UNICEF launches mobile schools in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal, Nov 20 (IANS) Unicef launched 22 mobile primary schools for children of migrant workers of Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh.The primary aim of such mobile schools is to encourage to attend school those children who normally drop out when their parents leave home in search of work in other states.

'This initiative with the help of district administration and support of local non-governmental organisation, namely Lok Vikas Evam Anusandhan Trust, will help retain in school children who otherwise get dropped out,' said Dr Hamid El Bashir, State Representative of Unicef, after the launch ceremony in Jhabua, which was also attended by District Collector R K Pathak and local legislator Madho Singh.

The mobile schools will have all the basic requirements of a normal school and will be housed in tents.Unicef plans to have 100 such schools by 2008 end.

'Since the literacy rate, mainly of females, is much lower due to migration problem and most of the children could not even complete their primary education, mobile schools are expected to check dropouts to a great extent,' said a Unicef official.

'The idea is to facilitate education of children of migrant labourers even when they are out so that they can continue in their local school when they come back to their native place. Their attendance and other registers will be deposited with the local school on their come back, and they would be able to continue their education,' the official added. At present the mobile schools will target 650 children who migrate with their parents to Gujarat for work. The tribals of the Jhabua district migrate from their villages to Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra for their livelihood every year. About 85 percent population of the district is tribal and 47 percent people live below the poverty line. The literacy rate, according to 2001 census, is 36.87 percent but the female literacy is just four percent.

Unicef has provided for the school tents, school materials, salary of teachers, course material and even trained teachers in partnership with the district administration.

Fategarh Health Centre in Guna, MP

Fategarh is a panchayat village about two hours drive on make shift road from the district headquarters of Guna. The panchayat village lies in Madhya Pradesh but borders districts of Rajasthan.

The village has a sector sub health centre. Ninety deliveries, took place in this health centre, in June 2007, almost all of them are from this nearby villages. This was not the case a year and half before (before December 4, 2006, the day when this centre was revitalized). Before this date, all deliveries used to happen at home and there were number of maternal deaths in the area, which was revealed by Maternal and Prenatal Death Inquiry and Response or the social audit of maternal deaths in the Bamori block, which includes Fategarh panchayat.

Before December 2006, the centre offered only immunization services like any other sub health centre in the state. Heath facilities like labor room facility for pregnant women of Fategarh and nearby villages was quite far and accessibility to health services was an issue. This was one of the reasons for maternal deaths in the area. It is here that UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) came in and supported the District administration of Guna, Madhya Pradesh, to help make this centre a round the clock mother and child care service delivery centre. UNICEF not only supported the district by providing them with skilled birth attendants, but also trained them in integrated management of newborn and childhood illness.

The centre, as of now, caters for eleven villages. Niranjana and Kamlsa, auxiliary nurses midwives at the centre feel elated when they see the progress, but they sometimes get exhausted when they have to undertake seven to eight deliveries a day; thanks to the increased awareness and schemes by the state.

The centre also undertakes awareness programmes in remote areas and shares information on various schemes, like Janani Suraksha Yojana, initiated by the state government to promote institutional delivery with the community members. This has helped in creating awareness and demand for the need of the institutional deliveries.

"I felt much protected and secure when I came here for my delivery" says Shravani, a mother of three. Her first two deliveries were at home, but for the third one the village 'dai' got her to the sub health centre.

Dr Hamid El Bashir, State Representative, UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh, adds that children and women lives can be saved and this can happen with improvement in both access and quality of health services through such interventions. Fategarh model of revitalization of the sub centre to provide basic health care services, including conducting deliveries, has inspired and has been replicated in six more institutions in Guna.

Anil Gulati

Pneumonia still kills millions every year

Pneumonia kills millions every year, children in particular. 15 countries account for 75% of childhood pneumonia cases world wide; the number of cases in India is the highest. A healthy child has many natural defences that protect it from pneumonia.

A RECENT, joint UNICEF-WHO report has drawn attention to the scourge of pneumonia. Pneumonia kills millions of people, especially children, ever year. It kills more children than any other disease - more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Thus it calls for immediate attention on the part of all policy makers in the area of public health. Pneumonia causes almost 1 in 5 out of the under-five deaths worldwide and the death of more than 2 million children each year. The said report states that fifteen countries account for three quarters of childhood pneumonia cases world wide; in India, the number of cases is the highest.

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs caused by an infection. Many different organisms can cause it, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Children with pneumonia may manifest a range of symptoms, depending on their age and the cause of infection. Bacterial pneumonia usually causes severe illness in children, giving rise to high fever and rapid breathing. Viral infections, however, often gain gradually and may worsen over time. Some common symptoms of pneumonia in children and infants include rapid or difficult breathing, cough, fever, chills, headaches, loss of appetite and wheezing. Children under five with severe cases of pneumonia may struggle to breathe, their chests moving in or retracting, during inhalation. Young infants may suffer convulsions, unconsciousness, hypothermia, lethargy and feeding problems.

A healthy child has many natural defences that protect its lungs from the invading pathogens that cause pneumonia. However, children and infants with compromised immune systems have weak defences. Undernourished children, particularly those not exclusively breastfed or with inadequate zinc intake, are at a higher risk of contracting pneumonia. Similarly, children and infants suffering from other illnesses, such as AIDS or measles, are more likely to contract pneumonia. Environmental factors, such as living in crowded homes and exposure to parental smoking or indoor air pollution, may also have a role to play in increasing the children’s susceptibility to pneumonia and its severe consequences.

Prompt treatment of pneumonia with a full course of appropriate antibiotics is life-saving. But it needs medicare, which is a challenge in the developing world. There are published guidelines for diagnosing and treating pneumonia in community settings. But preventing children from contracting pneumonia in the first place is essential for reducing child deaths. Key prevention measures include promoting adequate nutrition (including breastfeeding and zinc intake), raising immunization rates and reducing indoor air pollution. Because pneumonia kills more children than any other illness, any effort to improve overall child survival must treat the reduction of pneumonia-related death toll as a priority. And preventing children from contracting pneumonia in the first place is critical to reducing their death toll.

Anil Gulati
Source - www.merinews.com