HIV risk 29 times higher among Asian sex workers

Women engaged in sex trade in most developing countries, are nearly 14 times more likely to get infected by HIV compared to general women population, a new study has claimed.

The research, an analysis of over 100 studies involving nearly 100,000 female sex workers in 50 low and medium-income countries, found that overall prevalence of HIV in these women was 12 percent.

But, they are at 14 time increased risk of being infected compared to the general women population, said the authors who detailed their findings in The Lancet.

In 26 countries deemed to have a high HIV prevalence, the researchers found that about 31 per cent of female sex workers were HIV positive and they were 12 times more likely to be infected than women from the general population.

The region where sex workers have greater risk of getting HIV infected was Asia (29-times increases risk) compared to a 12-times increased risk in Africa and Latin America, said the researchers led by Dr Stefan Baral of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

"We identified consistent evidence of substantially higher levels of HIV among female sex workers compared with all women of reproductive age in low-income and middle-income countries in all regions with data," the authors said.

"Although female sex workers have long been understood to be a key affected population, the scope and breadth of their disproportionate risk for HIV infection had to date not been systematically documented," they said.

"These findings suggest an urgent need to scale up access to quality HIV-prevention programming and services among female sex workers because of their heightened burden of disease and likelihood of onward transmission through high numbers of sexual partners as clients," they concluded.

In view of the heightened HIV burden female sex workers carry in these countries, the researchers said improvement of linkages to antiretroviral treatment, retention in care and ongoing prevention for sex workers with HIV is crucial.

"Considerations of the legal and policy environments in which sex workers operate and the important role of stigma, discrimination and violence targeting sex workers globally will be required to reduce the disproportionate disease burden among these women," they said.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Kate Shannon and Dr Julio Montaner of the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS in Vancouver said: "As the epidemic matures in many settings, with some countries already reporting over 50 percent of sex workers living with HIV, comprehensive initiatives simultaneously targeting HIV prevention, ART access, and care are increasingly vital.

"As highlighted in a recent report by the UNAIDS advisory on sex work and HIV, removal of structural barriers (such as criminalised laws and policies, violence) remains a necessary precondition to an effective HIV response in sex work worldwide," they added.

Indian, Pakistani surgeons conduct historic liver transplant

A group Indian doctors lent a helping hand to their Pakistani counterparts to jointly perform a complicated liver transplant procedure for the first time in Pakistan.

The living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) was performed at Lahore`s Shiekh Zayed Hospital on Friday by a team of Indian and Pakistani surgeons, officials said today.

LDLTs are "highly sensitive and complicated" surgical procedures as two lives - the donor and recipient are at risk, doctors said.

The joint operations were done by Indian surgeon Subash Gupta, a senior transplant doctor of Apollo Hospital in Delhi, and three of his colleagues and the three-member Pakistani team of Tariq Bangash, Khawar Shahzad and Umer Ali.
"The joint venture of leading Indian and Pakistani transplant surgeons has made history by opening a new era of living-relative liver transplants in Pakistan," Bangish said.

The first liver transplant was performed on Khanum Maula and the liver was donated by his close relative Irshad Bibi.

The second surgery was conducted on 45-year-old Abida Parveen and the liver was donated by her 19-year-old son.

It took 12 hours for the surgeons to complete each sensitive procedure.

Both recipients were brought to Shaikh Zayed Hospital with complete liver failures.
The Indian doctors visited Pakistan to perform the transplants at the request of the Pakistani surgeons.

Before the arrival of the Indian doctors, surgeons at Shaikh Zayed Hospital finalised arrangements for the sensitive operations and prepared the donors and recipients.

The condition of all the recipients and donors was stable and they were kept under observation in intensive care for 24 hours.

Consultants were put on high alert for post-operative care of the patients for 24 hours, a highly sensitive period for all who undergo hours-long surgeries.

Google India unveils new search format for ads

Google India Tuesday unveiled a new format for media advertisements (ads) to target, pay for and experience video ads on its web search engine.

"The new ads format is designed to ensure users find the information they are looking for and enable advertisers to reach potential customers with the right information," Google India sales head Praveen Sharma said in a statement here.

As a standalone format designed to put video ads front and centre, the search target is automated.

"The format is launched with STAR TV campaign built around its new channel Life Ok. The media and entertainment category search volumes have shown phenomenal growth. In the last two years, the query volumes have grown at 125 percent year-on-year," Sharma said.

The format will also enable media firms to capture the traffic on search and leverage it to create familiarity of the content.

"Our research has shown that a substantial number of users are looking to watch the movie trailer or TV show clips on the search results page, which translates into a high response rate for this ad format," Sharma noted.

The format also changes the way users experience video on Google search. It introduces a new Lightbox media player. When the video is played either by clicking the thumbnail or the 'watch' link, the Lightbox player expands to the centre of the screen and dims the rest of the page around it.

"The experience is meant to put the viewer's attention on the video and to create a theatre-like experience," Sharma added.

Media Ads are charged at a flat rate on clicks. The pricing model makes it easier to budget for media ads campaign and to know how much an interaction is going to cost.

Google's search technologies connect millions of people the world over with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google is a top web property in all major global markets.

Google's targeted advertising programme provides businesses with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users.

