Mother who rocks the cradle ameliorates the community
Mother who rocks the cradle ameliorates the community
Sir,
Khanna R and his colleagues addressed the vital subject of
female child fatality in India. (1). 175000 infants die every year
in Maharashtra state, India, alone. Sex disparities in health and
education are higher in south Asia than anywhere else in the world. 40% more
girls than boys are likely to die before the age of five (2).
Over the past forty years a wide range of developing countries have
successfully developed models of primary health care promoted by the
World Health Organization. In the year 1960 transient decreases in
infant mortality were reported by introduction of bare foot doctors in China. But at present infant fatality is 88%. Today, 60% of Chinese have
hepatitis B due to improper sterilized needles of bare foot doctors.(3)
SEARCH (Society for Education, Action, and Research in Community) reported 83% infant deaths due to pre-maturity, birth asphyxia, birth
injury and sepsis from rural Maharashtra (3). With the help of trained semiliterate women called health messengers (arogya doot) for home–based neonatal care and management of sepsis they achieved reduction in case fatality by 14% and infant mortality by 62%. (3)
In India illiteracy is the root cause of population explosion, poverty, malnutrition, maternal mortality, infectious and ischemic heart disease.
Child mortality is 18.8 per 1000 births in Kerala state and is achieved
because of 100% literacy, whereas it remains 137.6 per 1000 in Madhya
Pradesh due to illiteracy. Communities like that in India “health for
all” can be easily achieved by abolishing illiteracy, rather than giving training and authorizing semi-literate women and exposing poor illiterate people to the extra risk of infections such as hepatitis (3). It is
high time now charitable health institutes, health trusts and non-government organization should divert their funds and energy to rectify the root cause, which is illiteracy than its effects. Improvement of per capita income (2). Every one should attempt to make this world a safe haven for women and new comers.
Long term follow up of infants is crucially important for the possibility of development of insulin dependent diabetes and childhood cancer due to routine administration of cows' milk and injection vitamin K by SEARCH trained health messengers (4).
Good long term supervision is vital, while incorporating home based neonatal care in an illiterate community by semi-literate women (4).
Otherwise there will be no time to transform health messengers (arogye doot) to official disease spreaders (Rog doot), as China experienced in the recent past (2).
Pharmaceutical industries from developing countries like India should divert their funds to improve child fatality and should avoid sponsorship of free lunches, conferences and arranging tours abroad for doctors.
In India there is rampant corruption in the health department, health trusts and even in funding agencies. To avoid injustice to a female child, the conception, mother, and growing fetus till the age of five should be registered as wealth of a nation and be provided with all
health facilities and be protected from all consequences or handing them over to a nursing staff by establishing a new department(5).
Thanking you
Yours sincerely
H.S. Bawaskar
Bawaskar hospital and research center Mahad Dist – Raigad 402301,
Maharashtra, India
1-Khanna R, Kumar A, Vaghela JF, Sreenivas V and Puliyel Jm. Community
based retrospective study of sex in infant mortality in India . BMJ.
2003;327:126-30.
2-Victora CG, Wagstaff A, Schellenberg JA, Gwatkin D et al. Applying an
equity lens to child health and mortality : more of the same in not
enough. Lancet 2003; 362:23.
3-Elisabeth R. Chines Doctors dirty needles spread hepatitis. New York
times service the international herald tribune 8-22-1
4-Bang A, Bang R, Baitule SB, Reddy MH and Deshmukh MD. Effects of
home –based neonatal care and management of sepsis on neonatal mortality:
field trial in rural India . Lancet 1999;354:1155-61
5- Bawaskar H. Child survival in India. Lancet 2003;362: 26th July(
debate).
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
01 August 2003
himmatrao saluba Bawaskar
clinician
Bawaskar hospital and research center Mahad raigad maharashtra ndia 402301
Rapid Response:
Mother who rocks the cradle ameliorates the community
Mother who rocks the cradle ameliorates the community
Sir,
Khanna R and his colleagues addressed the vital subject of
female child fatality in India. (1). 175000 infants die every year
in Maharashtra state, India, alone. Sex disparities in health and
education are higher in south Asia than anywhere else in the world. 40% more
girls than boys are likely to die before the age of five (2).
Over the past forty years a wide range of developing countries have
successfully developed models of primary health care promoted by the
World Health Organization. In the year 1960 transient decreases in
infant mortality were reported by introduction of bare foot doctors in China. But at present infant fatality is 88%. Today, 60% of Chinese have
hepatitis B due to improper sterilized needles of bare foot doctors.(3)
SEARCH (Society for Education, Action, and Research in Community) reported 83% infant deaths due to pre-maturity, birth asphyxia, birth
injury and sepsis from rural Maharashtra (3). With the help of trained semiliterate women called health messengers (arogya doot) for home–based neonatal care and management of sepsis they achieved reduction in case fatality by 14% and infant mortality by 62%. (3)
In India illiteracy is the root cause of population explosion, poverty, malnutrition, maternal mortality, infectious and ischemic heart disease.
Child mortality is 18.8 per 1000 births in Kerala state and is achieved
because of 100% literacy, whereas it remains 137.6 per 1000 in Madhya
Pradesh due to illiteracy. Communities like that in India “health for
all” can be easily achieved by abolishing illiteracy, rather than giving training and authorizing semi-literate women and exposing poor illiterate people to the extra risk of infections such as hepatitis (3). It is
high time now charitable health institutes, health trusts and non-government organization should divert their funds and energy to rectify the root cause, which is illiteracy than its effects. Improvement of per capita income (2). Every one should attempt to make this world a safe haven for women and new comers.
Long term follow up of infants is crucially important for the possibility of development of insulin dependent diabetes and childhood cancer due to routine administration of cows' milk and injection vitamin K by SEARCH trained health messengers (4).
Good long term supervision is vital, while incorporating home based neonatal care in an illiterate community by semi-literate women (4).
Otherwise there will be no time to transform health messengers (arogye doot) to official disease spreaders (Rog doot), as China experienced in the recent past (2).
Pharmaceutical industries from developing countries like India should divert their funds to improve child fatality and should avoid sponsorship of free lunches, conferences and arranging tours abroad for doctors.
In India there is rampant corruption in the health department, health trusts and even in funding agencies. To avoid injustice to a female child, the conception, mother, and growing fetus till the age of five should be registered as wealth of a nation and be provided with all
health facilities and be protected from all consequences or handing them over to a nursing staff by establishing a new department(5).
Thanking you
Yours sincerely
H.S. Bawaskar
Bawaskar hospital and research center Mahad Dist – Raigad 402301,
Maharashtra, India
E-mail- himmatbawaskar@rediffmail.com
References
1-Khanna R, Kumar A, Vaghela JF, Sreenivas V and Puliyel Jm. Community
based retrospective study of sex in infant mortality in India . BMJ.
2003;327:126-30.
2-Victora CG, Wagstaff A, Schellenberg JA, Gwatkin D et al. Applying an
equity lens to child health and mortality : more of the same in not
enough. Lancet 2003; 362:23.
3-Elisabeth R. Chines Doctors dirty needles spread hepatitis. New York
times service the international herald tribune 8-22-1
4-Bang A, Bang R, Baitule SB, Reddy MH and Deshmukh MD. Effects of
home –based neonatal care and management of sepsis on neonatal mortality:
field trial in rural India . Lancet 1999;354:1155-61
5- Bawaskar H. Child survival in India. Lancet 2003;362: 26th July(
debate).
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests