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Focus 2005 July - September |
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Volume XIX; No.3 July-September 2005
C nsullations on Ihe I emes of Quality of care and missing girls
Quality of Care is the degree to
which health services for
individuals and populations increase
the likelihood of desired health
outcomes and are consistent with
current professional knowledge.
It may also be described as the way
in which clients are treated by the
system, or the actual process of care
giving, and by the focus on the client's
or user's perspectives of services.
In simple terms Quality of Care is
"doing the right thing, doing things
right, doing things at the right time
and doing things with the right
attitude". As part of its advocacy
initiatives, the Population Foundation
of India had organized workshops on
Quality of Care in four states - Uttar
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and
Jharkhand. The workshops helped in
highlighting the Quality of Ca're
issues, and priorities in these states.
Mr. A.R.Nanda (third from left» addressing part"icipants at the Consultation on
Quality of Care. Others from left: Dr.Armas Ali, PH; Ms. Yashodhara Dasgupta,
Sahayog; Mr. Narendra Gupta, Prayas; Dr.Jagannath, Jamshedpur; Dr. Abhijit Das,
Sahayog
Discussing the issue of Missing Girls:
From left: Dr. Almas Ali, PH; Ms. Manisha Bajaj, FPAr, Haryana; Mr. A.R.Nanda,
PFI; Mr.Narayan Banerjee, CWDS; Ms. Bijaylaxmi Nanda, CAPF;
Mr. Manmohan Sharma, VHAI, Punjab
Consultations on the themes of quality of
care and missing girls - 1
PH Celebrates W<;lrldPopulation Day - 3
'Naya Savera' dawns over Rajasthan - 4
Members of the Legislative Assembly in UP
pledge to eliminate female foeticide - 5
Sugani Devi - 5
The launch of the Regional Resource
Centres in Bihar and Chhattisgarh - 6
Sensitizing the Corporate Sector in UP - 7
Training traditional birth attendants
and Aanganwadi workers in Delhi - 7
National level advocacy campaign against
sex selection and pre-birth elimination of
females - 8
Lending a helping hand to fight
Japanese Encephalitis - 8
Childern's Education Award - 9
I Reaching out to the community - 9
Changing Media Perceptions on
HlV / AIDS - 10
Political advocacy initiatives - 11
Young People - Their Success Stories - 11
The Global Fund Round 4 Project - 11
In oth~r N~ws - 12
Forthcoming Events - 12
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The National Commission on Population has been reconstituted in April
.J. 2005, to (i)review, monitor and give directions for the implementation
of the National Population Policy with a view to achieving population
stabilization by promoting synergy between demographic, educational,
environmental and developmental programmes (ii) promote intersectoral
coordination in planning and implementation across government agencies
of the Central and State Governments (iii)facilitate the development of a
vigorous people's movement in support of the national efforts at population
stabilization and (iv) facilitate initiatives to improve performance in the
demographically weaker states in the country.
The newly constituted National Commission on Population met on July 23,
2005 at New Delhi, under the Chairmanship of Hon'ble Prime Minister,
pro Manmohan Singh. I participated at the important meeting, as a member
of the Commission.
Addressing the meeting, Dr. Singh welcomed the participants and said that
one of the key challenges facing India today is stabilizing our population.
While human resource is an invaluable asset to economic development, the
capacity of the environment to sustain the population is limited. Therefore
sustainability of development processes requires a degree of population
stabilization. Population stabilization entails a holistic and comprehensive
approach towards education and healthcare, coupled with a wider
development policy, addressing the educational and economic needs of our
population. Improvement in health indicators is interlinked with indicators
for literacy, water supply, sanitation, nutrition, housing and income. Unless
our population policy is integrated with our wider development policy,
it would be impossible to achieve the objective of population stabilization
within a reasonable timeframe.
The Prime Minister mentioned that there are three areas of the population
policy in which there is a need for the national, political and social consensus
to move forward - by focusing on issues related to girls and young mothers,
by improving the health and educational status of the entire population and
by pursuing a more balanced policy of regional development to create
adequate employment opportunities for more populated regions of the
country.
Dr. Singh further said "We need to empower adolescent girls and young
women so that they can make informed choices about their lives and the
size of their families. This empowerment played a critical role in accelerating
the demographic transition not just in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu
but across the world. Surveys indicate that even now, over half of our young
women get married below the legal age of 18 years. They do not have
information or easy access to contraception of any kind. This has contributed
to the demographic pattern of 'too early, too frequent and too many children'.
This is more prevalent in demographically weaker states. We need to address
this problem.
Population stabilization is only one aspect of population policy. I do urge
you to pay equal attention to the challenge of building capabilities of our
people. No civilized society can regard any human being as a burden, a
liability. Every one of us has a right to live a decent life. The challenge of
population management is to empower people so that those who are
perceived as liabilities can be effectively transformed into assets.
...... In a country of over a billion people, you can imagine what we can do
for our nation by helping empower our people. Investing in human capabilities
converts human liabilitiesinto human assets. Therefore even as our population
policy focuses on population stabilization, it must also focus on altering the
skill profile of our population. This, in itself, can help in limiting population
growth."
Population stabilization is not merely about numbers. It has to be looked at
in the context of wider socia-economic development. It does not matter if in
the process we do not stabilize by 2050 or 2060. What is of greater concern
is how we approach the issue of population stabilization. It should be a
gender balanced approach to population stabilization. All those who have
worked for the cause of health and family planning would understand that
family planning is not an isolated programme, but has to be part of a
comprehensive primary health care within the overall gamut of social
development.
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,A,sa logical sequel to the workshops, PFI organized
a joint consultation with the key stakeholders to
discuss how the recommendations at the state level
workshops could be effectively integrated into the
ongoing programmes on health and other
population related issues. The half day consultation
took place at the India Internatioml Centre on
July 7, 2005.
Mr.A.R. Nanda welcomed the participants, followed
by a detailed presentation on PFI's advocacy
initiatives on Quality of Care, by Dr. Almas Ali,
Senior Advisor, Population Foundation of India.
A short'presentation was made by the participants
from each of the states - Mr.Gouranga Mohapatra
from Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), Orissa,
Dr.Abhiji~ Das from SAHAYOG, Uttar Pradesh,
Mr. Na~endra Gupta, from PRAYAS,Rajasthan and
Dr. Jagannath from TSRF, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.
Representatives of NGOs and eminent experts
participated at the consultation.
The theme of 'Missing Girls' is an interface between
population, development and gender. It captures
the foremost concerns of population and
development issues such as declining child sex ratio,
sex selection, sex selective abortion and gender and
equity concerns. The Population Foundation of
India has identified the issue of 'Missing Girls' as
one of its priority areas. Various advocacy initiatives
such as campaigns, rallies, focus group discussions,
workshops and seminars were entrusted to non-
governm?ntal organizations in seven different states
- Prayas in Rajasthan, Sutra in Himachal Pradesh,
the Voluntary Health Association of Punjab, CEHAT
in Maharashtra, CHETNA in GUjarat, the Centre
for Women's Development Studies in Delhi and the
Family Planning Association of India (FPAI), in
Haryana. To share the experiences of the NGO
partners in the seven states, and arrive at concrete
strategies to take the advocacy campaign on
'Missing Girls' forward, PR organized a half-day
consultation on July 7, 2~005.
Mr. A.R.Nanda Executive Director, PH welcomed
the participants and introduced the implementing
partners of PH working on the project on Missing
Girls. A detailed presentation on the project by
Dr. Almas Ali, Senior Advisor, PH, was followed
by presentations by each of the seven partners, on
the project activities. Through this sharing of
experience and ideas, gaps were identified, thereby
throwing open the floor for interactive discussions.
Mr. Abhijit Das of SAHAYOG summed up the
discussions, identifying the major findings of the
group. It was agreed that political commitment from
the states is of paramount importance for a
successful programme of this kind. Resources
available locally should be drawn upon and
mobilized. Mr. Nanda informed the group thatPFI
is now making efforts to convert advocacy into
action - a beginning has been made with an ongoing
project in Punjab and Haryana.
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On the eve of the World
Population Day, this year, the
Population Foundation of India
organized a programme on Gender
and Human Rights around Population
and Health Issues, at the India
International Centre on Friday
8th July, 2005. Dr. Syeda Hameed,
Member, Planning Commission was
the Chief Guest at the function.
The meeting was chaired by Professor
Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, member of the
Governing Board of the Population
Foundation of India.
A short presentation on 'Dimensions
of Gender and Rights in Reproductive
Health Service Delivery in a Target
Free Regime' by Dr. Abhijit Das,
Advisor, Sahayog, was followed by
. short presentations on the Intensive
Advocacy Campaign on pre-birth
elimination of females, being carried
out in the nine districts of Delhi. All
the three organizations involved in the
implementation of the Campaign,
made presentations on their
respective activities. Ms. Bijaylaxmi
, Nanda, Coordinator of the Campaign
against Pre-Birth Elimination of
Females (CAPFj, presented the
activities being carried out by the
Centre for Women's Development
Sh.\\dies, while Ms. Gayatri Paul and
Ms. Divya presented the activities of
the Aravali Vikas Sangathan and
Datamation Foundation Charitable
Dr. Syeda Hameed,Member Planning Commission inaugurating the event on
World Population Day, 2005 (second from left); others from left Dr. Abhijit Das,
Advisor, Sahayog; Prof. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, Member PH Governing Board;
Mr. A.R. Nanda, Executive Director, PFI
Trust respectively. A video recorded
version of the Odissi dance
performance, one of the highlights
of the campaign in Delhi, was
screened for the select gathering.
The release of two publications titled
'Quote Unquote'- Reaching Out and
'National Consultation on Laws
Policies & Rights in the Context of
Reproductive Health & Population
Stabilization' as well as the compact
disc of a film titled 'Kinara' by the
Chief Guest was also part of the
programme. 'Quote Unquote' -
Reaching Out, documents the results
of a study carried out with young
people and by young people, in
schools as well as those out ,ofschools,
in Delhi and JV1adhyaPradesh. The.
study, conducted· during the summer
vacation was a-unique way of making
adolescents use their time productively
and constructively. The study and its
subsequent publication were carried
out by young people under the
supervision of Mr. Deepak Gupta,
an independent consultant. The
Population Foundation of India,
together with ~SAHAYOG, Human
Rights Law Network and Lawyer's
Collective had organized in September
2004, a National Consultation on
Laws, Policies and Rights with regard
to reproductive health and population
stabilization. The proceedings of the
Consultation were brought. out as a
publication, which was released at this
function.
The film 'Kinara' is on No Scalpel
Vasectomy (NSV) and focuses on the
need for population stabilization, the
wide range of choices for
I contraception, the empowerment of
people to make an informed decision
by choosing a method suitable to their
needs, and NSV as a means of safe
and effective contraception.
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The Population Foundation of
India together with Lakshmi
Cement, a division of JK Corporation
Umited, initiated the 'Naya Savera'
project in the Pindwara Tehsil of
Sirohf district of Rajasthan, in July
2004. This is an Integrated Family
Welfare Programme in ten villages
with a total population of twenty
seven thousand people. A baseline
survey was carried out on three
hundred and eleven women in the
reproductive age group of fifteen to
forty nine years, to measure key
maternal and child health indicators~
The survey revealed that although
almost fifty percent of the women
opted for the option of institutional
delivery, only one third of them went
for the required number of regular
antenatal check ups. Deliveries at
home were carried' out by untrained
'Dais'. The other facts re~ealed were
that while fifty percent cifth'e women
feed their newborn babies colostrum,
only 25% percent of children are
immunized; while there is a
contraceptive prevalence rate-of 34%,
more women resort to terminal
methods of contraception,. and while
one third of' the women had 'heard
about" HN / AIDS, only a few were
aware of the facts regarding
prevention.
The 'Naya Savera' project has been
taken up for implementation over a
period of four years and wilrfocus on
capacity building ofcomJTlunity level
volunteers, on issues relating to·
general health, hygiene and
Reproductive and Child Health (RCH)
to ensure their involvement in making
services available on a sustainable
basis at thegrassroots level; raising
awareness and knowledge of.
community stakeholders such- as
school teachers, Aanganwadi-
Workers, local elected leaders,
Auxiliary Nurse Midwivesand opinion
makers on general health through
Information, Education and
Communication
(IEC) and
Behayioural Change Communication
(BCe) programmes, -and providing
basic quality RCH services in the
. target areas through a mobile van.
The van visits a village once every
week and basic RCH services like
antenatal check-ups, immunization
and provision of contraceptive
services and treatment of
Reproducti~e.Trad Infections (RTI)
and Sexually Transmitted Infections
(STD are provided. Each village has
one Village Level Motivator (VLM),
trained in RCH. Over the last three
months almost two thousand people
have received these services.
The Visionary Leadership
Programme (VLP) is an innovative
and exciting leadership development
initiative funded by the Packard
Foundation in four countries - India
(Bihar and Jharkhand), Ethiopia,
Nigeria and Sudan. It is being
implemented by a consortium of three
organizations -. the International
Council on Management of
Population Programmes (ICOMP),
based in Selangor, Malaysia; Partners
in Population and Development
(PPD), based in Dhaka, Bangladesh;
and the Centre for African Family
Studies (CAFS), based in Nairobi,
Kenya. The aim of this programme
is to create a critical corps of 200
leaders in the four above mentioned
countries that wUlmake a difference
to population and reproductive health
programmes in their respective
countries.
Attachment to a Mentor has been
identified as a very important and vital
skill development component in this
leadership development programme.
The basic idea is to provide the
trainees (Men tees) with practical
guidance from those who have
already established themselves as
leaders in their respective fields.
The VLP Consortium identified
Mr. A.R.Nanda, Executive Director,
PFI, as a VLP Mentor. The PFI had
hosted ~d mentored two participants
from Jharkhand - Ms. Dilith
Castleton, Joint Administrator, Tata
Steel Family InitiativeFoundation and
Dr.Lindsay Barnes, Women's Health
Coordinator, Jan Chetna Manch,
Bokaro - from 19th July to 28th July,
2004. A second group of three
Mentees were mentored by PFI from
5th July to 14th July, 2005. The
Mentees were Dr. Poonam Mehta ,
Medical Officer, Primary Health
Centre - Gamharia, Government of
Jharkhand; Dr.Pushpa Tiwari,
Registrar, Tata Steel Rural
Development Society, Jharkhand and
Dr. S.K.Mitra, Head of Medical Unit,
Krishi Gram Vikas Kendra, Ranchi.
_II
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The Population Foundation of
India (PFI) had been selected by
the Government of India to be the
Regional Resource Centre (RRC),
for Bihar and Chhattisgarh. The
role of the RRC is to provide
technical support to the Mother
Non-Governmental Organizations
(MNGOs). As a prelude to the launch
of the I1.RCprogramme in Bihar, PH
organized a consultative meeting with
the MNGOs in Bihar. The-meeting
"provided a platform for reviewing and
sharing experiences of. MNGOS in
the state. Apart from experience
sharing, the objectives of the "meeting
were to identify the underserved and
unserved areaS, assess the knowledge
"of the gUid~tines of .the. MNGO
scheme and to carry out a situational
analysis of the baseline survey, the
financial system, the planning of the
budget and to identify the Field
NGOs. Mr: Arun Pathak; Advisor to
Governor, inaugurated the"Regional
·f{~source"Centre. The participants"
~included project directors of the
MNGOs, Dr. Jayant Kaushal,
Regional Director (RCH), Govern-
me.nt of India, Mr. U: K. Verma, the
State Demographer and NGO
coordinator, Dr. Mahabir Das, former
Director -Health Services, Govern-
ment·of Bihar, Mr. R.U. Singh,
Honorary Advisor, PFI, Dr.Sanjeev
Jha, RRC Coordinator from PFI,
-Dr. Sarita Singh, Consultant, Standing
Committe.e of Voluntary Agencies
(SCO\\iA) "and in-charge, NGO
Division and Mr." A. ·R. Nanda,
Executive Director, PFI.
Two training workshops for MNGOs
were held - one on baseline survey
data processing from August 11-13,
2005 and another on 'Training of
Trainers' ITom September 22-30
2005.
The Regional Resource Centre at
Chhattisgarh, kick-started its activities
with a Consultative Meeting for the
Nk<)'rher NGOs (MNGOs), at which all
~<f..l)JGOpsartiCipated. Discussions
were held on issues related to
administration and programme
implementation of RCH II.
Dr. Subhash Pandey, Deputy
Director, Reproductive and Child
Health, Government of Chhattisgarh,
. apprised the participants of the
various schemes available and how .
the MNGOs would benefit from them.
Dr. Pramod Singh, Joint Director,
RCH, Government of Chhattisgarh,
and Dr. B.P. Malani, State NGO
Coordinato"r, Government of
Chhattisgarh assured the MNGOsot
assistance fr.om the State
Government.
In an effort to build partnership and
collaboration between' the Govern-
ment and the MNGOs, PFI, as
Regional Resource Centre of the
GOI in Chhattisgarh, organized a
GO/NGO workshop at Raipur on
30 August 2005. In his keynote
address, Mr. B. L. Agarwal, Secretary
Health, Government of Chhattisgarh,
expressed the hope that the
Population Foundation of India would
take the lead in capacity building of
MNGOs and help the state to develop
a Population Policy.
A Training of Trainers workshop over
a period of ten days was organized at
Janjgir Champa, where all the
selected MNGOs were sensitized
on perspective building on RCH, the
baseline survey fo"rmat, focus
group discussions and proposal
development. At Jagdalpur, the
RRC organized a three-day
baseline survey data processi'ng
workshop for all the MNGOs.
At the inauguration pod the
valedictory sessions·. ··of the
programme were· present the Sub
Divisional Magistrate of Bastar, the
Civil Surgeon and the NGO
Coordinator for the state.
Mr. Nanda welcomed the participants
and highlighted the role of RCH and
Primary Health Care, within the
context of the population scenario of
the countn;. The Government of India
envisages, he said, a greater
participation ·of the MNGOs and
stakeholders mainly in terms of
decentralization, rationalization and
interface with local government
bodies.
Mr. Arun Pathak, delivering the keynote address at th~ launch of the
Regional Resource Centre in Bihar
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The Population Foundation of
India (PH) had been selected by
the Government of India to be the
Regional Resource Centre (RRC),
for Bihar and Chhattisgarh. The
role of the RRC is to provide
technical support to the Mother
Non-Governmental Organizations
(MNGOs). As a prelude to the launch
of the RRC programme in Bihar, PH
organized a consultative meeting with
the MNGOs in Bihar. The meeting
, provided a platform for reviewing and
sharing experiences of. MNGOS in
the state. Apart from experience
sharing, the objectives of the meeting
were to identify the underserved'and
unserved areas, assess the kDowleage
of the guidelines of, the MNGO
scheme and to carry out a situational
analysis of the baseline survey, the
financial system, the planning of the
budget and to identify the, Field
NGOs. Mr. Arun Pathak, Advisor to
Governor, inaugurated the' Regional
Resource Centre. The participants
included project director's of the
MNGOs, Dr. Jayant Kaushal,
Regional Director (RCH), Govern-
me!1t of India, Mr. U: K. Verma, the
State Demographer ,and NGO
cQordinator, Dr. Mahab!r Das, former
Director Health Servi,ces, Governc'
ment of Bihar, Mr. R.U. Singh,
Honorary Advisor, PH, Dr.Sanjeev
Jha, RRC Coordinator from PFI,
, Dr. Sarita Singh, Consultant, Standing
Committee of Voluntary Agencies
(SCOVA) and in-charge, NGO
Division an.d Mr. A. R. Nanda,
Executive Director, PH
Two training workshops for MNGOs
were held - one on baseline survey
data processing from August 11-13,
2005 and another on 'Training of
Trainers' from September 22-30
2005.
The Regional Resource Centre at
Chhattisgarh, kick-started its activities
with a Consultative Meeting for the
Mother NGOs (MNGOs), at which all
MNGOs partieipated. Discussions
were held on issues related to
administration and programme
implementation of RCH II.
Dr. Subhash Pandey, Deputy
Director, Reproductive and Child
Health, Government of Chhattisgarh,
apprised the p:articip(:~nts of the
various schemes available and how
the MNGOs would benefit from them.
Dr. Pramod Singh, Joint Director,
RCH, Government of Chhattisgarh,
and Dr. RP. Malani, State NGO
Coordinato'r, 'Government of
Chhai:tisgarh-a?s~red the MNGOs ot -
assistance horn the State
Government.
In an effort to build partnership and
collaboration between the Govern-
ment and the MNGOs, PFI, as
Regional Resource Centre of the
GOI in Chhattisgarh, organized a
GO/NGO workshop at Raipur on
30 August 2005. In his keynote
address, Mr. B. L. Agarwal, Secretary
Health, Government of Chhattisgarh,
expressed the hope that the
Population Foundation of India would
take the lead in capacity building of
MNGOs and help the state to develop
a Population Policy.
A Training of Trainers workshop over
a period of ten days was organized at
Janjgir Champa, where all the
selected MNGOs were sensitized
on perspective building on RCH, the
baseline survey fo'rmar, focus
group discussions and proposal
development. At Jagdalpur, the
RRC organized a three-day
baseline survey data processrng
workshop for all the MNGOs.
At the inauguration and the
valedictory sessions·, of the
programme were' present the Sub
Divisional Magistrate of Bastar, the
Civil Surgeon and the NGO
Coordinator for the state.
Mr. Nanda welcomed the participants
and highlighted the role of RCH and
Primary Health Care, within the
context of the population scenario of
the country. The Government of India
envisages, he said, a greater
participation of the MNGOs and
stakeholders mainly in terms of
decentralization, rationalization and
interface with local government
bodies.
Mr. Arun Pathak, delivering the keynote address at the launch of the
Regional Resource Centre in Bihar
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The Population Foundation of
India and the Confederation of
Indian Industry joined hands to
address the issue of sex selection and
pre-birth elimmation of females at a
workshop for corporates at Lucknow,
The workshop was organized on July
15, 2005 at Lucknow at the Hotel
Clarkes Avadh. The workshop took
up the alarming issue of sex selection
and pre-birth elimination qf females
that poses a major impediment
towards ensuring gender equality in
society.
Chief Guest on the occasion,
Mr. Ahmad Hasan, Minister for
Family Welfare, Maternal and Child
Health, Government of Uttar
Pradesh, while addressing the
gathering, acknowledged the initiative
and said, "it is a musf, justified and
relevant issue that needs to be given
prime importance". Dr. Almas Ali,
Senior Advisor, Population
Foundation of India, in his theme
address to the participants, talked
about the ways in which the problem
can be tackled. The issue that was
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discussed at length was the initiation
of a programme to check the practice
of female foeticide. To add value to
the discussions were present, doctors
and experts from diagnostic centres,
as it is they who are involved in the
process of sex determination and sex
selection.
