Child marriages still prevalent in several MP districts

The Pioneer, Bhopal, Monday April 26, 2010 : As many as 57.5 per cent of girls in Barwani get married before attaining the age of 18 years. Not only Barwani, but other districts like Sehore, Neemach, Chhatarpur, Mandsaur, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Sheopur, Shivpuri are also facing a similar problem with more than 40 per cent of girls getting married there before 18 years.

These are the figures provided by the district-level household survey done by International Institute of Population Studies on behalf of Government of India. Madhya Pradesh is one of the States, which has the high incidence of child marriages, many of which happen during Akshay Tritiya, which is an auspicious occasion for marriages according to the Hindu religion.

This year, Akshay Tritiya is falling on May 16. Like every year, the State Government is busy preparing an action plan to prevent child marriages around that day. The Government of India had adopted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in 2006 but conviction rate under this Act is very low. As per the National Crime Bureau records last year, 11 people were convicted and two cases were registered in Madhya Pradesh.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says it is a violation of child rights. Tania Goldner, Chief of UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh while speaking to The Pioneer said child marriages had adverse effects for the child bride and bridegroom and for the society as a whole. For both girls and boys, marriage has profound physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional impacts, cutting off educational opportunity and chances of personal growth.

She claimed that the consequences for girls were especially dire, as they are usually compelled into early childbearing, associated health risks and social isolation. Child brides frequently drop out of school and are exposed to higher risk of domestic violence and abuse, increased economic dependence, denial of decision-making power, inequality at home, which further perpetuates discrimination and low status of girls/women.

In India nearly half of all young women marry before the age of 18 (47 per cent as per National family Health Survey) and the situation is even more acute in rural areas

Right to education in Madhya Pradesh from April 1

Sanjay Sharma, IANS : Bhopal: The Right to Education (RTE) Act will be implemented in Madhya Pradesh from April 1, state Minister of School Education Archana Chitnis said here on Sunday.

Addressing a state level workshop on the RTE Act, the minister said the state government will be implementing from April 1, 2010, the act which envisages free and compulsory education to all its children till Class 8.

"To achieve compulsory education we will have to make school education interesting, which is a challenge and for the same we need to have tripartite responsibility of the state, teacher and parents," she said.

The workshop was held at RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration in Bhopal under the joint aegis of the state's education department and Unicef in order to familiarise the education and other departments with the act and seek suggestions from various stakeholders on the draft rules prepared by the state education department.

Speaking on the occasion, Tania Goldner, chief of Unicef office for Madhya Pradesh, said this act is a vehicle for change to accelerate progress in the education sector. Principal Secretary of Education department Snehlata Srivatsva said this is a unique act as it makes education a constitutional right. IANS

Workshop against female foeticide

Gwalior, April 18 (IBNS) A one-day workshop for raising concern against female foeticide was held at Gwalior on Friday (April 16).

The theme being 'Say no' to female foeticide, was organised by Department of Women and Child Development, Gwalior.  Welcoming the participants and speaking at the workshop Suresh Tomar Joint Director Women and Child Development department said that they are undertaking a special campaign to involve communities, parents, youth groups and schools children in 50 villages of Bhind and Morena each.

As a part of campaign department will be supporting film shows, workshops with various target groups in Gwalior, Bhind and Morena district to help build an environment against female foeticide.

Anil Gulati, Communication Specialist, UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh said that media can play an important role by bringing the issue to forefront of its discourse.

He added that as per Census 2001 data nine districts of the State of Madhya Pradesh have child sex ratio less then 900 girls / 1000 boys which include Sheopur, Morena, Datia, Bhind, Gwalior, Shivpuri, Guna, Tikamgarh and Chhattarpur.   "It is the need of that day efforts are scaled up to stop this violation of child rights." He praised the efforts of the Department of Women and Child in initiating this campaign.

International team to visit Dhar for water and sanitation interventions

Team of 12 international officers from various countries i.e. Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea is in the State of Madhya Pradesh as a part of International learning exchange programme of UNICEF and Department of Drinking Water Supply, Government of India.  This is 4th year of ILE in India. The team will be visiting Dhar on April 15- 16, 2010 and see the work being done in tribal areas on water and sanitation sector in the district. The officers are working with UNICEF in various countries and with respective National Governments.
 

They will be visiting Tirla, Nalcha and Dharampuri block of Dhar district to see community based interventions in water and sanitation, flouride mitigation initiatives and school sanitation. During their visit to the district they plan to visit Nirmal Gram villages, tribal hostels, schools, meet and interact with panchayat representatives and communities.
 

This is part of International Learning Exchange programme (ILE) which is a collaborative effort of UNICEF and the Department of Drinking Water Supply, Government of India. The programme provides a platform to professionals from other developing countries for learning and knowledge-sharing from recent successes in, and challenges to India’s water and sanitation sector. 59 participants from 18 countries, namely, Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Cambodia, Niger, Rawanda, Ghana, Djibouti, Angola, Bangladesh, Uganda, Indonesia, Zambia, Bhutan, Somalia and Eritrea are visiting India.

Madhya Pradesh village girl inspires others to take up studies

PTI : The Government Girls’ Middle School at Sherpur village in Madhya Pradesh is now being widely recognised as “Lalita Ka School.” 

Lalita is no politician but a gritty 15-year-old, whose firm determination to study has motivated other girls to follow suit at the same very school from where she studied from Class VI to VIII. Lalita, who has moved to another school for her further studies now, was the lone student in all the grades for the last three years, but this did not discourage her from continuing her studies. 

The school, located about 50 km from here, did not deter Lalita to travel all along to attend classes in Standard VI, VII and VIII, where three male teachers helped her out in all the subjects. 

The teenager cleared her Class VIII exams with first class marks, inspiring other girls in her area to take up studies in that school. Her father Madanlal Girwal, a government employee, was initially a little bit worried as she was alone in the classes but then supported his daughter seeing her zeal for education.Her parents have now decided to let Lalita continue her studies in another school, where she is not alone. 

Middle School Head Master Ashok Jaat said, “There were better schools around. Hence attendance of girls at our institute was thin. But now things have changed after Lalita scored first class marks. Now nearly 15 girls have taken admission in our school.” The population of Sherpur is 700, Mr. Jaat said.

For quality mid-day meals, MP teachers to taste food

Milind Ghatwai, Indian Express :  


This was in Indian Express today and is one more of Milind's 'different story' on issue of education in MP. 

 

In a novel attempt to improve the quality of mid-day meals served in schools, authorities in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh have made it compulsory for teachers to taste the food before serving it to students.Though the ambitious government programme of serving meals in schools has helped enroll more students and increase attendance, the quality of food has often been a concern due to poor implementation on ground. 

“There were lots of complaints of unpalatable food being served or children taking ill after the mid-day meals,” in-charge of MDM in Sagar Abhinit Sharma told The Sunday Express on what prompted the authorities to involve teachers in the drive to improve quality of food served in more than 3,000 primary and middle schools.

Incidentally, the practice is prevalent in jails where it’s incumbent on the superintendents or jailers to eat a few morsels of food served to prisoners. The Sagar administration has sent a circular to Chief Executive Officers of Janpad Panchayats and Block Resource Coordinators asking them to ensure that students are served food only after teachers have checked it.The food will be served to students only if teachers find it palatable and have been warned of action for complaints received later.

In rural areas, self-help-groups cook and transport the mid-day meals to schools and get a little more than Rs 2 per student. In addition, the groups are given 150 and 100 grams of grains per secondary and primary student, respectively. “To save money, many groups compromise on quality and show disregard for cleanliness,” an official said.

Need to focus on water quality

Central Chronicle, Bhopal, March 21:  A two day programme for UNI stringers and students of journalism was hosted by Makhanlal Chaturvedi University of Journalism and UNI at Bhopal. Speaking at the inaugural B K Kuthiala Vice Chancellor of University of Journalism said that content is the key and plays an important part in the news. He added that media can play a positive role in bringing in social change. A K Bhandari Chief Editor and Chief General Manager UNI said that UNI news agency plans to become a global player and has already initiated its presence in UNI TV and web portal. He said that with its wide presence UNI can help in bring in rich content for its subscribers.

Speaking at the occasion said that Anil Gulati Communication Officer with UNICEF said that media can play a role in bringing developmental issues particularly which impact children to forefront of public discourse and also create awareness on the solutions. He said that taking advantage of World Water Day which is being marked on March 22, 2010 media can bring discussion on the issues of water quality. He added that theme for this year is ‘clean water and health world’, which is very relevant for our times.

Aditi Prasad input incharge of UNI said this workshop will help increase knowledge of our stringers and students of journalism and will help us in our mission to reach out to people. Later speaking in the evening session Nagendra Prasad Singh, Water and Environmental Sanitation officer with UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh said that each day about 690 children under five years die due to diarrheal disease many of these deaths are water borne and can be prevented. Point of use water treatment alone can reduce diarrheal morbidity by 39 %  Pushpinder Pal Singh Head of Department of Journalism of MakhanLal Chaturvedi University of Journalism conducted the programme. Participants were trained by N B Nayar, Prosenjit Dey, Vikram Kapoor, Shailendra Mahajan and Rachna Johri

School kids show the way in water conservation

Arun Anand, IANS : Vikas Pawar, a student of Class X, was so impressed by the Wise Water Management efforts being implemented in his Madhya Pradesh school by Unicef that he made it part of a science project.

He built a cardboard and plaster model showing how water could be conserved and recycled effectively to avoid a shortage. His Government Scheduled Caste Residential School is in Katara Hills near Bhopal, capital of the state which sees acute water shortage in summer.

'There are two ways by which water is being conserved in my school hostel. One is by collecting rain water during the monsoons in a Ferro Cement tank with a 50,000 litre capacity,' he explained. 'Collected rain water can be used for drinking and cooking purposes during the summer months when there is a shortage of water. 'The other method is by recycling grey water for flushing toilets,' Pawar said.

'Grey water' is that which has been used once for bathing and washing clothes. On an average, a student in the school hostel uses 30 litre of water per day in the bathroom. This water could be reused for toilet flushing and kitchen gardening. The school has 209 residential students.

'Used water from bathrooms is passed through a sponge filter,' said Nagmati Malviya, a Class XII student, pointing to a large pipe emerging from the outer wall of the bathrooms.

'Materials like plastic sachets of shampoo, soap wrappers get filtered as the water passes through this filter. The water is guided into a reservoir which is divided into five sedimentation tanks.' Suspended particles are settled in the first tank before the water is passed on to the adjoining segment and subsequently gets filtered while passing through the various chambers.

The second, third and fourth tanks have boulders of different sizes. As water passes in an up-flow, down-flow current through the filters, it leaves behind all perceptible impurities. Filtered water then flows down a series of 'aeration steps' that resemble a flight of stairs.

'The purpose of running the water in the open is to bring it in contact with oxygen from the atmosphere to reduce the odour of filtered greywater if any,' Nagmati said, giving a demonstration.

'The fifth tank collects the filtered water which is pumped by a motor to the tank placed on the roof of the hostel from where it goes to the cistern in the toilets and the remaining water is used for kitchen gardening.'

To combat the shortage of drinking water during summer, the school collects rain water from July to September every year. 'The school being located on a hill, there is acute water shortage during summers. The soil is rocky and the water level is far below,' said Mamta Ahirwar, scout training teacher. 'During the monsoons, all the water would flow down the hill slope and was wasted.'
 

But for the last one year, this school collects rain water, stores it in a reservoir with 50,000 litre capacity. The water is filtered, treated and then used for drinking and cooking.

The Wise Water Management (WWM) concept was developed by UNICEF, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and Public Health Engineering Department, government of Madhya Pradesh. It was demonstrated in eight tribal residential schools of Dhar and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh.

The WWM scheme was also demonstrated in two scheduled caste residential schools in Bhopal. The department of Tribal Welfare in Madhya Pradesh is now replicating this model in 400 tribal residential schools across the state. 'This will improve the quality of life for children and also have a positive effect on the environment. This is just a beginning. I hope this model will be replicated across the state for the benefit of all children and families of Madhya Pradesh,' says Tania Goldner, chief of UNICEF field office for Madhya Pradesh.'

'Fulfillment of rights justice for children'

Bhopal, Mar 25 (IBNS) A training meet on child rights and protection issue was hosted by RCVP Noroha Academy of Administration and UNICEF on Thursday for trainee officers of All-India/Central officers. Speaking at the function Amod Kant, Chairperson Delhi Commission for protection of child rights said: "Fulfillment of rights and needs is justice for children." He is also associated with Prayas an NGO working for children in need of care and protection across many states in India.

He added State needs to take care of children not only who are in conflict with law, but who are victims and witnesses. And inspite of progress in India we have major challenges like child labour, school drop outs, situation of children in juvenile homes and children in conflict with law.

Earlier speaking in her address Dr Tania Goldner, Chief of UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh spoke on Convention on the Rights of the Child, and for making world fit for children, children need to be understood and protected. She added that it is obligation of State to make sure that children realise their full rights. She said that all children have rights which are equal at all times.

She in her address to the participants added that ‘you are custodians of the convention and as duty bearers need to help children realize their rights.On the issues of Children in conflict with law ‘that they should be treated as children and deserve a chance and detention should be the last resort’ she added.

Principal Secretary Snehlata Srivastava School Education spoke on the Right to Education and issue of child labour. She said that State of Madhya Pradesh is going to implement Right to Education Act from April 1, 2010.Dr J L Bose spoke on the constitution and child rights and on the responsibility of the state to ensuring protection of child rights which lies with their relatives, society and the state government. Muktesh Varshney, Director Academy of Administration, spoke at the start on the objectives of the meet.

Silent demonstration in Gwalior & Shivpuri

Gwalior/Shivpuri : Hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Gwalior on Thursday to take part in a silent demonstration against female infanticide and foeticide. Holding banners with the slogans 'Save Daughters' and their mouths masked by a cloth to signify the silenced voice of the girl child, both men and women activists held hands to form a long human chain and stood in solidarity as a part of this rally. It was facilitated by Centre for Integrated Development, an non governmental organisation. Similar demonstration was held at Shivpuri district outside the collectorate. The same was facilitated by Sahyog - Support for Development. Representatives from civil society and media  participated in the same (Picture is from Shivpuri).

Children most vulnerable, can be easily exploited, says Goldner

In Pioneer, Bhopal Edition : Director General of Police SK Rout said that children are torchbearers of tomorrow. “We have vast majority of population which are children and young people and there are challenges of abuse, violence, trafficking and the magnitude of problem is also vast.” To respond to it, inclusive approach is needed involving all sectors of the society.

Rout was speaking at the sensitisation and review workshop of Child Welfare Officers and Special Juvenile Police Unit members here on Tuesday at Police Training and Research Institute (PTRI). He further said that in Juvenile Justice Act, it is for the first time that police officers have been given duty of social responsibility as he is first contact point with children in conflict with law, and he has called on special police juvenile units that we need to respond to it.

Speaking on the occasion Tania Goldner, chief of UNICEF Office for Madhya Pradesh said that Children are the most vulnerable group on account of their age and dependence; they can be easily exploited and abused. In case children have violated law they should be treated in a manner consistent with their sense of dignity, worth and which reinforces their respect for human rights.

KN Tiwari, Inspector General, CID welcomed the participants and thanked UNICEF for its support in sensitising police units on Juvenile Justice Act. Vijai Shukul Member MP Human Rights Commission spoke about the challenges on implementation of the act and difficult conditions of Juvenile homes in the State, He added we need to expand on infrastructure create a protective environment in the homes and treat them as our children not the ones who have done as crime.

Panel discussions were held on the issue on Children in conflict with law and Children in need of protection and care. Speaking at the panel discussion NK Singh Resident Editor, Hindustan Times spoke on the needs of media, its compulsions and how one can work with media in raising issues of this concern.

Children need to know their rights

United Nations Children's Fund Madhya Pradesh Field Office Chief Tania Goldner today stressed that children need to know about their rights and ''all of us'' as stakeholders are duty-bound to inform them and help them claim their rights. Dr Goldner was addressing a prize distribution ceremony at Jawahar Bal Bhawan here. The event was organised by Child Rights Observatory (CRO) to felicitate kids who participated in a painting and essay competition held in November on the issue of child rights. More than 200 participants were present, a release said. ''It is heartening to see children painting their thoughts on their own rights. For me you are all winners not only the ones who came first. Your participation and recognition of your rights makes you winners,'' she said. CRO President Nirmala Buch spoke on the need for child articipation and said that CRO organised this competition and is taking several other initiatives to involve kids.

UNICEF-supported Risk Reduction Project in MP

UNI, Bhopal : United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is supporting the Madhya Pradesh government and city-based Disaster Management Institute (DMI) in implementing a unique community-based Disaster Risk Reduction Project in ten districts of the state.

