medicines,
>which are used to lessen everything from labour pains to treating
>gout, seem inexhaustible, because they are made from roots and
>barks extracted from the fields and forests of this largely rural nation.
>
>"My inyanga [healer] knows me and my family. Going for treatment is
>like a social visit," Magongo said.
>
>Health officials aim to tap into those bonds of trust, to pass on
>HIV/AIDS information in a country in which 38.6 percent of the adult
>population are HIV-positive.
>
>Health ministry field workers search urban townships and rural areas
>to locate healers, then arrange their transport to ministry seminars.
>The healers are taught how the HI virus infects and affects the body,
>and ways to prevent opportunistic infections.
>
>But the medical establishment has also had to tackle the claims
>made by some healers that they have a treatment that cures AIDS.
>
>Gladys Simelane, who conducts HIV/AIDS awareness workshops,
>explained: "We emphasise that there is no cure for AIDS, and it is
>cruel to give patients false hope. We see how desperate people try
>any new 'cure' that is proclaimed in the media. The healers are told
>that if they think they have a medicine that helps people with AIDS,
>they must bring it to us for testing."
>
>In the past, traditional healers were accused of contributing to the
>spread of AIDS by using the same razor blade to draw blood from a
>number of patients while performing "kugata", the making of
>incisions into which medicines are rubbed.
>
>"Traditional healers are poor, and we cannot afford a new razor
>blade for each patient," said healer Shongwe. "But we are returning
>to the traditional way of making punctures, using porcupine quills."
>
>The quills also have natural antiseptic chemicals that protect the cut
>from infection.
>
>Health ministry education officers also take the AIDS message to
>traditional healers at their workplaces. They bring with them a supply
>of condoms to distribute to patients.
>
>Ten years ago, a self-proclaimed head of Swaziland's traditional
>healers discouraged the use of condoms, which he said were
>opposed by Swazi custom. The healer was accused in the press of
>jeopardising lives, and traditional healers were blamed for furthering
>the spread of HIV.
>
>"There is no resistance at all now to accepting and distributing
>condoms," Dlamini said of her trips to traditional healers. "They
>complain that there are not enough condoms."
>
>Healers are told about clinics and AIDS prevention centres that
>conduct blood tests and counselling. Given Swaziland's high HIV-
>infection rate, everyone is encouraged to know his or her HIV status.
>
>"Some healers have asked if they could get involved in the HIV tests,
>but because this is a technical procedure, we have had to disappoint
>them. But the healers can be instructed to do counselling services,
>because they are already natural counsellors to their patients," said
>Dlamini.
>
>The enlistment of traditional healers in the AIDS containment effort
>has also helped local conservationists and educators to identify
>indigenous plants with medicinal properties. The need to catalogue
>these plants becomes more urgent as an expanding population
>reduces wilderness areas where traditional healers go for their
>herbs.
>
>The bonds that are being made between traditional and Western
>medicine in the response to AIDS are also bringing together two
>world views on curing, that in the past were separated by prejudice.
>Healers complained that they were not respected, while the medical
>establishment dismissed the healers' credentials and folk remedies.
>Now the two groups are working together against a national medical
>emergency.
>
>[ENDS]
>
>IRIN-SA
>Tel: +27 11 880-4633
>Fax: +27 11 447-5472
>Email: IRIN-SA at irin.org.za
>
>[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's
>IRIN
>humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the
>views
>of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or
>to change your keywords, contact e-mail: IRIN at ocha.unon.org or
>Web:
>http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
>this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by
>commercial
>sites requires written IRIN permission.]