Mr. A.KSingh, former President of
the Indian Medical Association
stressed the fact that doctors should
be etliical in their profession.
Mr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, State
Director,' Human Rights Law
Network, spoke on the status of
implementation of the Pre-
Conception (PC) and Pre-Natal
Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act.
Among others who were present at
the workshop were Mr,C.KTiwari,
. DireCtor of Industries,' Uttar Pradesh,
Mr.RKSingh,Joint Director, <;:erisus
Operation, Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Roop
Rekha Verma, Dfrector, Institute of
Women's studies, Lucknow,
Ms.Neelam Singh, Chief Functionary',
VatsaJya and. Mr. KC.Girotra, Vice
Chairman, ClI, Uttar Pradesh State
. Council.
, aining raditional binh aRendants and Aanganwadi workers in Delhi
TraditionalBirth Attendants (TBAs)
and Aanganwadi Workers
(AWWs) are the main healthcare
providers in communities' ..,It is
·therefore extremely important to
equip them with the necessary
knowledge, skills and thinking to
enable them to render their services
to the members of the community in
a better way. With this in mind, the
Population Foundation of India, the
National Neonatology Forum and the
Sunderlal Jain Hospital, Delhi joined participating at such a workshop.
hands to organize a workshop on Written acceptance was obtained
'Attitude, .Knowledg'e; Skills and from the interested participants, and
Community .'practices 'amongst
an oral test using preset question-
Traditional Birth Attendants and naires was conducted and recorded,
Aanganwadi Workers', in Delhi. The- to assess existing knowledge.
workshop was held over a period of
two days - one for the TBAs and the
The response •was encouraging with
other for AWWs.
around a hundred TBAs and an equal
number of AWWs taking part 'at the
A great deal of spade. work had workshop. Resource persons at the
been carried out prior to· the workshop comprised gender experts
workshop. Social workers from the . like Dr. A. K. Mittal from the
Sunderlal Jain Directorate of Health Services, Delhi
hospital visited (who deals with the PNDT Act in
practising TBAs Delhi) Dr. Subhash Mendapurkar
in the slums of from 'SUTRA', Solan, Himachal
Jehangirpuri,
Pradesh and Ms. Anvesha Pandey
Wazirabad,
from Barmer, Rajasthan. A wide
Ashok Vihar and range of issues were discussed at the
neighbouring
workshop - these included gender
areas, to explain bias and deteriorating sex ratio,
the purpose of traditional practices of the community
the workshop
during pregnancy and delivery,
and to ascertain neonatal care at birth and essential
their interest in I newborn care.
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i
)OCLS
On September 30, 2005, the
Population Foundation of India,
together with the Confederation of
Indian Industry (ClI), organized an
advocacy workshop on sex selection
and pre-birth elimination of females
for the industry/corporate sector at
Dehradun, Uttaranchal. Shri Hira
Singh Bisht, Hon'ble Minister for
Transport and Labour graced the
workshop with his presence as- the
Chief Guest. Ms -Suman Parashar,
Joint Director at the Registrar General
& Census Commissioner's office~
Delhi, made a detailed presentation
on the current scenario of the child
sex ratio in Uttaranchal. The pirector
~to General of Police, Uttaranchal,
Ms~KC Bhattacharya spoke the
gro'up 'about therole.-6f the Polic~
TIepartme'riL' and'. the- mea:s'ur~s
, initiated by'the police in the st~te: to .
curb the malpractice. 'Ms-.A. Banerji'
._addressed the gathering on behalf of
, ,the Population Foundation 6f India.
'_Mr., Hemant' Arora, Chairmah~ crr
at .Uttaranchal State ,Council welcomed
: ,ili"e particip~mj:s- 'the"-beginning -~f .
.. ili"e ~orksho'p:; while the: Vice -
Chairperson, Ms. Lovelena'Mody ,
presented the vote of thanks. .
,
". Particfpimtsat' the worksflOp
-,' included represef1tatives. 'of. the
_,--:'_~tate G()v~rnmerit;,NGOsj:th~
,-:': ~,."~medicalfraternitY,.~€ademia,~'-the'
.. -Industry and sodal aCtivities,who :
actively' particfpate-d' a'tthe,
interactive discussion' after the
technical session. Some,'af the
highlights of the recommend-
- atians ,::-emerging' out of_~the-
'-':discussions' are' that '_awareness
c~paignsshould bedesi~nedwith·
yO
Mr. Hira Singh Bisht, Minister for Transport and Labour, Chief Guest, at the
corporate workshop at Dehradun delivering his address. Others from left;
Ms. A. Banerji, PH; Ms. Lovelena Mody, Vice Chairperson Uttaranchal State Couneil,
ell; Ms. K.C.Bhattacharya, DGp, Uttaranchal; Mr. Hemant Arora, Chairman,
Uttaranchal State Council, Cll; Ms. Vibha Malhotra, State Head, Uttaranchal State
Courleil, Cll; Ms. Suman Parashar, Joint Director, RGI'S office, Delhi -
.
great care to ensure that the right
messages go out to the target
audience; efforts should be focused
on sensitizing radiologists to curb
the practice at their level; society
should try and make the
environment 'female friendly'; the
amendment to the PNDT Act
.which excludes the women seeking
sex determination , from punitive
action, needs to be reviewed; a
national advisory council should be
constitUted to regularly i<eep track
of the impact: on the public, of new
technology, related to the
malpractice of female foeticide.