The project, which got under way in November 2008 and at present covers 100 villages across Guna, Mandsaur, Damoh, Dhar, Harda, Raisen, Sheopur, Satna, Chhindwara and Barwani, aims to cover 250 villages by 2010-end.

''It envisages reducing loss of life and related risks by making people self-resilient. This project is helping strengthen the community-coping mechanism through capacity-building at grassroots level,'' Dr Tania Goldner, Chief of UNICEF's Field Office for Madhya Pradesh, told UNI.

Being taken up on pilot basis, the project aims at building capacities at community level to manage safe havens while ensuring that basic services -- specially related to children and women (health, nutrition and education) -- are accessible, establishing community-based systems for ensuring protection of children and to facilitate preparation of district disaster management plans in the districts, the Project Plan document of the initiative said.

MP to launch missing children website

The Madhya Pradesh government's Women and Child Development (WCD) department is all set to launch a website for missing children in the state which could help in identifying and tracing them. "We are planning a website for the missing children, so that they could be clearly identified," the department's deputy director and Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) in-charge Mamta Pathak told media as per the reports, adding that the initiative would help to trace and rehabilitate missing children.

The ICPS will entail integration of all the 18 different schemes for the protection of child rights and security, which would now be implemented by a single department. UNICEF is assiting the state for  implementation of ICPS in the state. In addition to it other non-governmental organisations, and other departments of the state are helping in the same.The collection of data about missing children and the implementation the various schemes under an integrated ICPS has already been started with the help of National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) and other child rights agencies, she said.

Madhya Pradesh is the 6th state to sign a memorandum of understanding with the central government for the implementation of ICPS, Pathak said. ICPS is a centrally sponsored "umbrella scheme" for protection of child rights and security while woman and child department would be the nodal agency to implement it.

"It would go a long way in working for the cause of children as various schemes pertaining to protection and security of children will now be implemented by one department," Women and Child Development Commissioner Gulshan Bambra said.

Class VI student makes efforts to tutor kids on hygiene

Pioneer Bhopal Edition : Rajni Ojha, student of Class VI makes sure that students of her school cut their nails cut properly and drinking water is provided to the students hygienically.

Rajini is secretary of Jagmag Sena, a children club on hygiene and sanitation in a Government school at Tarawata village of Guna district.Jagmag Sena is part of a project, being implemented in 25 schools of Guna by the district administration with support from UNICEF for Madhya Pradesh. To implement this project UNICEF has also engaged an NGO Vaibhvari, which is working with teachers and children of Government schools in Guna to bring in child-to-child communication, to increased awareness on issue of hygiene and sanitation among children.

Jagmag Sena is a group of 10 children (5 girls and 5 boys) who monitor the usage of toilet facilities, washing hands, safe drinking water and other personal hygiene issues in a school. Jagmag Sena has developed a monitoring chart, which consists of the above-mentioned issues and has been painted on the wall. The member of the Jagmag Sena fill the number of children practicing safe hygiene daily. The Sena has also developed a song through which they display their concern over safe hygiene practices which motivates others to follow the same.

Programme Manager UNICEF Office for Madhya Pradesh Manish Mathur said that it was heartening to meet those children who are helping to create a positive environment in schools towards healthy behavior. They not only understand the criticality of personal hygiene and clean surroundings; they practice and demonstrate correct behavior for other children to follow.

RK Mishra, Deputy Director Rural Development Department Guna district said that the children are like messengers to the society and their families, therefore, this awareness technique has been conceived. He also said that the main aim is to change the habits and behaviour of the children towards hygiene and sanitation. “We will continue the awareness programme for the next two years so that the results can easily be seen among them,” he added.

Activity-Based Learning in MP schools

Abhijit C Chandra, Bhopal, Dec 15 (UNI) : Imagine going to school sans a schoolbag! With the objectives of ensuring children's participation in the learning process and addressing absence from school, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in MP has introduced Activity Based Learning( ABL) in classes I and II with support from UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund). ABL is currently reaching out to children in benefitting students in approximately 4,000 primary schools across 50 districts of Madhya Pradesh. ''Activity-Based Learning (ABL) makes certain that kids learn at their own pace with no scope for rote learning,'' a UNICEF official told UNI here.

Attractive cards and activity generate interest and boost a child's confidence. ABL also enhances scope for the child's development in creative and communicative skills. ABL is underway at 80 schools in Vidisha district and District Education Officer Manish Verma descibed the results as satisfactory.''Children's interest in Hindi, English and Mathematics has increased,'' said District Project Coordinator Vinod Chaudhry. In the current scenario, the challenges for education at primary level are insufficient availability of teachers and addressing issues concerning multi-grade teaching and multi-level teaching situations in classrooms.

''We have a situation where, even after five years of primary education, all children are unable to reach satisfactory levels of achievement. Children drop out of schools as they fall behind in pace with other students or teachers,'' the official explained. Under ABL, the young ones learn through a self-learning experience. At the same time, teachers are in the role of facilitator where they are able to identify each child's achievement level. They involve themselves as friendly guides. Teachers are free from the pressure of not being able to address the individual learning needs of children and  students are free from any fear of failure as teachers adopt a continuous evaluation procedure.ABL classes demand different pedagogy therefore it requires a change in the mindset of all- parents, teachers and officials as there are no textbooks. There are colourful activity cards and workbooks for children. Intially teachers have to work hard to establish the ABL approach, but subsequently the workload eases. As children and teachers start tracking their progress on the learning ladders, the sense of achievement is immense.

ABL classrooms require adequate space, accessible but secure storage, rich and a student-friendly environment. ABL demands higher level of creativity, commitment, mobility and responsibility from teachers. Continuous on-site support to teachers is essential.The project, which began last year, is being implemented in classes I and II and will be extended to classes III and IV in the next session

Kids at Masti Ki Pathshala

Bhopal, Dec 5, 2009 : More than 300 hundred children participated in Masti Ki Pathshala organized by Aarambh, a non governmental organization with support from UNICEF held at BHEL sports club, Berkhera.

Children from Aishbagh, Bajaria, Kabadkhana, Annu Nagar, Atal Ayub Nagar, Indra Sahayat Nagar participated in the various event held to mark the day. Children participated in various track & field sports activities during the day and cultural programme like song and dance in the afternoon. Games stall were installed where children enjoyed during the day. The programme was part of events to mark 20th anniversary of Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Children release UNICEF report in Bhopal

Sanjay Sharma, Bhopal, Nov 20 (IANS) For the first time in Madhya Pradesh, a clutch of children released the Unicef State of the World Children Report 2009 here Friday, praising the efforts of the government for their survival, care and protection but also calling for more focus.

Children like Pappi Khan, Madhu, Aashi, Shivani Sen, Aarti, and Sunil - from Bhopal and Hoshangabad - were delighted to get a platform to speak out. They called on the state and society to speak out against female foeticide, child abuse and provide quality education and care to all children.

“What’s needed is a supportive environment that respects women’s rights. Educating women and girls is pivotal to creating such an environment,” said one of the children. “Most of all, saving women and children’s lives requires the concerted efforts of government leaders, health specialists, civil society, communities and families”, said another.

“There has been considerable progress since the Convention on the Rights of the Child was opened for signature nearly 20 years ago though the rights of millions of children are still not respected or protected,” said Manish Mathur, officer in charge of Unicef. Twenty years after the UN adopted the treaty guaranteeing children’s rights, fewer youngsters are dying and more are going to school, says Unicef’s report.

MP becomes 1st state to top IMR for 6th time

PTI from Bhopal reports that Madhya Pradesh has got the unenviable distinction of becoming the first state in the country to top the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) for the sixth time in a row. Madhya Pradesh had replaced Orissa as the state with the highest IMR in the country about six years ago and since then the former is keeping this stigma on its head. "Madhya Pradesh has the highest 70 IMR in the country in 2008 also even after it has decreased by two points in the State in comparison to 2007 when IMR was 72 at per thousand live births," says the latest bulletin of Sample Registration System (SRS) of the Registrar General of India. Orissa, which stands second in worst performing states in IMR in 2008 recorded 69 infant deaths and managed to keep the IMR below that of Madhya Pradesh consistently for the last six years. Kerala achieved the status of best performing states in IMR in 2008 where only 12 infant deaths were reported during the period followed by Tamil Nadu (31) and Maharashtra (33). The SRS bulletin also shows that Madhya Pradesh continues to be even worse in case of the female children and the IMR for girl children is 72 in the state as compared to 68 for boy children.