Heart diseases set to fall in India: Doctor

There is good news on the health front. A leading cardiologist says incidents of heart disease in India are set to plateau in seven to eight years and then fall due to greater awareness about a healthy lifestyle and more effective drugs.

"People are cutting down on salt intake, a development that is sure to bring down now rampant cases of high blood pressure," Vinay Sanghi, who is from the Fortis Escorts Hospital, told.


"More patient friendly medication with few side effects is also now available," he said. "People also understand the necessity of exercising every day.

"All these three factors should cut down the number of those who face the risk of heart ailment," said Sanghi, who returned to India after serving in the US from 1995 to 2010.

Heart disease is considered a sign of prosperity, mostly accruing to those who lead a sedentary lifestyle, devoid of even giving minimal exercise to their body.

Heart diseases have now become the number one killer in India, replacing communicable diseases from that slot. A quarter of those who get heart attacks are in the 25-69 age group.

Increasingly, heart ailments are killing Indians both in urban and rural areas, although the fatalities are more in cities and towns.

"The cycle of heart disease has started. The number should plateau in seven to eight years, from which point it will start to decline. All of us will see a definite change in a decade," Sanghi said.

For now, the number of heart diseases was "rising alarmingly". The total number of cases was more than in the developed world, he said.

"Heart diseases occur mostly in Tier I and II cities. New cases are very high -- for now.

"The good news is people are realising the need to maintain healthy lifestyle, keep away from salty snacks and fast food, go for more physical activity, and take a morning walk. There is increasing awareness.

"More than anything else, it is this self-realization that will help India in the long run."

Condom use low amongst India`s unmarried youth: Study

Only 7 percent of young women and 27 percent of young men in India who are having or have had pre-marital sex use condoms, according to a new study calling for better access to contraception for the country`s youth.

The study, "Condom Use Before Marriage and Its Correlates: Evidence from India," by the Population Council, interviewed 2,408 unmarried and married people between the ages of 15 and 24-years-old who were having or had had sex before marriage.

"Our findings highlight that pre-marital sexual experiences were unprotected for most youth," the study`s authors, K.G.Santhya, Rajib Acharya and Shireen J. Jejeebhoy of the Population Council in New Delhi, said in the report.



"Our results corroborate findings of previous studies in that young women were less likely than young men to report condom use within premarital relationships," the report added.

The report said one of the main reasons for low usage in India was down to young people`s limited access - especially in rural areas - to reproductive health services where they could gain information on contraception, on sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS as well as access condoms.

The lack of privacy and social stigma associated with obtaining condoms were major barriers to condom use in India, said authors, adding that there was a "discomfort with approaching a provider or pharmacist for condoms".

The study was conducted in both rural and urban areas across six Indian states - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu - which together account for 39 percent of India`s total youth population.

In most parts of conservative India, particularly in village communities, sexual health and issues related to intercourse are not discussed openly and pre-marital sex is frowned upon by elders, despite young people engaging in it.

"The findings call for repositioning the condom as a suitable method for youth," concluded the study`s authors.

"Bold and imaginatively designed communication programmes aimed at youth should be implemented to dispel misconceptions and encourage condom use."

All pigs to be screened in capital for Japanese Encephalitis virus

To check spread of Japanese Encephalitis in the city, Delhi Government o Wednesday ordered screening of all pigs which are primary reservoirs of virus causing the disease.

Health Minister A K Walia, at a meeting with top officials of his department as well as civic agencies, also issued direction for regular lifting of blood samples of pigs to ascertain prevalence of the virus.


Domestic pigs are primary reservoirs of the virus and the disease is mainly spread through mosquitoes belonging to Culex tritaeniorhynchus if they bite humans after drawing blood from infected pigs.

Seven cases of JE have been reported so far in the city. However, there was no death.

This is for the first time JE has been reported in the national capital although it is prevalent in many neighbouring states including Uttar Pradesh.

Walia said diagnostic facilities are being extended in eight more Delhi Government hospitals to offer treatment to people affected by the disease.

The hospitals where treatment for JE affected people will be available are Lok Nayak Hospital, Hindu Rao Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital, Sanajy Gandhi Memorial Hospital and Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya.

The treatment for the disease is already available in Babu Jagjiwan Ram Hospital, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital and Mahrishi Balmiki Hospital.

The Minister also directed MCD to keep an eye on slaughter houses as an estimated 300 pigs are being slaughtered daily.

"The pigs coming from the neighbouring states are becoming cause of concern as out of 81 blood samples taken from pigs brought from outside Delhi in November, 17 showed positive for JE virus," said an official.

The meeting also decided to set up a slaughter house exclusively for pigs for which the MCD and DDA have been told to take necessary action.

Walia exhorted all agencies to remain vigilant and intensify surveillance on pigs coming from the other cities.

Jyoti stands tall as world's shortest woman

So does size matter? For Jyoti Amge, it certainly does. All the recognition and accolades that have come her way are because of her unique size. Standing at just over two feet, Jyoti celebrated her 18th birthday on Friday with what she calls was the 'best gift possible'.

Jyoti was declared the world's shortest living woman by the Guinness World Records (GWR), beating the current record holder by a huge margin. Rob Molloy, adjudicator for GWR, said, "Jyoti was measured by an accreditated medical doctor under GWR supervision and her height has been noted at 62.8 cm. The record was held by Bridgette Jordan, an American, who stands at 69cm. Today Jyoti also became an adult legally, on account of her turning 18, hence we declare her as the shortest living woman in the world."

The process of measuring Jyoti's height was a complex one. GWR gave the charge to Wockhardt Hospital in Nagpur. The entire process was conducted in presence of Molloy. According to GWR rules, Jyoti had to be measured thrice within a 24-hour period in both standing and lying down position leading to total six results being presented for consideration. The average of all readings was then counted as official figure.

Dr Manoj Pahukar, consulting orthopaedician at Wockhardt Hospitals who conducted the measurements, said, "There is a medical logic to measuring a candidate thrice. After a night's sleep, a person's height increases marginally due to the spine being in a straight position for a long time. It goes back to normal after a while. Also, any human error is ruled out when you repeat the process more than once."

As Jyoti was handed the GWR certificate mentioning her latest record, she could not help but cry with joy. "This is the best birthday gift for me. I am very happy that I have now become the holder of a new world record," said Jyoti trying hard to hold back tears. Jyoti and GWR go a long way back as the Nagpurian was holding another record until just 24 hours ago.

Amarilis Whitty, senior PR manager for GWR, told TOI in an email that "Jyoti was the current holder for shortest living teenager. Now that she is 18, she is the shortest living woman." The GWR website documents Jyoti's previous record by mentioning she "was measured by a team of doctors in Japan and found to be 61.95 cm on 6 September 2009." What this also means is that Jyoti's height has increased by 0.85cm since then.

Whitty said, "The smallest living man in the world is Junrey Balawing at 59.93 cm. After him, Jyoti is the second shortest person in the world. To our knowledge, this is the first time an Indian woman has held the title for 'shortest woman'. There have been other unconfirmed reports but not verified by GWR."

However, Jyoti fell 'short' of being declared the shortest woman in history by 1.8 cm. According to the GWR, the shortest woman in history was Pauline Musters (1876-1895) who measured 61cm. However, there is still an Indian connection to the shortest-ever records. GWR mentions that Gul Mohammed (1957-1997) was examined in July 1990 at New Delhi and measured 57cm, thus making him the shortest adult person ever in history.

Jyoti has already had a great year and is now clearly ending it with a bang. Earlier this year she appeared for her SSC exam and secured 73% marks. She is now taking a break from studies for sometime due to her hectic work schedule. Her father Kisanji said, "Jyoti has been booked for shooting for a Kannada movie in Mysore. Also, she will be in Europe for two months coming summer."

No study on depression cases in India

There is no study on whether number of depression cases in the country have increased or not, even as a mental health programme has been underway since 1982, parliament was informed Friday.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the national mental health programme was introduced in the country in 1982.

"A total of 123 districts in 30 states and uniot territories have been covered under the district mental health programme to provide detection, management, and treatment of mental disorders," he said.

The minister however also said that there was "no long term population based study in India to suggest that the number of cases of depression and consumption of antidepresseant drugs are increasing."

According to a study conducted by the World Health Organization, India has the highest rate of major depression in the world.

Around nine percent of people have been reported having an extended period of depression within their lifetime and nearly 36 percent suffered from "major depressive mode".

Homeopathy fast becoming preferred mode of treatment in India`

Homeopathy is not a placebo but is effective in treating many serious diseases, including certain kinds of cancer, and costs just one-fifth of allopathic medication, say experts in the field of homeopathy that is fast becoming a preferred mode of treatment for many in India.

Homeopathic medicines, sourced from plants, "can cure cancer in the initial stages and can cure certain kinds of cancer completely, like breast cancer," said Sushil Vats, senior homeopathic consultant and one of the main organisers at an international homeopathy event in the capital.

In fact, at the 66th World Homeopathic Congress of Limhi (Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis) here, a case study of a double side breast cancer patient who was treated successfully with homeopathy was presented. According to Vats, the patient was a "Stage five" case.

"Homeopathy can effectively support ongoing allopathic treatment in all types of cancers, improve the quality of life of the patient and also the life span," Vats told IANS on the sidelines of the Dec 1-4 conference.

He said that homeopathy can effectively treat diabetes, thyroid, hypertension, AIDS, asthama, but the results vary from case to case. Sometimes a patient may take longer to show results, he said. "In cases treated for many years with allopathy, it becomes difficult to treat with homeopathy as the patients develop homeopathy drug dependency," he said.

Homeopathy is in fact the number two preferred mode of treatment, after allopathy, in India, as per the government of India survey, and it costs just a fraction, he said. Besides, homeopathy has no side effects or adverse effects, he added.

According to R.K. Manchanda, deputy director (homeopathy) in the Directorate of Indian System of Medicine and Homeopathy, government of NCT and Delhi, the Delhi government "is regularly opening homeopathic dispensaries". At present there are 92 homeopathic dispensaries in the capital, mostly in poor areas, which together see around 1.8 million patients a year.

"Mostly, the patients come to these dispensaries with difficult problems like arthritis, skin allergies and chronic gastric problem and with renal stone complaints," Manchanda told IANS.

Manchanda recounted a survey he and a colleague had done in 2005, which showed that homeopathy costs "just one fifth of allopathic treatment to provide day-to-day care".