The other important suggestions
made by the particjpants are that
• Awareness campaigns should be
launched specifically for males, as
they are really the key decision
makers in the process
• The youth of the country
should be sufficiently educated
and involved in the advocacy
campaign
• Tradition~l mindset,of sons being
indispensable, needs to be dealt ,-
with, through Behavioral Change
Communication programmes
• Women should be empowered
through
education
and
employment, as economic
independence would go along way
in addressing the issue
All participa,nts resolved to make an
effort to create awareness in his or
her area of influence, both at home
and in the place of work, so' that
collectively some result, could be
achieVed - like they say, every drob
in the ocean counts. .
lending a helping hand to fig Japanese Encephali ·s
Ja'panese Encephalitis (JE) is a
mosquito borne viral infection and
survivors. The World Health
Organization reported that the recent
-isthe leading cause of viral encephalitiS ,outbreak of the dreaded disease affected
in Asia, where up to 50,000 cases are more than a 1000 people, killingnearly
reported annually. Most infection-sare 300 people in Uttar Pradesh.
asymptomatic, but when encephalitis
develops, the case-fatality rate can be Manav Seva Sansthan (SEVA),
as high as 30%. Long-term
Gorakhpur, a partner organization of
consequences are reported in 30% of I the Population Foundation of India,
__~_.__EI
responded quickly to this outbreak in
three blocks of Gorakhpur District by
generating awareness in the community
on the causes and prevention of JE.
Prevention is always better than cure
and in this case could help to control
the scale of the outbreak. The
intervention included information
dissemination through wall paintings,
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1.9 Page 9 |
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JOc el,S
camps and meetings with villagers,
distribution of Neem oil to households
and help to victims of the disease to
access services, to the extent possible.
Around fifteen different messages of
relevance were written on walls in the
affected villages. Thirteen awareness
camps on Encephalitis were organized
in the Jungle Kauria block where
information leaflets on preventive
I measures for the disease were
distributed. The application of Neem
oil on the body has been found to be
effective in protection against mosquito
bites while adding Neem oil to the
kerosene lamp when it is lit
has been found to repel mosquitoes.
This kind of useful information was
given to the villagers.
To encourage and motivate children
of the permanent staff at the
Population Foundation of India to
excel in their academic performance
at their respective schools, a
Children's Education Award is
conferred on the children who score
a minimum of eighty percent marks
in their final examinations, every year.
These award winning children are
selected by a three member Awards
Committee, constituted to look at the
applications in terms of the eligibility
criteria. The Award was constituted
last year.
The winners of the Award for'the-
academic year 2004-2005 is
Pratyush Ramesh-with 98.3% marks.
Pratyush, son of Mrs. Prema Ramesh,
in the Programme Division of the
Population Foundation of India, is a
student of Cambridge Foundation
School, Janakpuri and Ms. Liji
Mathew, daughter of Mrs. Leelamma
Mathew of the Accounfs Division of
the Foundation. Liji with a 82.2% is
a student of St. Paul's School,
Safdarjung Development Area.
In addition to her academic
achievements,· Liji is
gifted
with
a
nightingale's voice and
songs rendered by her
enchanted one and all at
the function on July 19,
2005 at PH at which the
awards were given away
by Mr. A. R. Nanda,
Executive Director,
Population Foundation
of India.
Ms.Liji Mathew (third from left) & Master Pratyush
Ramesh (second from right), the proud winners
We wish the children of
the staff all the very
best in their academic
pursuits in the future.
I a suc.:ess
j
I
he Population Foundation of
India has been carrying out three
projects on community radio in
Chattisgarh and Orissa. A field visit
to these areas elicited a response,
which was both satisfying and
overwhelming. In Orissa,_ two
community radio programmes called
'Ujala' and 'Ukia' are broadcast from
AIR Jeypore and AIR· Sambalpur
respectively. Both programmes
comprise a series of fiftytwo episodes
each, in the local dialects - Desia
(tribal) and Sambalpuri dialects. The
radio programmes relate to issues
such - as Reproductive
and Child
_ ..
Hea1th (RCH),· HIV/AIDS,
vaccination, gender balance, alcohol
consumption, tuberculosis, malaria
and sanitation. More than a hundred
listeners' clubs have been set up and.
are functioning at the grassroots
level: The PFI has distributed some
free
radio
.
set-s
to. t.he
clubs
and
regularly monitors-these programmes
together with the partner NGOs -
Agragamee and Manav Kalyan
Pratisthan. A large number of letters
of appreciation and requests for more
broadcasts have been flooding the
offices of the. two partner NGOs,
which is a clear indication of the
positive respopse and the popularity
of the programmes.
All India Radio (AIR), Jagdalpur in
Chattisgarh, airs a programme called
'Ujhar'. Consisting of twenty six
episodes, the programme is made in
the local dialect - the 'Halbi' dialect.
Like the programmes in Orissa, this
one is immensely popular, and has
evinced great appreciation and
interest. Around fifty listener's clubs,
functioning at the village level) are
monitored by PFI, with the help of
the partner NGO in the region -
Bastar True Light Samiti. Radio sets
distributed gratis to the clubs are
being well mail"ltaiMd adding to the
smooth functioning of the clubs.
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c
Joe
The media project, to understand
HIV/ AIDS in news, has been
attracting journalists, positive people
as well as NGOs working on
the subject in Punjab, Karnataka
and UP. Based on a survey of
news coverage of HIV / AIDS in
newspapers in these states and
seven national TV channels, a
draft manual was prepared to
sensitize journalists to reporting on
such issues. Do newspaper
reports add to the stigma and
discrimination that positive people
suffer is the basic question that the
manual seeks to address. Is it
possible to take news reports beyond
spot events and celebrity statements
- to look at the 5.1 million infected
as human beings struggle to
cope with the ·virus and live with
dignity?
.