>
>Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
>2003
>
>To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit:
>http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions/subslogin.asp
>------- End of forwarded message ---------
>:-) Message Ends; George(s) Lessard's Keywords Begin (-:
>Freelance Media Arts, Management, Training, Mentoring &
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>-Caveat Lector- Disclaimers, NOTES TO EDITORS
>& (c) information may be found @
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> - 30 -
>
>
>--__--__--
>
>Message: 3
>From: "claudio" <aviva at netnam.vn>
>To: "pha-exch" <pha-exchange at kabissa.org>,
> "scfUS" <info at savechildren.org.vn>, "pamela" <pamelaw at hn.vnn.vn>,
> "red cross" <ifrc at hn.vnn.vn>, "ford" <ford-hanoi at fordfound.org>,
> "crs" <crs at crs.org.vn>, "scsweden" <scs at scsweden.org.vn>,
> <pchanoi at netnam.org.vn>, <planvn at netnam.org.vn>,
> <oxfamq at netnam.org.vn>, <mcc at netnam.org.vn>, <mmhanoi at netnam.org.vn>,
> <carswi at netnam.org.vn>, <bfdw at netnam.org.vn>, <oxfamb at netnam.org.vn>,
> <pathcan at netnam.org.vn>, <snvvn at netnam.org.vn>,
> <vsohanoi at netnam.org.vn>, <eedvn at netnam.org.vn>,
> "adravn at netnam.org.vn"@hcmc.netnam.vn,
> <community-health-l at mail.msh.org>
>Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 08:41:59 +0700
>Subject: PHA-Exchange> Expert group stresses that unsafe sex is primary
>mode of HIV transmission in Africa
>
>From: "Dieter Neuvians MD" <neuvians at mweb.co.za>
>
> > Expert group stresses that unsafe sex is primary mode of HIV
>transmission
>in Africa
> >
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>--------> Source:
>http://www.unaids.org/whatsnew/press/eng/HIVinjections140303_en.html
> >
> > Geneva , 14 March 2003 - An expert group has reaffirmed that unsafe
>sexual
> > practices are responsible for the vast majority of HIV infections in
>sub-
> > Saharan Africa, and that safer sex promotion must remain the primary
>fea-
> > ture of prevention programmes in the region.
> >
> > Today the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations
>Pro-
> > gramme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) hosted an expert consultation which
>addressed
> > issues related to unsafe injection practices and HIV in healthcare
>contexts
> > and evaluated the relative contribution of unsafe injections to HIV
>trans-
> > mission in sub-Saharan Africa.
> >
> > Following a review of evidence, which included recent articles
>suggesting
> > that a majority of HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa are due to
>unsafe
> > medical practices, particularly injections, the experts concluded that
>such
> > suggestions are not supported by the vast majority of evidence and that
>un-
> > safe sexual practices continue to be responsible for the overwhelming
>ma-
> > jority of HIV infections. While a combination of prevention measures are
> > required to tackle all modes of HIV transmission, safer sex promotion
>must
> > remain the primary feature of prevention programmes in the region.
> >
> > This position is strongly supported by epidemiological and biomedical
>data.
> > For example, children between 5-14 years, who are generally not yet
>sexu-
> > ally active, have very low infection rates; age-specific infection rates
> > among young women and men strongly follow patterns of sexual behaviour
>and
> > those of other sexually transmitted infections (such as herpes simplex
>vi-
> > rus-2); in sexually active couples both partners are often infected;
>and,
> > there is no consistent association between higher HIV rates and lower
>in-
> > jection safety standards.
> >
> > Modelling of the epidemic with the best available information also shows
> > that the overwhelming majority of infections are due to unsafe sex. WHO
>has
> > previously estimated that unsafe injection practices account for about
>2.5%
> > HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Although there is a margin of
>uncer-
> > tainty around this estimate, the conclusion remains that unsafe sex is
>by
> > far the predominant mode of transmission in sub-Saharan Africa.
> >
> > With approximately 3.5 million Africans becoming infected in 2002 alone,
> > and a total of 29.4 million adults and children living with HIV/AIDS in
>the
> > region, the prevention of HIV through the practice of safer sex should
>be
> > the mainstay of the response to AIDS in the region. Discussions about
>the
> > importance of other modes of transmission should at no time weaken this
> > central part of the response.