The conference, attended by 2,500 delegates from 35 countries, was aimed to project India as a "hub of homeopathy in the world", he said.
If homeopathy is so effective in treating so many difficult diseases, then why was it described as a placebo in a study by Lancet?

According to Vats, the study by Lancet was "biased". He said in the UK, the National Health Service runs many homeopathy clinics and they get a "huge budget". During the recession, the allopathic companies were hit and they floated the theory of homeopathy being a placebo in order to get the government withdraw the budget, he said.

Eswar Das, consultant advisor to the government on homeopathy, said the Lancet study was "not based on homeopathy concepts and philosophy". Explaining, he said, homeopathy does not give one standard dose of a medicine to all patients suffering from a disease. Homeopathy studies the patient in terms of the symptoms, body type, nature, likes, dislikes, etc., and then prescribes the dose of medicine accordingly.

"In India, homeopathy has proper recognition. There is a believability and it is an effective form of treatment," said Manchanda.

Stressing on purity of homeopathic medicine, the government has made manufacturers, who initially numbered around 200, comply with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for quality assurance. With this coming into force, there are now only around 30 firms that manufacture homeopathic medicines in India, said Vats. The market in India is worth around Rs.1,000 crore. The homeopathic medicine market has grown manifold in last 4-5 years, he informed.

Eswar Das said though homeopathy was "born in Germany it has flourished in India". The system of healing was founded by German doctor Samuel Christian Hahnemann (1755).

India to avert 3 million HIV cases: World Bank

India is expected to avert 3 million new HIV infections during the period 1995-2015 by using targeted interventions among vulnerable groups, according to a World Bank study released Wednesday.


The study, `Impact of Targeted Interventions on Heterosexual Transmission of HIV in India`, evaluated the impact of targeted interventions among female sex workers in four high prevalent states -- Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

The study found a significant decline in HIV prevalence among female sex workers and young women (15-24 years) seeking antenatal care in the high-prevalence southern states.

The drop in prevalence is associated with a significant increase in consistent condom use.

"Among the women seeking antenatal care in districts with high intensity of targeted interventions, HIV prevalence declined by more than 50 percent from 1.9 percent in 2001 to 0.8 percent in 2008, compared with low-intensity districts where the infection rate remained constant at 0.9 percent in both 2001 and 2008," it said.

The study shows the cost-effectiveness of these targeted HIV-prevention interventions for female sex workers and estimates that 3 million HIV infections will be averted by this strategic approach during 1995-2015.

"There has been a tremendous scale-up of prevention and treatment interventions under this program, which has led to an overall reduction in new infections and AIDS-related deaths in India," said Sayan Chatterjee, secretary and director general of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).

Since the launch of the NACO in 1991, India has worked in close partnership with the World Bank and other development partners to focus on prevention among vulnerable populations at highest risk of contracting HIV.

"AIDS remains a critical development issue that is reversing decades of human progress. With 34 million people living with HIV, AIDS continues to decimate communities, stymie economic growth, and orphan children," said David Wilson, the Bank`s global HIV/AIDS programme director.

The first HIV positive case in India was detected in 1986 in Tamil Nadu. Now there are around 2.5 million HIV-positive people nationwide.

Mumbai landmarks to turn blue for diabetes awareness

Several important landmarks and monuments in Mumbai, as well as across the country, will sport a blue look Sunday to create awareness of the silent killer diabetes, an official said here Thursday.

Places like the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, KEM Hospital, Nair Hospital, Siddhi Vinayak Temple and Abbott office building will be lit up in blue as part of a unique initiative for diabetes awareness, on the eve of World Diabetes Day, Nov 14.

The initiative has been taken up by HEAL Foundation and Via Media Group in association with health and family welfare ministry, the International Diabetes Federation, the Archaeological Survey of India and the BMC. The campaign is designed to prevent India from becoming the world`s diabetes capital.

Around 50 top monuments and buildings around the country will also be lit up blue under the `Abbott Diabetes Blue Fortnight-2011` initiative.

These include Shaniwarwada Fort in Pune; the Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple, Old Fort, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun Tomb, AIIMS, Fortis Hospitals, Metro Bhavan (New Delhi/NCR), Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, Agra; the Imambara, Lucknow; Manek Chowk and City Palace Grounds, Udaipur; 13 Gates of Ahmedabad; Konark Temple, Orissa; IPHA Office, Shahid Minar, General Post Office, Assembly Hall and Victoria Memorial, Kolkata, and a few historical monuments in Chennai.

According to IDF`s Diabetes Atlas, the lifestyle disease affects crores around the world every year and claimed over one million lives in India alone last year.

"The need of the hour is to spread huge awareness about diabetes and we have taken it up right earnest with the Diabetes Blue Fortnight started since last year," said R. Shankar, HEAL Foundation president.

The organisers plan to create more buzz about diabetes with the blue monument lighting to involve more stakeholders throughout the fortnight against the earlier practice of conducting activities only on World Diabetes Day (Nov 14), according to Swadeep Srivastava, CEO, Via Media Group.

The IDF organises similar awareness campaigns the world over by blue lighting of monuments like the Empire State Builidng in New York and others that evening.

The `blue` campaign will be supplemented by diabetes awareness and prevention messages through FM, print media, and Internet, besides other programs to be launched Nov 14.