Madhya Pradesh asked to set up child rights body

Sanjay Sharma, IANS, BHOPAL - The Child Rights Observatory - an independent child rights monitoring body comprising of civil society groups, NGOs, academics and media persons - Saturday urged the Madhya Pradesh government to set up a board or mission for child rights.

The recommendation was made in its report “State of MP’s Children”, released by Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari, the chairman of the state Human Rights Commission, along with students Priya Singh & Abhinash Mishra and UNICEF State representative for Madhya Pradesh office Hamid El Bashir at a function here.

The group, set up in November 2007, also advocated the establishment of child rights centres, clubs, forums and parliaments in schools to encourage child participation in issues of children.
The group also stressed the need of sustained participation of the local community and civil society and engaging local elected bodies in solving the issues of children.

“The state has in the last ten years progressed in literacy, education and provisioning of schooling, yet it lacks on indicators like infant mortality rate, malnourishment, basic poverty and infrastructure,” says the report adding that the state also has challenges in school dropouts and high rates of crime against children.

In his address, Justice Dharmadhikari said children in the state face many challenges and there is need to engage civil society organisations, and capitalise on their support to bring change for favour of children. Hamid El Bashir said the report will benefit policy makers, help in promoting debate on children and create a movement for development of children in the state.

Priya of class 8 and Abhinash Mishra of class 9 called upon the state to encourage their participation and provide for protection of their rights. Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development Tinoo Joshi spoke about the state government’s initiatives for child development, nutrition and protection, while Child Rights Observatory president Nirmala Buch stressed that the report calls for zero tolerance for child rights violation in the state.

Ujjain gets first medical care unit for AIDS patients

Bhopal, April 7 (IANS) A HIV community care centre has been set up to provide medical help to AIDS patients in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain town, the headquarters of a district that has the second highest number of such cases in the state. Ujjain Chief Medical and Health Officer Dileep Nagar said the 10-bed medical centre, which was inaugurated last week, is a unit of Saathi, a facility providing support to HIV-positive people. It was set up with help from Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT) in association with Kripa Welfare Society, an NGO, and the Madhya Pradesh State Aids Control Society (MPSACS).

“It was badly required in a place like Ujjain which, with 351 patients, has the second highest number of AIDS cases in the state. Commercial capital Indore takes the lead with 564 cases,” Manish, who represents Ujjain’s network of HIV-positive people, told IANS. The network, with about 130 members, provides support and counselling for HIV-positive people across the state.
The number of AIDS affected people in the state, according to MPSACS figures, increased from one in 1988 to 2,382 by the end of 2007.

The figures compiled by the MPSACS reveal that 91.7 percent patients acquire the deadly virus through sexual transmission and two percent through blood transfusion. “What is worrying is that AIDS is no longer confined to urban areas. I have patients from villages, even remote hamlets, where the disease has spread due to lack of awareness,” said a doctor.

The doctor claimed she had come across HIV patients from small towns like Khandwa, Khargone, Badwani and Shajapur. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. Several cases, mainly from rural areas, go unreported in the state”, says Prashant Malaiya, MPSACS deputy director. NGOs working in Indore, Ujjain, Jabalpur, Rewa, Bhopal, Gwalior, Sagar, Hoshangabad and Morena, claim the number of AIDS victims in these districts is far higher than official figures. Various surveys have pointed out that people between 31 and 40 form the largest group of HIV-affected people. They have also found that 72 percent of AIDS patients in Madhya Pradesh are men.
“The centre will go a long way in providing care to HIV-positive people. However, we need to sensitise more people, spread knowledge and dispel fear associated with HIV to fight the stigma attached to the disease,” said Unicef official Anil Gulati.

India tries new ways to reach its underfed children

By Jonathan Allen
BADARWAS, India, March 18 (Reuters) - A couple of months ago, Sheela Adivasi's infant son fell sick and his eyes filled with pus. By the time the infection cleared up, Deepak's pupils had turned a pearly white. He is now permanently blind.It did not help matters that Deepak is malnourished, as are half of all young children in India. His belly is swollen, his dry skin speckled with dark dots, and his hair is thin and yellowing. Had he not been so starved of vitamins, he probably would have suffered only an itchy but harmless bout of pink eye.Belatedly, he is getting some nutrients in a special clinic for malnourished children in Badarwas, a tiny town about an hour's drive from his mud-walled home in a village in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.The clinic, a concrete room filled with a dozen beds and prone to powercuts, is part of India's latest attempt to reduce a malnutrition rate twice that of sub-Saharan Africa. For now, Deepak is far from the only child being reached too late.It is a problem with "dire consequences for morbidity, mortality, productivity and economic growth," a World Bank report said in 2005, and shows little signs of fading even as India's economy booms.Born underweight and then underfed during the crucial early stages of development, millions of Indian children grow up shorter, weaker and less smart than their better fed peers.They end up less productive workers, too, costing India about 3 percent of national income, the bank said. The problem looks unlikely to disappear for at least the next couple of decades.

GOOD ADVICE
The nutrition centres, and measures such as paying pregnant women to give birth in a clinic rather than at home, are part of the government's National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).It was started in 2005 to bring health services to people used to a choice between pawning jewellery for doctor's fees or simply suffering.The scheme is intended to plug gaps in an older programme that failed to reach children in the most critical first two years of life, educate mothers about nutrition and reign in corruption which meant free food handouts went missing.In Deepak's case, the difference some well-timed good advice could have made is obvious. In the 18 months since his birth, no food passed his lips until he arrived at the nutrition centre, according to his mother. She did not realise this was a problem."He only drinks milk," Sheela said as she sat sweating under a motionless ceiling fan as Deepak lay in her lap in torn shorts and a grubby jacket.The registration book at the centre is filled with the purple thumbprints of illiterate, unschooled mothers like Sheela. She does not know her age -- a doctor, trying to be helpful, pulled open her mouth, looked at her teeth, and guessed about 25.After marrying in her late teens Sheela left behind her village and moved in with her husband's family. She dislikes her mother-in-law, who she says has no interest in giving grandmotherly advice.Workers at the centre will try to teach Sheela how best to care for her son, paying her 35 rupees (nearly $1) a day and providing meals to compensate for her lost labourer's income.Several times a day, Deepak sips a sweet mixture of ground puffed rice and sugar dissolved in milk with a little vegetable oil. Older children move on to fruit, eggs and lentils.For Kasumal Adivasi, sitting a few beds away, the centre was a revelation. Like Sheela, she felt there was no one in her husband's village she could turn to for advice.After 12 days at the centre, Tunda, her 2-year-old son, still has a distended stomach and a slightly grumpy disposition, but at least he is able to stand up again with his mother's help."I promise, promise, promise to remember what you told me," she told a nurse, before reciting some of the dietary tips she has learnt at the centre. She smiled with gratitude and relief, her hand resting on her pregnant belly.

STILL GAPS
The Madhya Pradesh government adopted the nutrition centres after liking what it saw at a pilot centre set up in the state by UNICEF. There are now more than 60 in Madhya Pradesh, and they are spreading to other states as part of the NRHM.But UNICEF staff warn that the limited beds at the nutrition clinics are far from an end in themselves. They are a last resort, taking in only the most dangerously undernourished children. Two weeks later, they are discharged, most still malnourished, but no longer quite so at risk of dying."There are still big gaps in the guidelines," said Hamid El-Bashir, the UNICEF representative for Madhya Pradesh.Under the rural health mission, health workers are being asked to help check malnutrition before it reaches such a bleak stage, but in places like Madhya Pradesh where healthy children are in a minority, locals can become inured to the signs."His hair just hasn't been washed," said one young village worker when her attention was brought to a young child with yellowing frizz on his scalp and scaly skin.Some, like Biraj Patnaik, an advisor to the Supreme Court on nutrition, think good advice only goes so far, and India's top priority is fixing its graft-tainted food distribution system."Across the country women are rationing their own food, feeding their babies at their own personal cost," he said. "There's absolute hunger out there."UNICEF's El-Bashir thinks fortified biscuits or similar so-called ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) used in some famine-hit African countries could be part of the solution.Convincing India's government could be tricky though as it likes to promote traditional Indian food staples grown and cooked locally, saying it is cheap, creates jobs and is less prone to graft."RUTF has been a real revolution," El-Bashir said. "India cannot just say no." (Editing by Simon Denyer and Megan Goldin)

Child welfare NGOs come together

The Hindu

- Need to help the Government address child issues

- ‘Public campaign for child rights could affect political manifestos’

The Child Rights Observatory Madhya Pradesh (CROMP), a society promoted by UNICEF to create public awareness and build up a campaign for child rights, received support from a large number of NGOs at a meeting held here over the weekend to build linkages and explore the possibilities of cooperation.

