Unnamed 02/26/2012 (p.m.)

• The Hindu : News / National : Centre's initiative to provide livelihood for tribals in naxal-affected areas
  • evolved jointly by the Ministry of Rural Development and the Planning Commission, envisages a concerted effort by the Centre, the State governments concerned, and civil society to transform the lives of the tribals
  • Centre intends to set up the Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation (BRLF) to support grass-roots level action towards empowerment of the tribals.
  • Centre will provide the initial fund
  • foundation will, however, be expected to be self-sustaining in the long-run.
  • objective is to ensure sustainable livelihoods for the tribals, enhance their access to and control over resources, enhance their mobility and access to information, and create new opportunities for the youth
  • foundation will be expected to support each endeavour for at least five to seven years and probe for scope in areas of watershed management, forest management, irrigation management, dairy, fisheries, agriculture, forestry, skill-development, among others.
  • It will also focus on local institution building, strengthening adivasi leadership, especially women in panchayati raj, self-help groups, community-based organisations and social mobilisation and awareness generation around entitlements and development programmes.
• The Hindu : Today's Paper / NATIONAL : India no more a polio-endemic country: WHO
  • World Health Organisation (WHO) has removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries, suggesting that the wild polio virus had been totally eliminated from the environment.
  • e feat came after India successfully completed an entire year without an incidence of polio.
  • However, India will have to remain polio free for two more years before it is declared polio-free by the WHO.
  • There were only four countries in the WHO endemic list, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan
  • put in place an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan across the country.
  • Under this plan, there is going to be zero tolerance for any new polio case and such a case will be declared as a public health emergency
  • Rapid response teams have already been formed in all States to respond to any polio case
  • alerted all the States bordering the neighbouring countries to strengthen surveillance
  • Special booths have been established on the Wagah border and the Attari train station in Punjab, and the Munabao train station in Rajasthan to ensure that all children under the age of 5 coming from across the border are given polio drops.
  • real credit should go to to the 23 lakh volunteers who repeatedly vaccinated children even in the most remote areas often in very bad weather conditions
  • It is an incredible achievement” which has come about due to the perseverance of Indian government and its people
• The Hindu : News / National : PM for hassle-free, cashless outpatient care
  • the impact of high medical costs placed an unconscionable burden on the poor
  • therefore, focusing our attention on social security of the poor with regard to their health care
  • Public expenditure on health has increased from less than 1 per cent of our GDP in 2006-07 to an estimated 1.4 per cent of GDP by the end of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan
  • goal of increasing public expenditure on health to at least 2.5 per cent of the GDP
  • Cashless outpatient care and a specialised cadre for public health are major recommendations of the high-level expert group of the Planning Commission on universal health care
  • Just as the polio campaign saw the State and Central governments working closely with a common purpose
  • vision of universal health care will unite all of us in a concerted effort to preserve, protect and promote the health of all our people
  • two-thirds of private health care expenditure was on outpatient and diagnostic care and on purchase of medicines
  • insurance schemes generally tend to focus on in-patient cases
  • need greater capacities for decentralised health care planning and management
  • greater focus on human resource development as well as on technological innovation and information systems that can support such decentralisation