> >
> > The expert consultation also emphasized the importance of achieving safe
> > and appropriate use of injections in both the formal and informal health
> > care sectors of low and middle income countries, as in high income coun-
> > tries. There are an estimated 16 billion injections given globally each
> > year, of which an estimated 30 per cent are unsafe due to the reuse of
> > equipment. The participants of the meeting fully agreed that safe
>medical
> > injections are crucial to minimise the risk of transmission of not only
> > HIV, but other pathogens such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C in
>healthcare
> > settings, and to maintain confidence in the healthcare system.
> >
> > Injections are vital for immunization programmes and for the provision
>of
> > life-saving treatment. Injections should be used only when medically
>neces-
> > sary, and should be given using single use equipment which is then
>disposed
> > of safely. In the past several years, major efforts and resources have
>been
> > devoted to enhancing injection safety in the healthcare setting through
> > better planning of services including immunization, training of care
>pro-
> > viders and vaccinators, provision of single-use injection equipment and
> > proper 'sharps' disposal. More needs to be done to eliminate unsafe
>injec-
> > tion practices throughout the world. To further this work, WHO has just
>is-
> > sued a framework to assist countries with all aspects of the provision
>of
> > safe injections, entitled "Managing an Injection Safety Policy".
> >
> > In the context of the AIDS epidemic, WHO and UNAIDS continue to strive
>to
> > understand the global and local epidemiology of HIV, consider new
>informa-
> > tion as it arises, and provide leadership to prevent HIV infection from
>all
> > sources, including unsafe sex, mother-to-child transmission, blood and
> > blood products and unsafe injections.
> >
> > _______________________________
> > For more information, please contact Dominique de Santis, UNAIDS,
>Geneva,
> > (+41 22) 791 4509 or (+41 79) 254 6803 (mobile), Andrew Shih, UNAIDS,
>New
> > York, (+ 1 212) 584 5012, or Chris Powell, WHO, Geneva, (+41 22) 791
>2888
> > or (+41 79) 217 3425 (mobile) or Christine McNab (+41 22) 791 4688 or
>(+41
> > 79) 254 6815 (mobile). You may also visit the UNAIDS Home Page on the
> > Internet for more information about the programme
>(http://www.unaids.org).
> >
>
>
>
>--__--__--
>
>Message: 4
>From: "UNNIKRISHNAN PV (Dr)" <unnikru at yahoo.com>
>To: <PHM_Humanitarian_action_circle at yahoogroups.com>,
> <PHM_Steering_Group_02-03 at yahoogroups.com>,
> "PHA Global" <pha-exchange at kabissa.org>,
> <PHA-Europe at egroups.com>,
> <pha-ncc at yahoogroups.com>,
> "IPHCWORLDWIDEY" <IPHCWORLDWIDE at yahoogroups.com>
>Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 08:21:04 -0800
>Subject: PHA-Exchange> IRAQ- Looming health disaster- a first hand report
>from Baghdad (PART 2)
>
>This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
>
>------=_NextPart_000_009E_01C2EB94.FD90AF00
>Content-Type: text/plain;
> charset="iso-8859-1"
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
>Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 8:10 AM
>Subject: IRAQ- Looming health disaster- a first hand report from Baghdad
>
>
>IRAQ- Looming health disaster
>
>http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayitems.asp?id=3DSEH20030315041710&=
>eTitle=3DCover+Story&rLink=3D0
>
> =20
> March 16,2003 THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS=20
> Cover Story- part 2=20
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
>-
> =20
> Looming health disaster-=20
>
> Dr P V Unnikrishnan & Prof S Parasuraman report first-hand from =
>Baghdad=20
>
> The UN, aid agencies and other experts with first-hand knowledge =
>of the ground situation in Iraq are united in one warning: As and when =
>it comes, the new war in Iraq will be longer, more devastating and more =
>horrendously costly in human terms than anyone expects.=20
>
> The American strategy is not necessarily built around a long =
>operation. In fact, Western sources say that America will aim at quickly =
>destroying Iraq's military and administrative infrastructure and =
>electricity supplies. After the country has thus been rendered =
>inoperative, American strategists hope to draw out Saddam Hussein's =
>crack troop in and around Baghdad and attack them with massive ground =
>forces supported by intense aerial bombardment.=20
>
> The actual scenario on the ground need not necessarily follow =
>this script. Driven to a wall, there is no saying what the Iraqi forces =
>will do. According to a report by Britain's Oxford Research Group last =
>October, Iraq could launch strategic strikes on neighbouring countries. =
>That in turn could persuade the British Government to use a nuclear =
>weapon on Baghdad. On the other hand, the Gulf war experience of 1991 =
>suggests the possibility of Iraq, its survival threatened, using =
>chemical and biological weapons. Clearly the situation could be uglier =
>than anything the world has seen.=20
>
> Whatever happens, the plight of the people, already stretched to =
>unbearable limits, will decidedly get worse. According to the US-based =
>Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), ''A public-health emergency created =
>by an impaired infrastructure exacerbates the Iraqi population's =
>vulnerability to disease and hunger, given the already degraded =
>condition of health facilities, potable water, and limited food =
>supply''. Some 16 million people are wholly dependent on government =
>distributed food from the UN's oil-for-food programme. During a war, =
>existing supply lines will be either shut down or rerouted. Iraq tried =
>to grow its own food but has been crippled by a major drought in the =
>past 3 years, noted Oxfam in a briefing paper published in December last =
>year. Attempts to irrigate the land have been hampered by the sanctions. =
>The 2002 wheat harvest of 16 millions tonnes will run out in early 2003, =
>added Oxfam.=20
>
> Currently food is distributed 21 days per month by the =
>government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to about 1 million =
>people per day. This ''begs the question of how the population's basic =
>needs will be met when government operations and transport and storage =
>infrastructure are disrupted or destroyed by war'', said Joel Charny, =
>vice president of policy for Refugees International in a statement =
>published on Feb 5.=20
>
> According to a survey published by The Lancet last month, Iraq's =
>health sector currently has a 4-month supply of basic medicines and =
>medical supplies. But these stocks will be inadequate during and after a =
>war. Immediate health concerns during a war will be conflict-related =
>injuries. But as war progresses there will be a rapid increase in =
>diarrhoeal disease if access to potable water is denied, and if oil =
>wells are sabotaged the contaminated air will cause a simultaneous rise =
>in respiratory infections.=20
>
> Water treatment plants that have emergency electricity =
>generators cover 70 percent of the urban population but only 10 percent =
>of rural people. UNICEF has warned that at least 39 percent of people =
>will need to be supplied with water rations.=20
>
> The country's sanitation system is also in a sorry state of =
>repair with 500,000 tonnes of raw sewage pumped daily into fresh water =
>sources. Half of all sewage treatment plants do not work and of those =
>that do 25 percent do not meet Iraq's environmental standards, said =
>Oxfam in a paper published in December 2002.=20
>
> The UN has noted that of the 5 million people living in Baghdad, =
>4 million have access to a sewerage system. If electricity supplies are =
>disrupted NGOs are concerned that only 10 percent of the sewage =
>treatment plants serving Baghdad have emergency electricity supplies. =
>''It cannot be emphasised too strongly that even a 'best-case' scenario =
>of a limited war of short duration, perhaps comparable to 1991, would =
>have much greater impact on the Iraqi people'', said MedAct, the UK =
>affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, =
>in a report published last year.=20
>
> MedAct warned that ''if the war is likely to cause worse =
>problems than those it sets out to solve, then it is ill-advised under =
>any circumstances, and other options must be explored''.=20
>
> Dr P V Unnikrishnan is a medical doctor working on humanitarian =
>issues with the People's Health Movement. Prof S Parasuraman is =
>ActionAid Policy Coordinator in Bangkok. They visited Baghdad in =
>February on a humanitarian mission on behalf of ActionAid, People's =
>Health Movement and like-minded organisations.
