Child Health

With most school managements in Bengaluru reluctant to adhere to some of the child safety guidelines issued by the Police Department, there is uncertainty in the air. While the Police Department is unsure about taking action against schools that do not comply with the rules after August 31, school managements have not decided on their course of action yet. Bangalore Police Commissioner M N Reddi is aware of the concerns raised by the private school associations. However he admitted that taking action against schools that don’t follow the norms is not easy. "We just cannot take action immediately, there are…

Following the tragic but avoidable death of 6 year-old Meghala from D.J.Halli on July 17th 2013 due to malnutrition, the increased focus on the social indicators in D.J.Halli revealed a high incidence of disability in the area.  At the public hearing on 12th December 2013 at DJ Halli, several differently-abled persons shared the issues they faced with regard to access to disability pension and other schemes. The jury said that this was a human rights violation and the District disability welfare officer (DDWO) for Bangalore urban, Mr. G. Mohan promised to do a survey within the next two months to…

Many a times, schools and parents do not know how to deal with Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). The result is delayed complaints / no complaints, destruction of concrete evidence unknowingly, not caring for the identity and dignity of the child enough, insensitive media coverage etc., which come in the way of delivering justice and to the traumatised child and family and getting their life back on track. National Institute of Mental Health And Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) has prepared an advisory which has many important points to be taken care of by everyone. Need for a child-centric response to CSA The continual…

DJ halli in Bangalore has been in the news for several reasons primarily for the deaths of children due to severe malnutrition and associated medical illnesses and complications including disabilities. The community has met several times over the last few months and identified many problems in DJ halli. These are: 1.   Anganwadis which are inadequate for the population of DJ halli  and ill equipped to meet the needs of the children. Many children are still not enrolled in anganwadis and do not have access to any of the benefits. Children with SAM and cerebral palsy have even more difficulties in…

Enter most restaurants and chances are you’ll see most kids above the age of five (or even lesser) entertaining themselves with the help of electronic gadgets like smart phones and tablets. Ditto for flights, airports or any other ‘adult’ space that requires some amount of waiting and isn’t exactly big on the appeal factor for kids. Gadgets have become an integral part of our lives, be it smart phones, laptops, iPods or iPads. Children even have their own toys that mimic these gadgets well, like Leapfrog products or Made in China copies of iPad style toys. They do save our…

Citizen Matters had published an article on the death of Meghala, a girl aged six and weighing 12 kg, at D J Halli. This article throws light on the extent of malnutrition in Karnataka and how various recommendations to combat the same were ignored by the government, resulting in a death that could have otherwise been prevented. Meghala's death and the subsequent reaction in the media and political corridors is reminiscent of the furore after the death of five-year-old Anjaneya from Raichur in late 2011. Anjaneya was diagnosed as being severely malnourished in 2010 and yet, thanks in no small…

The world recently observed breastfeeding week, to spread awareness on the importance of breastfeeding babies. In Bangalore too there were several awareness campaigns, seminars, rallies, advertisements and related promotions. The government has for sometime been campaigning aggressively on malnutrition and importance of breastfeeding through a series of advertisements with film actor Aamir Khan as the ambassador. Experts however are pointing to a declining graph among educated women on the willingness to breastfeed their babies even for first six months. Why unwillingness to feed the baby? Breastfeeding a baby brings its own set of ‘problems’ which many new moms find tough…

Meghala, who died on 17 July 2013, due to malnutrition coupled with pneumonia. Pic: Javed Iqbal   “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi There were two little girls in Bangalore. They lived quite far away from each other, and never knew the other existed.  They were diagnosed with similar illnesses in a gap of two weeks – one having contracted pneumonia and the other affected with pneumonitis (a milder form of pneumonia). Both of them weighed exactly 11.8 kgs at the time of diagnosis. One lived in a slum, and the other in a middle-class…

As the monsoons hit Bangalore quenching the thirst of a parched landscape, the heavenly waters also bring with it the burden of deadly diseases like dengue. As industrial revolution and rapid scientific advancement made life easy for human life on this planet, it also brought in unforeseen challenges with regard to health and hygiene. Dengue fever, from being present in small pockets around the tropical earth, has now become a pandemic putting almost one third of the world population at risk. It is a flu-like viral fever spread by mosquito bites. The severe form potentially kills 1 in 5 affected…

Recognizing that accidents are one of the biggest killers of children in India is paramount to preventing thousands of hospital admissions, hundreds of deaths and disabilities every week, in children. Understanding that many of these are avoidable is important to provide a safe environment to nurture our children before they are scarred for ever. With the objective of ensuring a safe and healthy environment for our children and to enable them to lead more active lives, Dr Supraja Chandrasekar, an oncosurgeon in Bangalore and Ilaunched the Safe Children Mission. Our plan of action includes increasing awareness among caregivers, providing safety…