Charlie Chaplin to be animated star

Charlie Chaplin is to be brought to life as a cartoon character via an Indian-French collaboration that will see the legendary British comedian featured in an animated television series.

DQ Entertainment, an animation and special effects firm based in the southern city of Hyderabad, is to reproduce the entertainer`s slapstick in 3D and computer-generated images for television.

The eight-million-euro (11.5-million-dollar) project is a joint venture with French media groups Method Animation and MK2, the companies said at a news conference in Mumbai Friday.

A total of 104 six-minute episodes without dialogue will be made, inspired by sketches and gags culled from 70 short films made by Chaplin involving his iconic bowler-hatted vagabond character with a toothbrush moustache and cane.

But there will also be original content, Method president Aton Soumache told reporters.

DQ chairman and chief executive Tapaas Chakravarti said the project, for which the firms have been given approval from the Chaplin estate, would be "better than Mr Bean" -- British comic Rowan Atkinson`s accident-prone buffoon.

"(Mr Bean) has delighted everyone for a number of years... It`s very, very clear that to tickle people`s funny bones you don`t really have to talk all the time and silent movies can work. Chaplin did it for so many years," he added.

"We are absolutely sure that we have to get Chaplin back for 21st century kids and parents."

The animated shorts -- aimed at children aged six and above -- are set to hit screens from early next year, Chakravarti said.

Soumache said pre-sale interest from international broadcasters had been high and that funding was "almost done".

Interested parties include companies in France, Germany, Britain, Switzerland and Scandinavia, India and Australia, he said, without revealing names.

"We`re raising from Europe almost 60 to 70 percent of the budget. We`re raising the rest on video and a few other international deals," he added.

Revenue from the first cycle is expected to be in the region of 45 million dollars, he said.

London-born Chaplin, who died in 1977, is recognised as one of the most influential and recognisable comic actors and directors of the silent film period.

His most famous works include "The Kid" (1921), "The Gold Rush" (1925), "City Lights" (1931), "Modern Times" (1936) and "The Great Dictator" (1940).

Soumache said last November that their baggy-trousered Chaplin character "won`t be a realistic portrayal but more like a puppet in an offbeat universe".

"We`ll put him in modern situations but at the same keeping his poetic, child-like view of the world with a retro feel," he added.

DQ Entertainment has worked with a number of high-profile studios and production houses, including Nickelodeon, The Disney Group, Cartoon Network and a host of international broadcasters.

The Indian firm has a 20 percent stake in Method and has previously worked with them on computer-animated adaptations of French children`s classics "Le Petit Prince" (The Little Prince) and "Le Petit Nicolas" (Little Nicolas).

MK2 is one of France`s biggest independent film companies and owns the international rights to the Chaplin films, which it has restored and reissued on DVD and in cinemas.

Animation and special effects have become a growth market in India, as the domestic film industry, including Bollywood, turns to more modern production methods.

The trend has led to the creation of a number of specialist companies, who are being increasingly used by Hollywood and other foreign studios because of their lower costs.

India`s animation and special effects industry is expected to be worth 23.3 billion rupees this year and is expected to grow to 39.4 billion rupees by 2013, consultants KPMG said last year.

The animation sector is projected to grow by 21.9 percent in the five years to 2013, it added in a report on the media and entertainment industry for the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Poor quality condoms irk sex workers!

The government will look into the concerns raised by sex workers of the red-light area here regarding the health problems resulting from "poor quality" of free condoms supplied to them.

Sex workers in the national capital`s infamous Garstin Bastion (GB) Road have alleged that free condoms provided to them by different NGOs supplied by the Government are causing itching and other similar problems.

These male contraceptives are distributed free of cost through non-government organisations and NACO to prevent sex-workers from being infected by sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.

The sex workers have told PTI that they are planning to take the matter to the Government and will hold demonstration if the issue was not resolved to their satisfaction.

"Condoms given to us are really of very bad quality. We do not feel like using them. Irritation and other infections are some of common side effects," said Sunita, a sex worker.

When contacted, Joint Secretary at National AIDS Control Organisation Aradhana Johri said the department has not received any complaint regarding the health problems resulting
from the use of condom.

"But as you have brought the issue to our notice, we will direct the concerned officials to immediately look into the matter and submit their report," Johri said.

Johri also said that all the free condoms distributed meet the standards.

Kanta, another worker and owner of a brothel in the area said, "Condoms even get ruptured and make us susceptible to various sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS."

Radhika, a worker at a brothel said, "It is really irritating to use these condoms. There is always a danger of the condoms getting burst. We prefer to use a good quality product and bear the expenditure on our own."

There are about 116 brothels at the GB road in which about 5,000 women from across the country and some from neighbouring countries work.

NACO distributes about 220 crore free condoms annually across the country with the help of state AIDS control societies and voluntary groups to curb the spread of HIV.

"It is true that sex workers are given bad quality condoms. I have also written to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and apprised him of the problem. Government has assured us to look into the issue but we will again press the issue," said Khairati Lal Bhola, President, Bhartiya Patita Uddhar Sabha, an NGO working for the upliftment of the sex workers.

Indian Council of Medical Research scientist S Mokkapati said, "Condoms without quality result in various STD including
HIV AIDS and generate other psychological problems."