CROMP, the only organisation of its kind in Asia, is headed by former State Chief Secretary Nirmala Buch. Prominent persons from the field of education, social work and media are among the founder members.

The CROMP deliberations were attended by many voluntary and social organisations including UNICEF, National Law Institute University, Samarthan, NIWCYD, Arambh, Muskan, SOS, Children’s Village, CARD, Parvarish, Umeed, Deerghayu, Asha Niketan, Sangini, United Reformers Organisation, DFID and Digdarshika.

Speaking on the occasion, UNICEF State Representative Hamid El Bashir said CROMP should act as a catalyst in bringing together all NGOs working for the cause of children. He stressed the need to work and help the Government address issues like sex selection, street children, school enrolment of children living in slums, disability, child labour, children’s health, aggression and violence among adolescents.

Word of caution

Dr. Bashir had a word of caution against NGOs lacking a track record in terms of performance and said there should be a system for accreditation of NGOs. He said a public campaign for child rights could even compel political parties to include the issue in their election manifestos.

Ms. Buch announced that CROMP would be producing a citizens’ report on the status of children in Madhya Pradesh. This would be endorsed by NGOs. She said the voice of the Child Rights Observatory would be the collective voice of the NGOs.

Malnutrition stalks Madhya Pradesh children

A severely malnourished child at nutritional rehabilitation centre, Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh. He is with his mother. 60 % of children in the state in between of age 0 - 5 years are malnourished. Malnutrition stalk Madhya Pradesh children despite schemes to improve the services of anganwadis and nutrition centres. The state may be having about one lakh children who are severely malnourished and if they are not in centres like this 50 % may die ?

Bhopal wakes up to greetings by children

All India Radio (AIR) listeners in Bhopal Sunday morning woke up to a pleasant surprise when they heard children anchoring various early morning programmes.

The children were invited by AIR on the occasion of the International Children Day of Broadcasting, declared by UNICEF.

Observed on the second Sunday of December each year since 1992, broadcasters air programmes for, about or by the children around the world on this day.

The day provides a unique opportunity for children broadcasters to use the medium. One important part of the initiative is that children themselves decide how and in what way they will participate.

'Many (children) who have been part to this earlier wait for the day and many new join in. It is an interesting experience for some and boost their confidence', said an AIR official.

'Radio is already making a comeback as a major source of entertainment. Such an attempt by children would further add to its glory as who doesn't wants to listen or experience the talent of children', said Laxmi Sharma, a schoolteacher.

'Radio is the most powerful medium even today and such an opportunity would encourage children to speak about themselves. It would also teach them about communicating with a larger audience. And above all, we the adults would also be able to understand children better who otherwise remain hesitant in expressing themselves', said SP Shukla, one of the participant's parent.

'This day gives one more opportunity to children to express and voice their opinion freely in line with Article 12 of Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)', UNICEF' Communication Officer Anil Gulati told IANS.

By Sanjay Sharma, IANS

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

ऐसा अख़बार जिसमें सभी 'बाल पत्रकार'

मंगलवार, 09 अक्तूबर, 2007, फ़ैसल मोहम्मद अली, बीबीसी संवाददाता, भोपाल

न्यूज लेटर की ख़बरें कई मामलों में अपनी छाप भी छोड़ रही हैं
मध्य प्रदेश में एक स्वयंसेवी संस्था ने 'बच्चों की पहल' नामक त्रिमासिक अख़बार शुरू किया है. ख़ास बात ये है कि इस अख़बार के सभी रिपोर्टर स्कूली बच्चे हैं. होशंगाबाद ज़िले की सोहागपुर तहसील में यूनीसेफ़ की पहल पर दलित संघ नामक स्थानीय स्वयंसेवी संस्था ने यह पहल की है.

तीन कमरों वाले स्कूलों में जहाँ कक्षा एक से आठ तक की पढ़ाई होती है, वहाँ पढ़ने वाले इन बच्चों का उत्साह देखते ही बनता है. वे अपना परिचय कुछ इस अंदाज़ में देते हैं. “मेरा नाम ज्योति है. मैं आठवीं में पढ़ती हूँ और दलित संघ की पत्रकार हूँ...या “ मैं शिवकुमार हूँ और मैं पत्रकार हूँ...”

उत्साह

इन परिचयों को किसी खेल या नाटक की रिहर्सल का हिस्सा समझने वाले आगंतुकों को वहाँ मौजूद शिक्षक और कभी खुद बच्चे बताते हैं कि वे वाकई पत्रकार हैं. हम भविष्य के लिए एक ऐसा वर्ग तैयार करना चाहते हैं जो अपनी बात निडरता से सत्तासीन लोगों के सामने कह सके


गोपाल नारायण आवटे, संपादक

हिंदी में छपने वाले चार पन्नों के ‘बच्चों की पहल’ न्यूज लेटर के दो अंक अब तक प्रकाशित हो चुके हैं और तीसरा ज़ल्द ही आने वाला है.

यूनिसेफ़ की मध्य प्रदेश इकाई के प्रमुख हामिद अल बशीर कहते हैं कि यह प्रोजेक्ट समाज में बदलाव के लिए बच्चों की पहल है.

संस्था के प्रवक्ता अनिल गुलाटी के अनुसार यूनिसेफ़ ने इस न्यूज़ लेटर के लिए दलित संघ को ख़ुद से इसीलिए जोड़ा क्योंकि संस्था एक ऐसे वर्ग के लिए काम कर रही है जो हमेशा सबसे पीछे की पंक्ति में खड़ा मिलता है.

संपादक गोपाल नारायण आवटे का कहना है कि मौजूदा समाचार माध्यमों में आजकल गाँव से जुड़ी ख़बरें लगभग नगण्य हैं, ख़ासतौर पर दलितों की रोज़मर्रा की ज़िंदगी से जुड़ी ख़बरें जिन्हें समाज के सामने लाने में इस न्यूज लेटर से मदद मिलेगी.

यह पूछे जाने पर कि संवाददाताओं के तौर पर बच्चों का ही चयन क्यों किया गया, आवटे कहते हैं कि पहले तो ग्रामीण दलितों के बीच से नियमित तौर पर ख़बरें भेजने के लिए पढ़े-लिखे लोगों की कमी थी और दूसरे वह भविष्य के लिए एक ऐसा वर्ग तैयार करना चाहते हैं जो अपनी बात निडरता से सत्तासीन लोगों के सामने कह सके.

नई दुनिया
‘बच्चों की पहल’ ने ग्रामीण बच्चों के लिए ख़बरें लिखने के तरीके, फ़ोटोग्राफी और कार्टूनों की एक नई दुनिया ही खोल दी है.
नवलगाँव के चौकीदार के बेटे दयाशंकर जहाँ अख़बार के लिए संवाददाता और कार्टूनिस्ट दोनों की भूमिका निभा रहे हैं, वहीं मज़दूर के बेटे हरिओम अपने विचार कार्टून की आड़ी-तिरछी लकीरों के माध्यम से सामने रखने लगे हैं.मैं चिंतित हूँ कि कहीं बार-बार समस्याओं की बात उठाने से बच्चे शक्तिशाली लोगों को अपना दुश्मन न बना लें, शिक्षक तरवर सिंह पटेल

होशंगाबाद के सोहागपुर तहसील के दूरदराज़ इलाकों में रह रहे ये किशोर संवाददाता अपनी रिपोर्टें, लेख और प्रकाशन के लिए दूसरी सामग्रियां दलित संघ कार्यकर्ताओं या डाक के माध्यम से सोहागपुर भेजते हैं. जहाँ ख़बरों के संकलन और संपादन के बाद उन्हें प्रकाशित किया जाता है.

दलित संघ कार्यकर्ता सुनील कहते हैं कि न्यूज़ लेटर की ख़बरें कई मामलों में अपनी छाप भी छोड़ रही हैं. मसलन गुंदरई स्कूल में खेल मैदान न होने की ख़बर प्रकाशित होने के बाद मुख्यमंत्री ने जिल़ा कलेक्टर को इस बाबत निर्देश दिए.

मगर जहाँ दलित सशक्तीकरण, बच्चों में सामयिक विषयों पर होनेवाली चर्चाएं, उनके बढ़ते शब्दकोष और अभिव्यक्ति में आया पैनापन खुशी का विषय है, वहीं शिक्षक तरवर सिंह पटेल चिंतित हैं कि कहीं बार-बार समस्याओं की बात उठाने से बच्चे शक्तिशाली लोगों को अपना दुश्मन न बना लें.

लेकिन मास्टर साहब की चिंताओं से बेख़बर स्वभाव से शर्मीली मीना जहाँ नारी अधिकार पर अपनी कविता सुना रही हैं, वहीं पूजा रघुवंशी ‘भगवान ने पेट किस लिए दिया है, पायजामा बाँधने के लिए’ जैसे चुटकुले सुनाकर ठहाके लगवा रही है.

Hungry and Dying

ANNIE ZAIDI Frontline


Hunger and malnutrition stalk Madhya Pradesh villages despite schemes to improve the services of anganwadis and nutrition centres.
HUNGER is unpalatable. For a government that wishes to assert that it is not callous, it is particularly so. But hunger, with a capital H, is a pill that millions of people in Madhya Pradesh continue to swallow.

In 2005 and 2006, Frontline reported acute malnutrition from Sheopur and Shivpuri districts in Madhya Pradesh. Since then, there has been some change: new schemes have been announced; the recruitment policy for anganwadi workers has changed; there is a new menu for the anganwadis; and more Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) are being opened. Anganwadis are Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) centres.

However, it would be wise to keep in mind that not all changes have been positive. According to the 2005-2006 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), the percentage of underweight children in Madhya Pradesh increased from 54 in 1998-99 to 60, and the percentage of wasted (extremely malnourished) children from 20 to 33.

POOR COMPENSATION

Many changes over the past decade have pushed villagers who once had enough to eat into a spiral of food insecurity and the uncertain arms of the public distribution system (PDS). There appears to be a direct link between access to forests and hunger in tribal hamlets. Madhya Pradesh has 29 national parks and reserved forest areas, and each of them has meant displacement and deprivation for the tribal people. Take Balharpur village in Shivpuri for instance, less than an hour’s drive from Shivpuri town.

About eight years ago, its residents, most of them belonging to the Sahariya tribe, were moved out of the Madhav National Park and dumped upon a stony, non-irrigated tract of land near the highway. Earlier, they had lived close to a river and had water for both farming and drinking.

During the non-farming season, they collected and sold tendu leaves, herbs and honey to be able to buy things needed to supplement their diet. Each family had cows and goats. While moving, the villagers set their cattle free near the Balhar Mata temple in the forest. They were certain they would not have access to grazing land in the New Balharpur village. They were right.

NO ROOF OVERHEAD

Today, the village has neither fields nor cattle nor jobs. What it does have is people like Makkobai. Her husband and one son already dead and confronted with the prospect of losing her other son and daughter-in-law, she was forced to sell off her roof.

Each family was given built houses, without toilets or taps, when they relocated; rough slabs of stone placed in a lattice formed the roof. Makkobai sold these stone slabs for Rs.2,500. She sleeps in other people’s houses.

Makkobai should have been entitled to a health card, issued under the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Upchar Yojna, which would have provided the family free medical treatment worth Rs.20,000. But she does not have one. Another widow, Bisna, shrugs off the suggestion of visiting hospitals. “What will the doctor do? There’s nothing to eat anyway.” Like others in her village, she is almost entirely dependent on subsidised PDS rations. Everybody does not have a “yellow card”, the Antyodaya ration card, which marks the Sahariyas as the poorest of the poor. The Sahariyas are entitled to them, being a Primitive Tribal Group. Not surprisingly, malnutrition amongst the children is plain to see, even to the untrained eye.

They also claim that the Guna Grameen Kshetriya Bank allows each family to withdraw only Rs.8,000 of the Rs.20,000 given as compensation for displacement. And most of it has been spent repaying loans taken at interest rates as high as 100 per cent. The rest of the money was set aside for “land development” purposes.

The very phrase “land development” makes villagers spit in anger. Jamna, an elderly widow, told Frontline: “What are you supposed to do with your stomach until this land gets developed? And how will the land be developed without water? All we have is one functional hand pump.”

The men have been forced to migrate to places such as Ghati-Gaon near Gwalior, where there is work in the stone quarries. They live a whole month in the quarries and return with no more than Rs.500, and often with tuberculosis as well. There are 26 widows out of a total adult female population of 87.

Another village in Shivpuri district, Amola, which was displaced in August 2006 to make way for the Manikheda dam project, presents a gloomier face. It is now home to Lakshmi, the six-month-old baby who has just returned from the NRC in Shivpuri. She was discharged after 14 days but remains a “grade four case” – severe malnutrition that, if untreated, will lead to death.

The village has no pucca houses, and the administration did not provide toilets either. The Sahariya women are distraught since people of other castes or communities refuse to let them use their fields. They even threaten to bury the women alive if they attempt to enter their fields.

Even the five quintals of grain, which was promised as interim relief for displacement, did not materialise. Some families got pattas but others were already farming the same strip of land. Most of the villagers migrate or work for contractors, filling dumpers with sand for Rs.20 a day, or walk to the nearest forest area and cut wood.

LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD

A young woman, Kusna, threw an axe and a small bundle near this correspondent’s feet and sat down. She had been collecting wood all day, which she sold in the nearest town market for Rs.30. “The bus fare cost me Rs.10. What was left bought me this bundle of leaves, which I will cook tonight as vegetables. Earlier, we could collect gum, honey, herbs. Now what?”

Now, there is the iffy dependence on rations and the struggle to obtain “yellow cards”. Even this battle is an uphill one. Recently, the panchayat secretary was suspended after he was arrested for irregularities. He had allegedly tried to sell Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards for Rs.500 each.

The day Frontline visited Amola, an unidentified man had dropped in earlier, claiming to be the new secretary. While he was yet to take charge, the villagers alleged that he was already asking for bribes: Rs.10 a card. Little wonder then that as budgets for schemes grow, so does food insecurity and the great corruption initiative. In Sheopur district, there were instances of gross irregularities concerning the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Frontline found such irregularities in Patalgarh village in 2006 too, where several children died of malnutrition.

According to Uma Chaturvedi, a fellow of the Right to Food Campaign for Sheopur, there are fresh attempts to fudge cards. “For example, in Naya Gaon in Vijaypur block, which is one of the 28 villages displaced for the Kuno National Park, people worked for and were paid for two to four days on an average, but all the cards have entries stating ‘77 days’. The villagers met the District Collector to complain about the resultant embezzlement in May, but so far no action has been taken.”

She added that in other villages in Sheopur, such as Rohni and Ranipura, people are demanding wages pending since March, or compensatory unemployment allowance, but, again, to no avail.


MAKKOBAI WITH HER surviving son. She had to sell off the stone slabs that formed her roof and now sleeps in other people's houses.

Sachin Kumar Jain, who works with the Right to Food Campaign, admits that the State government at least has the decency not to turn a blind eye to hunger. “Under pressure from the media, the Supreme Court and civil society groups, the government acknowledged the problem; even the bureaucracy has shown some political sensitivity. Yet, hunger is a problem even in Budhni [in Sehore district], which is part of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s constituency.”

According to reports by Raju Kumar who works with Vikas Samvad, Bhim Kot, one of the villages in Budhni block, is rife with malnourished children. “We weighed the children and found that 24 out of 25 were malnourished. Nineteen years later, and despite having corresponded with the C.M., they still don’t have an anganwadi or access to health care.”

Despite policy changes, major loopholes remain. Safe drinking water is not considered a part of crucial nutritional needs. In villages such as Kairi Chowki in Raisen district, there are 10 hand pumps, of which only one functions.

There is no anganwadi in Kairi Chowki either, which is also part of the Chief Minister’s parliamentary constituency (he was a Lok Sabha member when he took over as Chief Minister). The nearest ICDS centre is about 3 km away.

Here, when the new ration cards were released, many people found their names struck off the BPL list. Among them were people such as Munshi Lal, who is in his 80s but receives no longer the old-age pension.

In the neighbouring hamlet of Dhoop-Ghata, things are better. Many of the families have a cow or a goat and some chickens, and they are peacefully allowed to graze their animals, without interference from the forest administration. There is an anganwadi and the worker is efficient. The nurse makes regular visits and the children do not appear to be severely undernourished.

Even so, life is terribly hard. The women set out at 3 a.m. They walk to Abdullaganj, the largest market in the area, to sell a bundle of firewood, for as little as Rs.40. Then they walk back, cook the noon meal and start walking again – to the forest to collect wood.

A visit to the NRC in Shivpuri district is both heartrending and educative, in the context of the demographics of hunger. Nearly all the mothers and children admitted are Sahariyas. Phuliya, a woman from Khaniyadana block, had brought along her two-year-old girl Choti – all skin and bones. While she acknowledged that she got her full ration regularly, there was not much she could do to help her own child: all she could feed the baby was dal and roti.

The NRC officials claim that they also have a hard time keeping the mothers in hospital for 15 days. Most women are worried about other children left behind at home. In the attempt to save one, they dare not risk losing the rest.

The Director of the Department of Women and Child Welfare, Kalpana Shrivastava, agrees that the main problem is that whatever the State provides can only be supplementary nutrition, whether it is through ICDS or mid-day meals. It is hard to tackle malnutrition if hunger is a chronic problem.

The State has been trying. From only daliya or panjeeri, the menu at anganwadis now includes poha, laddoo and halwa-puri. The process is also decentralised, with the money for supplies being sent directly to a joint account between the anganwadi worker and the local mothers’ committee. There are also attempts to “celebrate” every Tuesday as Mangal Divas, wherein pregnant women will be treated to a godh-bharai, birthdays will be marked, and so on.

Pockets of chronic malnutrition will be allotted Rs.6 a child, instead of Rs.2, whereby children will get three meals at the anganwadi. The worker and helper will also be paid extra.

Kalpana Shrivastava also claims that, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s orders, all ICDS centres sanctioned in 2007 will be made functional by the end of September. “The new nutrition policy will make a difference, but things take time to fall into place.” Organisations such as the United Nations Children’s Fund are also focussing on nutritional rehabilitation. Dr. Manohar Agnani, former Collector of Shivpuri, who was instrumental in setting up the model NRC in 2006, is now a consultant for UNICEF.

TREAT THE CAUSE

The target is to get 100 NRCs up and running by the end of the year and 313 by 2008. However, UNICEF State Representative Hamid El-Bashir agrees that there is a need to scratch the surface. “The ICDS is an excellent programme; it is wide-reaching and ambitious. But the State government also needs to look at income and unemployment. We can treat the symptoms, not the cause.”

Yet, the NRCs are a much-needed measure in a State, which confronts the certainty of a definite number of hunger-related deaths every year. Even if the situation is improving slowly, it still looks very bad once you translate percentages into numbers. According to the 10th survey of the Bal Sanjivani Abhiyan in the State, 47.5 per cent of children under six are malnourished, of whom 0.67 per cent suffer from severe malnourishment.

This is down by 0.11 per cent from the ninth survey, but, as Dr. Agnani points out, “with an average rate of 30 per cent mortality [for the severely malnourished], this means that hundreds of children will die this year. In Sheopur district [which accounts for 2.56 per cent of the severe category], up to 600 children could die.”

It is a frightening fact that, despite the best efforts of concerned groups and recent policy changes, within a year, 600 children in a single district will have died because there was not enough food to eat.

Sachin Kumar Jain offers another sombre reminder – most of the dead and dying will be Dalit or Adivasi tribal children. “Do you know why the Sahariyas are a Primitive Tribal Group? Amongst other parameters, it is the fact that their population is decreasing or stagnant. It is true that they bear more children, but it is also true that most of the children die. This is the result of a policy of exclusion. Schemes are only a petty compensation for depriving people of their rights.”

‘Shaktiman project’ focused on tribals will cover 1,000 villages

Nourishing lives: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan along with actor Mukesh Khanna of TV serial ‘Shaktiman’ fame and a child freed from malnourishment at the launch of the State Government’s ‘Project Shaktiman’ in Hoshangabad district.
KESLA (MADHYA PRADESH): Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has affirmed his Government’s commitment to ensuring that not a single child remains malnourished in the State.

This was emphasised by the Chief Minister while launching the Shaktiman Project in the heavily forested Kesala block of Hoshangabad district over the weekend. The new initiative is aimed at addressing the critical issue of malnourishment in the predominantly tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh.

The project would initially cover 1,000 villages in 38 development blocks of 19 districts.

Addressing a huge gathering of villagers, even as the audience braved a cloudburst and remained seated drenched in rain, the Chief Minister said effective measures had been taken to end discrimination against the girl child. He called for greater participation by women in the decision-making process. The State Government had initiated a number of schemes and programmes to bring women on a firmer footing, he said, dwelling at length on various initiatives taken by the Government for women’s empowerment.

The Chief Minister said Madhya Pradesh was ranking low on the malnourishment front but focused efforts in the recent past had started showing positive results. He said 0.4 per cent children are severely malnourished in the State. The figure earlier stood at 5 per cent, he added.

Women and Child Development Minister Kusum Mehdale said that under the Shaktiman Project, the first of its kind in the country, the daily expenditure per head for providing nutritious diet to children would be Rs. 6 against the normal Rs.2 being spent by anganwadis.

Hamid El Bashir, State Representative at the UNICEF Office for Madhya Pradesh, said UNICEF salutes all those involved in tackling the problem of malnutrition. Stressing the need for focused intervention in the least developed parts of the State, particularly the tribal areas, Dr. Bashir said that initially 1,000 villages were being targeted but the project should expand to all areas.

TV star Mukesh Khanna, who played the popular role of Shaktiman in a serial by the same name said children have great potential and they should be able to use it to the fullest .

UNICEF opens art gallery

The Hindu, September 15, 2007

“Initiative is out-of-box thinking”

BHOPAL: The UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh has taken the initiative to create an art-cum-photography gallery at its Bhopal premises to promote art and photography for social change.

The State Principal Secretary for Women and Child Development, Prashant Mehta, inaugurated the Art Gallery at the UNICEF office here on Thursday by declaring open an exhibition of photographic images by Prakash Hatvalne, a photo journalist.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Mehta observed, “this initiative is out-of-box thinking”. It is different and would bring UNICEF closer to society, he said, adding that the Gallery would provide a platform to artists to influence change in the larger interest of children and women.

Dr. Hamid El Bashir, State Representative at the UNICEF Office for Madhya Pradesh, said that through art we can challenge social stigmas and barriers. He said the idea was to involve artists in building a vision for a more egalitarian society.

Mr. Hatvalne has worked for more than two decades with national and international media. His exhibition at the UNICEF office includes collection of photographs depicting the Ramanami sect, and his work among children and women, especially tribals. His photographs will be on display up to September 22.

UNICEF opens art gallery

The Hindu, September 15, 2007

“Initiative is out-of-box thinking”

BHOPAL: The UNICEF office for Madhya Pradesh has taken the initiative to create an art-cum-photography gallery at its Bhopal premises to promote art and photography for social change.

The State Principal Secretary for Women and Child Development, Prashant Mehta, inaugurated the Art Gallery at the UNICEF office here on Thursday by declaring open an exhibition of photographic images by Prakash Hatvalne, a photo journalist.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Mehta observed, “this initiative is out-of-box thinking”. It is different and would bring UNICEF closer to society, he said, adding that the Gallery would provide a platform to artists to influence change in the larger interest of children and women.

Dr. Hamid El Bashir, State Representative at the UNICEF Office for Madhya Pradesh, said that through art we can challenge social stigmas and barriers. He said the idea was to involve artists in building a vision for a more egalitarian society.

Mr. Hatvalne has worked for more than two decades with national and international media. His exhibition at the UNICEF office includes collection of photographs depicting the Ramanami sect, and his work among children and women, especially tribals. His photographs will be on display up to September 22.

Villagers script their own progress in Madhya Pradesh

Sanjay Sharma

Fourteen-year-old Mamta had to abandon her studies after Class 5 because her village in Madhya Pradesh did not have the facilities. Three years later, however, the story has changed - Mamta can continue her studies with a middle school opening up near her home thanks to a new initiative where the residents themselves identify their needs.

As part of the village planning programme started by Unicef, the district administration and some NGOs, Mamta's village Kolhari in Shivpuri district now has a middle school where she has been admitted in Class 6 this year.

The project involves the community using norms of participatory rural appraisal techniques; villagers themselves chalk out the needs of their hamlets and apprise the government about the requirements.

The programme, started initially in Guna and Shivpuri districts, has wrought a profound change in the lives of many villagers.

"After the introduction of village planning in Kolhari, we have got an all-weather road and a series of hand pumps. Since our village has no toilets and most diseases in the village are spread as a result of open defecation, we have now applied for toilets, which we hope to get soon," an enthusiastic Mamta said.