With basic information gathered
from the research work,
consultation.s on the draft man.ual
were held in Chandigarh, Lucknow
and BangaiQre. At ea~h of j:hese
consultati.on~ positive people;
journalists, NGOs and the respective
State Aids Control societies came
By Population F02111d~r(j
Chandigarh 17& !80c
Mr. S. Y Quraishi, Special Secretary & Project Director NACO, addressing
the media workshop
together on a common platform to .
discUss their grievances and share
their concerns. In most cases it led
to greater synergy between these
various groups and in Lucknow to
an initiative for representatives of
these groups to meet periodically
and ihar.e information. In Bangalore
a senior editor. and some'Journalists
made a commitment to ensure mQre
sensitized reporting. The meeting
also discussed the insertion of a
public service message at the end of
an alarming' story.
The Bangalore workshop also
attracted journalists from all over the
state. Sensitization of sub editors and
district correspondents was the
primary aim of the interactive
workshop."A similar workshop is
slated for Lucknow early in
November to be followed by a
national consultation in Delhi.
'dvocacy on the National
A Population Policy (NPP) and the
International Conference on
Population and Development (ICPD)
have been part of the activities of the
projects sponsored by the Packard
Foundation. During the past three
months, workshops have been held
for media advocacy and political
advocacy. On 11th and 12th of
September, the Bihar Voluntary
Health Association (BVHA) at Patna
organized a workshop, to sensitize
reporters/ journalists working with
newspapers, on population, health
and development issues, and also
students of journalism in Patna.
A similar kind of workshop was held
at the district level at Girdish,
Jharkhand at which local journalists
and individuals writing for local
editions of newspapers and for .
magazines, actively participated.
The workshop was organized by
an organization called Manthan
Yuva Sangathan from 15th to 18th
September 2005. Both these
workshops provided a forum for
conceptual clarity on population
and health concerns. They also
helped to enhance writing skills of
journalists and stringers. Discussions
were held on the value and
representation of, and interests of
newspapers and readers in articles/
stories related to critical issues of
health and development. Participants
at the workshops felt that there was
a need for further debate and for
exercises tailored for the
enhancement of writing skills -
especially, for writing sensitive and
informative articles on population and
health issues.
A training manual cum ready
reckoner on population, health and
media in Jharkhand, has been
prepared by the Manthan Yuva
Sangathan. The document is
meant to be used by persons
working in the media and with
communication initiatives in
Jharkhand. For more details on the
document, the Manthan Yuva
Sangathan can be contacted at the
coordinates as belo\\'v:
Manthan Yuva Sangathan
Hindpiri Third Street
Ranchi - 834001
Jharkhand
Telephone: 0651 2202202
Email: manthan_ranchi@hotmail.com
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2.1 Page 11 |
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('
JOCUS
he Population Foundation of
India conducted an orientation
workshop from 30th September to 2nd
October, 2005 with the Chairpersons
of the Zila Parishads in Bihar.
The A. N. Sinha Institute of Social
Studies at Patna organized the
workshop. The basic objective of the
workshop was to discuss the status
of the Panchayati Raj Institutions in
Bihar and their roles and
responsibilities regarding population
and health concerns. The workshop
also aimed to gauge the knowledge
of the participants on population and
health concerns.
Presentations made by key officials
from the Department of Health,
Education and Panchayati Raj,
Government of Bihar, provided the
participants with an overview on the
status in Bihar. Dr.Ramakant Rai
and Ms. Shakuntala from
'Healthwatch', Uttar Pradesh/Bihar
conducted participatory training on
gender, health and population issues.
The discussions at the interactive
sessions provided an insight into the
status of health .at the district level
and the challenges faced by the
Panchayats in implementing proje<:ts,
the relationship of the Panchayats
with the state government and the
participation
of women· in
governance. Factsheets, state·'and
district level data, picture cards and
a case studies added value to fruitful
interaction over period of two days.
The Chairpersons of the Zila
Parishads felt that more workshops
of this nature should be conducted
by PFI in the future.
InMarch 2005, the Population
Foundation of India had signed an
agreement with The Global Fund to
fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,
to implement the first phase of the
HIV/ AIDS project in the six high
prevalen~estates - Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Manipur and Nagaland.
The Indian Network for People Living
with HIV/AIDS (INP+), Engender
Health Society, Confederation' of
Indian Industry (ClI) and Freedom
Foundation are implementing the first
phase of the project, during the
period April 2005 to March 2007.
The Project Advisory Board (PAB),
, is the advisory'body for the project.-
The first meeting of the PAB was held
on 25 July, 2005. A Technical
Resource Team comprising three
members has been set up for guiding
Operations Research activities for the
project. The t~am provides technical
support and guidance to the Project
Management Unit at PFI to carry out
operations research studies.
The India Alliance for "Young
People: Towards a Healthy
Future" is a consortium of a group of
organizations working in the area of '
health and· development of young
people through effective policies and
programmes. It is working to create
an enabling environment in which
young people can address their health
and development issues, especially
reproductive and sexual health issues.
The aim of the Alliance is to improve
policies, laws and programmes at
national and state levels, in order to
replicate proven strategies.
Documentation of promising practices
by the Alliance members is one of the
objectives of the Alliance. A promising
State Coordination Committee
meetings with the State AIDS Control
Societies (SACS) were held with the
, SACS of Manipur, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh. Afl Orientation cum
practice can be anything that works,
in fullor in part, and that can,be useful
in providing lessons learnt. Promising
Coordination Meeting with the state
programme teams of Manipur,
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
practices can be called success stories. and Andhra Pradesh was held over a
At' a meeting of the Founding Core . period of three days from 3-5 August,
Group Members of the Alliance on 2005. The overall objective of the
July 26, 2005 at PFI, an activity to meeting was comprehensive
document best promising practices by orientation with the Global Fund
young people, was initiated. To start
with, four of the Core Founding
Members of the Alliance would be
carrying out this activity. The four
members are Child In Need Institute
(CIN!), Centre for Health, Education,
I Round 4 "Access to Care and
Treatment - ACT" Project. A
Monitoring and Evaluation workshop
I
was conducted on 6-7 July, 2005 at
Chennai, to orient the PFI state teams
Training and Nutrition Awareness
and the Indian Network for People
(CHETNA), Community Aid Living with HIV/AIDS (INP+), on
Sponsorship Programme (CASP) and Management Information Systems
Pathfinder International.