Terrific toilet training

Nanku Ram’s nine-year old son Digham rarely misses school because of illness. And Uttara Bai's family has been free of chronic diarrhoea for a year, which is no rare feat for Purkela, a village of around 2000 people that boasted of just a handful of toilets three years ago.

They are not alone.

Lundra Block Medical Officer Dr Durga Prasad Shandilya told Hindustan Times that the water-borne and skin disease cases have halved in the tribal Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh.

UNICEF got independent research body Synovate to track disease prevalence in Lundra as part of a study. Synovate findings were no different from the health department data: there is a 50 per cent reduction in cases of dysentery, diarrhoea, malaria and skin diseases in Sarguja district. The reason: Tribals in Purkela village in Lundra block, about 400 km from Raipur, have adopted hygienic practices with a vengeance. For the first time ever, villagers such as Nanku and Uttara own a house with its very own toilet, which is no mean achievement in India where 60 per cent homes do not have a toilet.

Owning a house with a toilet has become a status symbol with many carrying boards at the door that read ‘Shauchalaya yukt makaan’(A house with a toilet).

This is the result of a unique programme called Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), which is run in partnership between different government departments such as education, panchayat, tribal welfare and women and child development. Apart from the emphasis on personal hygiene, the programme helps villagers maintain household hygiene, cleanliness near drinking water sources like hand-pumps or tube-wells, and manage waste.

The roads leading to villages of Purkela, Mahora or Jarhadih in Lundra block of Sarguja have been turned defecation-free zones, with village panchayats constituting a Toka-Taki Samiti (Intercepting Committee) to reprimand and then fine those who break the rules.

H for hygiene and health

Shritika Nagesh (28), who had lost her ten-month-old daughter to dysentery in 2005, had become a nervous wreck worrying about her six-year-old daughter Prabha's frequent illnesses. “Since we installed a toilet and I started insisting on frequent hand washing, Prabha has transformed from a sickly to a healthy girl. She now rarely misses school,” said the Jarhadih housewife.

Better health also transforms into higher literacy, especially among girls. “Ever since the school got separate toilets for boys and girls, the girls, whose parents were earlier hesitant to send them to schools, are regularly attending classes,” said Bodham Ram, school headmaster at Jarhadih village.

Hygiene has been made part of the school curriculum. Students are taught personal grooming and asked to regularly cut their nails, groom their hair, wash their hands, maintain dental hygiene and wear clean clothes.

“Students are given a hygiene education kit and evaluated each day on a ten-point on their appearance,” said Sodhuram, Jarhadih village panchayat secretary. “My teachers say personal grooming will reduce the threat of illness, said Pushpi (11). Agrees Mikhu (9), a Class 3 student of middle school in Mahora village, a Nirmal Gram Puraskar recipient: “Personal hygiene has become a part of my life and I cannot imagine myself unclean.”

“Installing toilets in schools and hygiene education have been instrumental in persuading parents to follow healthy sanitary practices at home,” said Baisram Dhakad, district programme coordinator in TSC.

“With water being provided through forced lift hand pumps, even anganwadi centres (child care centres) have come up with baby-friendly sanitation units. There, sharp fall in infections among children has pushed up attendance at schools,” Lundra's education officer D.K. Gupta told HT.

How it started

Getting villagers used to defecating in the country clean up their act wasn’t easy. “The initial resistance to the sanitation campaign was overcome once we convinced them about the benefits,” S.P. Singh, a campaign manager in Ambikapur, told HT. Incidents of villagers being bitten by snakes, poisonous insects or attacked by bears or elephants while defecating helped in convincing them, as did public messages through song and film shows.

Even elected representatives are now tying to get votes on the cleanliness bandwagon. “Impressed with diseases brought under control and behavioural change of people, the elected representatives have begun reaching out to officials seeking inclusion of their blocks for executing sanitation programme,” said Bhim Singh of public health engineering department in Sarguja.

So successful is the campaign that 40 gram panchayats in Lundra won the President’s Nirmal Gram Puraskar for 2008, and 22 have been selected for the award this year.”

“Now there is competition among rural panchayats to ensure their villages is the cleanest,” said Lundra MLA Ramdev Ram.

Six women in the Forbes India rich list

As many as six women, including OP Jindal group chairperson Savitri Jindal and Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, have made it to the Forbes' list of 100 richest Indians this year.

Jindal has retained the tag of being the richest lady in India with a net worth of $12 billion, according to the annual India Rich List compiled by business magazine Forbes. Jindal is ranked seventh in the list, which is topped by RIL's Mukesh Ambani with a fortune of $32 billion.

Jindal, who has been the chairperson of the O P Jindal Group since her husband Om Prakash's death in 2005, saw her wealth growing by $9 billion since November 2008, when Forbes had last published its annual India rich list.

Jindal is followed by Bennett, Coleman & Co's Chairperson Indu Jain, who is ranked 19th with a net worth of $2.4 billion. Jain continued to witness a spurt in her fortune with wealth kitty rising by $600 million since November 2008.

Anu Aga of Thermax group and Biocon's Shaw has been ranked 55th and 73rd with a net worth of $935 million and 730 million respectively.

Referring to Shaw as "pharma tycoon", Forbes said, "India's richest self-made woman, whose Biocon is developing the world's first oral insulin."