The women in the village have also applied for anganwadi centres so that they can provide better care to their children.

Under the programme, social maps are prepared to assess the distribution of available resources in the village. Household surveys are then conducted to collect basic information about the village, the community and the needs of children, primarily in areas of health, education, nutrition, drinking water and sanitation.

Information is also sought on the socio-economic condition of people.

The data collected is used to prepare developmental plans for presentation and approval in a special 'gram sabha' (village) meeting. Then, the plans are passed on to the district administration for implementation.

The areas chosen for rural planning include birth registration, maternal and infant mortality, maternity benefits (including regular health check-ups, immunisation), breast feeding, malnutrition, health and sanitation, controlling diarrhoea, decreasing child marriages, consumption of iodised salt, supply of drinking water and personal hygiene. Special stress is given on female child education.

"The programme requires villagers to meet twice a month at the village community hall where each hamlet formulates its own plan for development and analyses the progress. Then they submit an application with the district administration, which sanctions funds and directs the concerned department to implement the works", said Umesh Vashisht, convener of the Centre For Integrated Development, an NGO working on the project.

"One woman volunteer has been appointed in each village panchayat and one cluster animator given the task of guiding a group of five such volunteers. Also, master trainers are appointed to teach volunteers the basics including rapport building with villagers, door-to-door surveys, social and resource mappings.

"They are also trained in how to address the gram sabha and talk about the problems of the hamlet and seek solution," Vashisht said, adding that the results have been amazing and pointing to Kolhari as a case in point.

IANS

MP villagers invent new protest formula: Classes held on tree

In a unique way to protest against insufficient number of school teachers in village Kalighati of Petlawad area (Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh), classes of a particular school were held atop a tree.

VILLAGE KALIGHATI of Petlawad area Madhya Pradesh (MP) witnessed a unique form of protest from the community members, as at least 25 students of a school climbed on a tree and a youth from the village took the classes on the tree top. They were protesting against the lack of teachers in the primary and middle schools in their area. Besides village Kalighati, nearly a dozen other villages took part in the protest and there the schools did not function on August 30.

As per the survey conducted by a social organisation, committed to the cause of education, about 235 posts of teachers are lying vacant in Petlawad area, which falls under Jhabua, a tribal district in the western part of MP. The teacher: pupil ratio in the area is about 1:125. In decentralized governance set up, as it should be, the issue was discussed in the Gram Sabhas held in the area on August 15, wherein they had passed a resolution demanding filling up of the vacancies of teachers by August 30, 2007. But when nothing happened, they decided to keep schools closed on 30th August and in one school of village Kalighati, classes were held on a tree nearby, which ran for two hours. As per the information received after the incident, four teachers have been provided to the schools. But the district needs more teachers and people hope that their children will have teachers in the school soon.

Jhabua district in its twelve blocks has about 4421 schools and as per the District Information System for Education (DISE), a school based statistical system supported by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), an autonomous organisation set up Government of India reveals that about 49.6 per cent schools are having a single teacher in the district. Strikingly data points out that 22.7 per cent schools in Jhabua are single classroom schools, which is an important issue and needs to be responded.

The problem is not only in Jhabua alone. Though across the State of Madhya Pradesh the access to schools and enrolment rates have improved, number of teachers have not increased. Challenges like lack of teachers, irregular classes, overcrowded classrooms and poor quality of teaching have been impacting the learning level of children and the system is not able to retain children in schools. This is particularly important in rural and tribal areas wherein poverty is an issue. Here, still rather than sending their children to fields, parents spend their hard earned money to admit them in schools with an expectation that their children would get good education. But when system fails to meet their expectations, it further adds to their frustration. It may be pertinent to point out that tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh have a high dropout rate in schools, and events like these are pointers to gaps in the education system, which need urgent attention.

Contributed by Anil Gulati

Heila community: Dreaming for a life with dignity

ADHIR KUMAR SAXENA

Living a life with dignity is one of the fundamental rights of every Indian national. Indian Constitution, UN Charter and even Human Rights Commissions have time and again reiterated commitments towards them. Human Scavenging has a blanket ban in India but the sorrowful state of affairs and indifferent state governments have left the Heila and Walmiki communities still engaged in disposal of human feces (scavenging). The act is shear slavery, as these communities work on petty amounts of Rs 20 per month, cleaning human wastes. They are `untouchables', and higher castes would not allow them in religious places, share food with them or even invite them on festivities. They clean human excreta, remove dead animals (carcass) from public places and act a vulture in keeping the ecological balance.

A hutment of 54 families from the Heila community (a sub-caste in Minority Muslims) engaged in human scavenging finds a very poor settlement at Tarana (Tehsil under Ujjain district). Yes, human scavenging really exists in this Tehsil and Zubeda (56 years) carries human waste on her head every morning. In return she get Rs 10 per house in a month. She has under her Jagiri, a total of 75 houses. Her daughter-in-law also helps her nowadays. Her daughters would not do the inhuman work but once they are married, they will also be engaged in the same scavenging (a pre condition for marriage in the community). Zubeda get stale Chapatis also some times, but then, in exchange she will not be given her wages.

Tarana Tehsil has a small Muhalla of these untouchables who will not get any support from either government agencies or other communities. Their children have to take their own utensils to school if they want mid-day meals otherwise they would not be served. They have a separate sitting place in schools and they are virtually secluded, and could not move out of the Muhalla. Mohammed Mansoor, himself from the community claims that normally it is believed that untouchability is obsolete in Muslim community, but we are not allowed to participate in Rozaftar. Upper caste Muslims do not allow us close to them and we could not enter their houses.

Forced to work, these scavengers are pressed into duties to remove dead animal bodies, serve women post delivery, but no payment is made. Untouchability is still prevalent in Bapu's country, shattering his dreams of a free India. Unfortunately, the Nagar Palika ( a government entity) itself employs scavengers for removing dead animals found in streets. Despite relentless efforts of these under privileged engaged in inhuman occupation, they are not allowed to shift to any other profession.

No other community comes to their aid and they sell their Jagiri (cluster of houses where they are engaged in human scavenging for generations together) in times of need.

Adding pain to agony, these scavengers are still gratified to their petty pay masters for giving them livelihood. These scavengers have been working in these houses for ages now and call them their Jagiri (property). This Jagiri is sold or given on lease by the owner scavenger in times of need. There is no excess to other occupations, as the upper castes do not give them jobs. These scavengers come under Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and thus government job opportunities are very limited.

Published in Free Press Bhopal September 1, 2007

Malnutrition 'killing millions of kids'

Malnutrition kills nearly six million children a year, mainly in developing countries, despite the availability of relatively cheap solutions that could improve global nutrition, a report said.

While low and middle-income countries bear the brunt of the problem, malnutrition affects some rich countries as well, said the report by the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington policy research group.

The bureau's "2007 World Population Data Sheet" and two companion reports provide up-to-date demographic, health and environmental data for all the countries and major regions of the world.

The report said poor nutrition during the mother's pregnancy and the baby's early years causes severe and irreversible mental and physical damage.

Bill Butz, president of the Population Reference Bureau, said the public often does not consider the deadly toll of malnutrition among children "because it does not kill young children directly, as does pneumonia or diarrhoea.

"Many of these deaths could be averted through nutrition measures that are known to be effective, often at low cost," Butz said.

"Malnutrition often increases susceptibility to disease, while ill health exacerbates poor nutrition," the report said. "For countries ravaged by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, malnutrition appears to increase vulnerability to infection and render retro viral treatments less effective."

Despite some important progress, the report said, about 30 per cent of children in low- and middle-income countries are underweight. The largest problems are in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

For example, almost half the children are underweight in some Indian states.

To improve nutrition In the short term, the report said, countries should begin monitoring and promoting growth, changing nutritional behaviour, improving communication with people at risk of malnutrition and introducing iodised salt.

Later they could establish community-based nutrition programs that target young children, adolescent girls and pregnant women.

Other highlights in the report:

-World population growth will continue. It is projected to rise to 9.3 billion by 2050 from 6.6 billion in 2007.

-Fertility rates may be rising again in some European countries where they have been on the wane. The number of children women are having is increasing in Italy, Spain and Sweden, among others.

-The prevalence of HIV/AIDS probably is lower than earlier estimated but remains an international crisis. More than 4 million people were newly infected in 2006.

-The international refugee population increased during 2006 to 9.9 million from 8.7 million. It attributed the increase in large part to Iraqis leaving for other countries, particularly to neighbouring Syria and Jordan.