> =20
>
>
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><DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">
><DIV><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March 16, 2003 8:10 AM</DIV>
><DIV><B>Subject:</B> IRAQ- Looming health disaster- a first hand report =
>from=20
>Baghdad</DIV></DIV>
><DIV><BR></DIV>
><DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
><DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3D4>IRAQ- </FONT><FONT color=3Dblack=20
>face=3DVerdana><BIG>Looming health disaster</BIG></FONT></STRONG></DIV>
><DIV> </DIV>
><DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><A=20
>href=3D"http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayitems.asp?id=3DSEH2003031=
>5041710&eTitle=3DCover+Story&rLink=3D0">http://www.newindpress.co=
>m/sunday/sundayitems.asp?id=3DSEH20030315041710&eTitle=3DCover+Story&=
>amp;rLink=3D0</A></FONT></DIV>
><DIV> </DIV>
><DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
><TABLE border=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 cellSpacing=3D0 width=3D469>
> <TBODY>
> <TR>
> <TD width=3D469>
> <DIV><FONT color=3D#dd3504 face=3D"Times New Roman"><BIG><FONT =
>face=3DArial=20
> size=3D2><STRONG><IMG alt=3D"Sunday Express" height=3D52=20
> =
>src=3D"mhtml:mid://00000043/!cid:002201c2ebd5$b7ee3bc0$759441db@s6n4m5"=20
> style=3D"HEIGHT: 30px; WIDTH: 120px" width=3D200></STRONG><FONT=20
> color=3D#000000> =20
> </FONT></FONT></BIG></FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT color=3D#dd3504 face=3D"Times New Roman"><BIG><FONT =
>face=3DArial=20
> size=3D2><FONT color=3D#000000><FONT size=3D3><STRONG>March =
>16,2003 =20
> THE NEW INDIAN=20
> EXPRESS </STRONG></FONT></FONT></FONT></BIG></FONT></DIV>
> <DIV><FONT color=3D#dd3504 face=3D"Times New =
>Roman"><BIG></BIG></FONT><FONT=20
> color=3D#dd3504 face=3D"Times New Roman"><BIG><STRONG>Cover =
>Story- =20
> part 2</STRONG></BIG></FONT></DIV></TD></TR>
> <TR>
> <TD width=3D469>
> <HR align=3Dleft color=3D#ff0000 SIZE=3D1 width=3D469>
> </TD></TR>
> <TR>
> <TD width=3D469>
> <BLOCKQUOTE>
> <P><FONT color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><BIG><B>Looming health =
>disaster-=20
> </B></BIG></FONT></P>
> <P><FONT color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><BIG><STRONG><FONT =
>color=3Dred=20
> face=3DVerdana size=3D2><B><I>Dr P V Unnikrishnan & Prof S =
>Parasuraman=20
> report first-hand from Baghdad</I>=20
> <BR><BR></B></FONT></STRONG></BIG></FONT><FONT =
>face=3DVerdana><SMALL>The=20
> UN, aid agencies and other experts with first-hand knowledge of =
>the=20
> ground situation in Iraq are united in one warning: As and when =
>it=20
> comes, the new war in Iraq will be longer, more devastating and =
>more=20
> horrendously costly in human terms than anyone expects. =
><BR><BR>The=20
> American strategy is not necessarily built around a long =
>operation. In=20
> fact, Western sources say that America will aim at quickly =
>destroying=20
> Iraq’s military and administrative infrastructure and =
>electricity=20
> supplies. After the country has thus been rendered inoperative, =
>American=20
> strategists hope to draw out Saddam Hussein’s crack troop =
>in and around=20
> Baghdad and attack them with massive ground forces supported by =
>intense=20
> aerial bombardment. <BR><BR>The actual scenario on the ground =
>need not=20
> necessarily follow this script. Driven to a wall, there is no =
>saying=20
> what the Iraqi forces will do. According to a report by =
>Britain’s Oxford=20
> Research Group last October, Iraq could launch strategic strikes =
>on=20
> neighbouring countries. That in turn could persuade the British=20
> Government to use a nuclear weapon on Baghdad. On the other =
>hand, the=20
> Gulf war experience of 1991 suggests the possibility of Iraq, =
>its=20
> survival threatened, using chemical and biological weapons. =
>Clearly the=20
> situation could be uglier than anything the world has seen.=20
> <BR><BR>Whatever happens, the plight of the people, already =
>stretched to=20
> unbearable limits, will decidedly get worse. According to the =
>US-based=20
> Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), ‘‘A public-health =
>emergency created=20
> by an impaired infrastructure exacerbates the Iraqi =
>population’s=20
> vulnerability to disease and hunger, given the already degraded=20
> condition of health facilities, potable water, and limited food=20
> supply’’. Some 16 million people are wholly =
>dependent on government=20
> distributed food from the UN’s oil-for-food programme. =
>During a war,=20
> existing supply lines will be either shut down or rerouted. Iraq =
>tried=20
> to grow its own food but has been crippled by a major drought in =
>the=20
> past 3 years, noted Oxfam in a briefing paper published in =
>December last=20
> year. Attempts to irrigate the land have been hampered by the =
>sanctions.=20
> The 2002 wheat harvest of 16 millions tonnes will run out in =
>early 2003,=20
> added Oxfam. <BR><BR>Currently food is distributed 21 days per =
>month by=20
> the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to =
>about 1=20
> million people per day. This ‘‘begs the question of =
>how the population’s=20
> basic needs will be met when government operations and transport =
>and=20
> storage infrastructure are disrupted or destroyed by =
>war’’, said Joel=20
> Charny, vice president of policy for Refugees International in a =
>
> statement published on Feb 5. <BR><BR>According to a survey =
>published by=20
> The Lancet last month, Iraq’s health sector currently has =
>a 4-month=20
> supply of basic medicines and medical supplies. But these stocks =
>will be=20
> inadequate during and after a war. Immediate health concerns =
>during a=20
> war will be conflict-related injuries. But as war progresses =
>there will=20
> be a rapid increase in diarrhoeal disease if access to potable =
>water is=20
> denied, and if oil wells are sabotaged the contaminated air will =
>cause a=20
> simultaneous rise in respiratory infections. <BR><BR>Water =
>treatment=20
> plants that have emergency electricity generators cover 70 =
>percent of=20
> the urban population but only 10 percent of rural people. UNICEF =
>has=20
> warned that at least 39 percent of people will need to be =
>supplied with=20
> water rations. <BR><BR>The country’s sanitation system is =
>also in a=20
> sorry state of repair with 500,000 tonnes of raw sewage pumped =
>daily=20
> into fresh water sources. Half of all sewage treatment plants do =
>not=20
> work and of those that do 25 percent do not meet Iraq’s =
>environmental=20
> standards, said Oxfam in a paper published in December 2002. =
><BR><BR>The=20
> UN has noted that of the 5 million people living in Baghdad, 4 =
>million=20
> have access to a sewerage system. If electricity supplies are =
>disrupted=20
> NGOs are concerned that only 10 percent of the sewage treatment =
>plants=20
> serving Baghdad have emergency electricity supplies. =
>‘‘It cannot be=20
> emphasised too strongly that even a ‘best-case’ =
>scenario of a limited=20
> war of short duration, perhaps comparable to 1991, would have =
>much=20
> greater impact on the Iraqi people’’, said MedAct, =
>the UK affiliate of=20
> International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, in a =
>report=20
> published last year. <BR><BR>MedAct warned that ‘‘if =
>the war is likely=20
> to cause worse problems than those it sets out to solve, then it =
>is=20
> ill-advised under any circumstances, and other options must be=20
> explored’’. </SMALL></FONT></P>
> <P><FONT face=3DVerdana><SMALL>Dr P V Unnikrishnan is a medical =
>doctor=20
> working on humanitarian issues with the People’s Health =
>Movement. Prof S=20
> Parasuraman is ActionAid Policy Coordinator in Bangkok. They =
>visited=20
> Baghdad in February on a humanitarian mission on behalf of =
>ActionAid,=20
> People’s Health Movement and like-minded=20
> organisations.</SMALL></FONT><FONT=20
> =
>face=3DVerdana><SMALL></P></SMALL></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TBODY><=
>/TABLE></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
>
>------=_NextPart_000_009E_01C2EB94.FD90AF00--
>
>
>
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