Besides, Shobhana Bhartia of the Hindustan Times and Vidya Murkumbi of Shree Renuka Sugars have also also made it to the Forbes list this year.

Mumbai gets India’s first Ice Bar

Going to a bar in Mumbai no longer has to be about getting bitten by mosquitoes or perspiring. Now you can sit in a room made of ice, drink from an ice glass at an ice bar, decorated with ice carvings on an ice chair.

India’s first permanent bar made of ice, 21 Fahrenheit, has opened up in Oshiwara, just yards from the Mega Mall. The bar is kept at minus 6 degrees Celsius all year round.

Guests are given a navy blue furry Parka coat, insulated moon boots and gloves to wear before entering. A bartender in a similar coat serves guests, while house and hip-hop music plays.

21 Fahrenheit was created by three Indian partners, Vaibhav Tandel, Aalok Purohit, and Harshan Dharmadas.

All three previously managed the Chill Out Ice Bar in Dubai, which was opened in 2007, by the Sharaf Group. They have now quit and started their own hospitality business, Hyacinth Lifestyle, in Mumbai.

Vaibhav Tandel, CEO, Hyacinth Lifestyle, is a Mumbaikar, who had moved to Dubai five years ago.

He used the expertise he gained there to build the bar here, leading the team of seven Indian staff who spent 20 days building the lounge bar, after renting, what had been a vacant space.

It was due to open several weeks ago but kept getting delayed because the coats and boots, tailor-made in India, had not arrived.

Cosy environment
The 820 square foot bar holds 45 people. “We only expect people to stay inside for 30 minutes. The bartenders also rotate. Ice bars have to be small so people feel cosy inside them. Huge ice bars have failed so far,” Tandel admits. “Often ice bars open for three or four months and then they close down because it’s just a gimmick. It’s very important to make sure that doesn’t happen. But we will change the interiors every three to six months. The whole beauty of ice is that you can do that. And our service will be second to none. We want people to remember it.”

Ice bars already exist in other countries, but apart from serving drinks, this bar is unique because it also serves hot food — and some of the food is served flambéed.

The bar is lit up with red and blue lights giving it a jazzy vibe. And far from being just an ice bar, there’s also a general bar outside, and above it, there’s a swish modern pan Asian restaurant, which seats 46 people.

The restaurant has a live kitchen serving Japanese, Sichuan Chinese and Lucknowi cuisine, with smart wooden tables and chairs.

“The idea is to give people somewhere to spend the whole evening so they don’t just spend 30 minutes in the ice bar and leave,” Tandal adds, who expects the ice bar to be an instant hit with the college crowd and tourists.

“We chose this area because it is central to the western suburbs of Bandra, Kandivali, Juhu, Malad and Goregaon, where you get the corporate and college crowds. In any case it will be a destination bar,” he adds.

Tandel admits ice bars can lead to soaring electricity bills, but says the system he has chosen is “energy efficient”. He adds, “In case there is a power cut, we have a backup generator and besides, it takes three to four days for the ice to melt.”

How to bear a super child!

At a time when parents are leaving no stone unturned to give best education to their children to make them achievers, an institute has come up in Gandhinagar that promises to give couples "super child" by birth.

The 'Super Child University', established by 'Vishwa Kalyan Sanstha' claims to achieve this task on the basis of ancient Indian wisdom and modern science.

"In today's world, education is given to children after they are born. But, in Super Child University, newly married couple are given training to get super child soon after their marriage," Prahlad Patel, founder of the organisation said.

Young couples are coming to the institute established by Patel in the hope to get super child by birth.

"I firmly believe that a child with extraordinary qualities can be brought to the world by a couple who wishes for it. I have made a deep study of the old Indian literature like Charaksahita, Shrushutsahita, Astang Hriday and other Ayurved books. I have also studied latest genetic science and after that established this institute," Patel said.

"We have started developing a state-of-the-art Genome Development and Research Centre (GDRC) at our institute. Research in the GDRC would be done with a goal of delivering super child to the young couples," Patel said.

Washing hands can save 400 children everyday

Diarrhoea kills nearly 1,000 children below the age of five everyday in India, but washing hands with soap and water can save the lives of at least 400 of these kids, a UN agency said on Thursday on the occasion of Global Handwashing Day.

"In India, diarrhoea is a major killer with about 1,000 children below 5 years dying every day due to diarrhoea alone. Handwashing with soap can reduce diarrhoeal deaths in children by 40 percent and is one of the most inexpensive ways to prevent diarrhoeal disease," the Unicef said.

The agency said that proper handling and safe storage of water reduces incidences of diarrhoea by nearly half.

"Toilet use can reduce presence of diarrhoea causing agents but toilet usage in India is still very low. In 2006, toilet usage in India was 28 percent but this is showing an upward trend because of the government of India's flagship programme - Total Sanitation Campaign. Nirmal Gram Purashkar has led to more than 18,020 Panchayats being declared free of open defecation," Unicef said.

"Yet, despite its life-saving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practised and is not always easy to promote," the agency added.

The UN agency said every one can make a difference in the "Clean hands save lives" campaign. Each year, diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections are responsible for the deaths of more than 3.5 million children under the age of five.

The second annual Global Handwashing Day, being celebrated Thursday, puts the spotlight on the importance of washing hands with soap and water as one of the most effective and affordable health interventions.

India surprise: Sex and the City

‘I am a virgin, help me! Virginity is not dignity; it’s just a lack of opportunity.’

Young men are strutting about with T-shirts like these — and it’s Lucknow, for God’s sake.

The city of tehzeeb (culture) and coyness, the city of Charbagh railway station, nawab-era minarets, kite contests and qawwalis.

But it is also the fast-changing city where young boys and girls hold hands at swank malls or, without concern, sport apparel that gestures towards possibilities and imaginations that, until recently, were taboo.

Look beyond Lucknow: That T-shirt is a slice of not just a changing city, but a nation going through social churn.

A national survey conducted by Hindustan Times and CNN-IBN on changing social mores points to a society coming to terms with its own coming of age.

Some 63 per cent of respondents — two out of every three people interviewed — felt that evidence of virginity in a bride-to-be was not a big issue any more. One in three — about 33 per cent — felt pre-marital sex was not taboo.

Gynaecologist Dr Renu Makkar sees evidence of this at her Lucknow clinic every day.

She estimates that almost 80 per cent of the unmarried women she examines are sexually active, which marks a significant change from about 10 years ago.

“Earlier, young women took offence when asked if they were sexually active,” she says, “But now they are far more open, aware of the contraceptives available, and regular when it comes to checkups and consultations.”

Makkar also says she is no longer asked to conduct virginity tests.

No one should even dare ask Ankita Sharma, a 24 year-old who helps out with the family business.

“I would ask a prospective groom or his parents to get lost if anyone ever even mentioned a virginity test,” she says, lounging with her friends in the food court of a Lucknow mall. “I would not marry anyone to whom virginity is an issue.”

For some, like IT professional Shekhar Pant (28), virginity is not even a mark of morality any more. “Besides, what is the point of marrying a girl who is a virgin but not suitable?” he says. “I would rather look for a suitable girl.”

Lucknow is changing, but so is the rest of the country.

“The definition of morality has changed in the present context,” says Amit Mishra, a 35-year-old senior manager with Reliance Retail, hundreds of kilometres to the east, in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand.

Young couples are also increasingly drawing distinctions between emotional and physical intimacy.

“Sex before marriage is acceptable if it is out of love, and not merely for fun,” says Nidhi Tiwary (22), a public relations manager with a legal firm.

For Lucknow social workers Aarti (30) and Vishwajeet Kumar (36), the past was never an issue. “For us, emotional intimacy is more important. We think that emotional intimacy should precede physical intimacy,” says Aarti. “We have never bothered to talk about virginity, even after marriage.”

However, the transition from a conservative, morality-obsessed society to one that acknowledges the gaps between theory and practice is neither smooth, nor is it complete.

“Virginity is still a concern,” says Dr S.K. Jain, a sexologist who divides his time between clinics in Delhi and Ranchi.

Jain says he often counsels men who, after their wedding night, are concerned about their wives’ sexual past. “We counsel the men that the hymen may be ruptured for reasons other than sex.”

Sujay Bannerjee of Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, believes in a more pragmatic ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ approach.

After a torrid, two-year affair with a woman in Kolkata, the soft-spoken 32-year-old is looking for someone he can spend the rest of his life with.

“I’m not going to ask her if she is a virgin,” he says, with only a trace of irony.

Athlete turns Sex worker to feed family

From being lauded on the podium to landing in jail as a call girl in Chhattisgarh, this is a tale of how India treats its non-cricketing sportspersons.

Driven by poverty, a former national-level athlete took to prostitution and was on Saturday arrested from Raipur’s posh Devendra Nagar locality.

Nisha Shetti, 26, who represented Assam in athletics at the National Games in 1998, was forced into the flesh trade by unemployment and her husband’s death in 2007.

She is believed to have told the police that she took to the trade to fend for herself and her five-year-old daughter. A court in Raipur later granted her bail on a surety of Rs 10,000, but since she did not have the money, Shetti remains in jail.

All that local sports administrators are doing is expressing sympathy. “The least we can do is to secure bail for her,” said Mohammed Akram, secretary, Chhattisgarh Volleyball Association. But that hasn’t happened.

Six years ago, Nisha won a high-jump silver medal at a national-level athletics meet in Pune. That was the year she fell in love with and married Sunil Shetti, who represented Assam in football, against her family’s wishes.

A senior policeman, who has seen Nisha’s interrogation report, told HT on condition of anonymity that soon after their daughter’s birth in 2004, Sunil began suffering from depression and developed a drinking habit after being repeatedly overlooked for government jobs.

In February 2007, Sunil died of kidney failure. Nisha, a homemaker then, was shattered. “We were wrong to nurture hopes of getting a government job on the sports quota,” she told the court.

Desperate for a job, she moved to Mumbai about a year ago in search of one, only to land in a prostitution racket.

According to the Raipur police, Nisha and the two other women had agreed to spend a week with three businessmen in return for Rs 50,000. The police have also arrested the businessmen.

“All talk of reservations for women in Parliament and empowerment is useless if we can’t ensure jobs for talented women athletes,” said Indian Olympic Association joint secretary Basheer Ahmed Khan.