(MIS) tools.
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2.2 Page 12 |
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ii
"'~JbtRrl)Pt.'#;::>
~ t 1811' ~ t~~om "
• The E'(ecutive Director was invited to participate at a brainstorming session on
Millennium Development Goals, with particular reference to the health sector
and rights of women. The meeting was organized by the Planning Commission.
Government of India, at Yojana Bhawan, New Delhi.
• The Human Development Resource Network (HORN) is headed by an Executive
Director and has a core team of professionals and network of seasoned consultants
across India and the rest of the region. The HDRN is headed by a five member
Board which represents the diverse range of activities undertaken by the
organization. The Executive Director, PFI, Mr.AR.Nanda , who is a member of
the Board participated at a meeting of the Board on September 8, 2005 at the
HDRN at New Delhi
• Mr. AR.Nanda, Executive Director, PR, was invited by the Jamia Millia Islamia
University, Delhi, to make a presentation on 'Th~ Role of Population Policy and
its Impact on Female Foeticide', on September 14, 2005 at a two day National
Seminar on 'Female Foeticide: Challenges and Strategies for Change'. The seminar
was held at the Yasser Arafat Hall, Jamia Millia Islamia University
• Mr. AR. Nanda delivered the Inaugural Address at a two day workshop on
'Emerging Intrauterine Device Forms: Frameless and Shape Memory IUDs', on
September 15, 2005 . The seminar was jointly organized by the Faculty of the
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and the National Institute of Health
and Family Welfare
• The Annual General Body of the Population Foundation of India was held on
September 29, 2005, at which the General Body condoled the demise of
Mrs.Avabai Wadia, a Member of the Foundation and Holding Trustee and
Governing Board.
• The 101" birthday of Mr. J.R.D. Tata was celebrated by the Tata Steel Family
Initiative Foundation on July 29, 2005, at Jamshedpur. Mr. AR. Nanda, Executive
Director, PR participated at the event.
• The 10th International Women and Health Meeting on Health Rights, Women's
Uves~ Challenges & Strategies for Movement Building was held from September
21 - 25, 200.5 at New DelhI. More than 600 participants from across the globe'
participated at this global mega event. The Population Foundation of India was
represented by Ms.Mini Thakur and Ms.Sudipta Mukhopadhyay, Packard Fellows
at the Foundation. The focal themes at the meeting were Public Health, Health
Sector Reforms and Gender, Reproductive and Sexual Health Rights, The Politics
and the Resurgence of Population Policies, Women's Rights and Medical
Technologies, and Violence (Of State, Militarism, Family and 'Developmenf)
and Women's Health. A festival of films on women and health was a highlight of
the meeting. The 25 films screened at the festival were clustered into the five
focal themes of the meeting. The-films reflected the struggles and challenges that
women worldwide face in their any efforts to lead a comfortable, healthy and
secure life on their own terms. The festival of films had been aptly titled
'The Women's World'.
Forthcoming Events
• Workshop on 'Pre-birth sex selection and elimination of females' for
members of the legislative assembly in Uttaranchal on October 14,2005.
• Baseline survey training in Chhattisgarh on October 20-22, 2005.
• A ten day training on 'NGO Guidelines and Perspective Building' for new
MNGOs on December 12-14, 2005.
• A two day regional workshop on population, health and development
with journalists and stringers at Nalanda. from October 22-24, 2005.
• An orientation workshop on population, health and development for senior
officers of the Indian Administrative Service, a~ the Lal Bahadur Shastri
Academy of Administration at Mussoorie on November 7-8, 2005.
• Workshops on sensitized reporting on HIV / AIDS for journalists,
at Lucknow and Delhi, in November 2005.
• A thematic workshop on 'Planned Parenthood' on December 13-14,
2005, at Patna, Bihar.
r
JOelJS
yVe Y\\/elcome ..,
I __
__~
~1
MJr. Subrat Mohanty who
has joined the Global Fund
iiIV IAIDS project unit as
Programme Manager for the
. project on 'Access to care
~ .--,.r - and Treatment' has work
experience of more than fifteen years in
the development and health sector.
Management of development programmes
in international, corporate and NGO sectors
is his forte, as also health programmes at
the national and state levels.
Mr. S.S. Prabhu who has
joined as the Global Fund
HIV/ AIDS project unit as
'\\" Management and Procure-
. ment Officer. Procurement
and Logistics is his area of
specialization together with several years of
experience of working in multinational
organizations in the area of Administration
and Client Management.
Webade f. yew II to
Mrs. Lakshmi R. Menon, who retired
after working with the Population
Foundation of India for twenty-four years,
in the Programme Division. We wish her
all the very best in her retired life.
EMdiilt'oAr•ia.Rl .
Guidance
Nillnda
Editor
Ms A. Banerji
Editorial Committee
Ms Usha Rai
DIl' Almas Ali
lDll' LaHtendu Jagatdeb
Dll" Kumudha Aruldas
Published by
Population Foundation of India
B-28, Qutab Institutional Area
New Delhi-110016, India
Tel: 91-11-52899770, 52899771
Fax: 91-11-26852766
e-mail: popfound@sify.com
website: www.popfound.org