social issues

Agewell Foundation Report on Condition of Elderly People in Delhi-NCR Released

Agewell Foundation released its report on the status of older persons in and around Delhi in the month of November 2012. The report in its finding based on the interviews conducted with 15000 senior citizens reached to a conclusion that, isolation of the elderly people has emerged as a red flag, in this changing world with fast changing demographic as well as socio-economic status along with the change in traditional values of the modern man.

As per the report and its finding in form of conclusion, more than 80 percent of the olds in Delhi experience loneliness in their present lives and carried a feeling of isolation. This isolation and loneliness is a cause of zero interaction with family as well as the other members of the society. Agewell Foundation, while conducting this study dealt with variety of issues connected with the old age people to identify their status and condition in a around the Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

The total population of old aged people (people above 60 years) in Delhi-NCR region is more than 12 lakhs, which is about 8 percent of its total population of more than 2 crore people and they faced different kind of critical situations in their life.

Identified problems of the old-aged people

•    Feel of marginalization
•    Little or no access to medicines and healthcare
•    No work opportunities
•    Concerns related to safety and security of their property and life
•    Financial problems
•    Restricted mobility
•    Psychological problems that occurred due to loneliness

The study also cited the bitter truth of emotional and social isolation of people in different areas of Delhi-NCR region. A total of 36 percent old persons in the villages of Delhi, were reported to be isolated emotionally as well as socially, whereas in the rural areas a total of 20.8 percent of these people were found to be socially isolated and 19 percent accounted to emotional isolation. A total of 44 percent old persons in the urban areas of Delhi-NCR were isolated on both social and emotional ends. Emotional isolation, which accounted to be 26 percent as a whole was, identified the greater phenomenon of isolation than that of the social isolation that accounts to 25 percent.

Impacts of the Isolation
•    Adverse health effects: 43 percent of the surveyed people claimed to be depressed
•    Less or zero interaction of people lead them to the stage of poor health conditions: 36 percent of the surveyed people claimed deterioration of the health conditions, ever since they left their homes
•    Feel of insecurity in their lives: isolation created a feel of insecurity to the lives of around 16.2 percent of the total population interviewed

The old-aged people on being questioned about the social needs, the identified demands were love, respect and appreciation, compassion, more family support and opportunities of interaction and better status in family and society. Lack of love and compassion was mentioned by 32.3 percent of the old-aged people they also demanded for medicines for elongated old age life, following the changing medical needs, whereas 27.5 percent people demanded appreciation and respect as their desire. A total of 56.4 percent of these people demanded safety and security as the issues of major concern for them and this included their trouble against the legal system.

The study also targeted small and nuclear families to be a major factor responsible for the violation of human rights against the rights of old-aged people as the findings illustrated a total of 78.1 percent population in Delhi-NCR leaving under the inhuman circumstances, were either isolated and living alone or were member of the nuclear or small families.

The study also revealed a fact that the old-aged men faced major troubles in cases of inhuman circumstances, as compared to the old-aged women and about 69 percent of these people were forced to live in miserable conditions. Of the total population on whom the study was carried-on, about 11.5 percent of the people were deprived from healthy and proper food, 18 percent of them lacked proper medicare in terms of medicines and fine nursing situations. 72.1 percent of these people suffered age discrimination and two-thirds complained of the lack of respect from the society as well as the family members.

“Baby Falak” – the miracle baby passed away (Sheds a spotlight on
Human Trafficking)
Baby Falak a toddler who was all over News in January 2012 passed away. She was admitted in January in a hospital in
Delhi with serious injuries, including human bite marks all over her body. She underwent five operations since then but
ultimately suffered from a heart attack and passed away.
The Doctors called the toddler a "miracle baby" after she showed signs of improvement within weeks of
being admitted. Falak’s story captivated India and shed a bright spotlight on the plague of human
trafficking. Baby Falak’s case turned out to be an intensely intriguing one with many people involved who
were victims themselves. Investigations exposed the shocking story of Falak, her two siblings and their mother who
were all separated after falling victim to human traffickers.








Report by FOGSI: ‘Most pregnancy-related deaths occur in transit’
‘Maternal Death Reviews — Implications for Quality of Care,’ (MDR) a review of maternal deaths done by
the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) in
Jhunjhunu and Sikar districts of Rajasthan b/w November 2010 and March
2012 has revealed that 90% of these deaths had occurred during transit to a
higher health centre. Thus, as per the study conducted on pregnancy-related deaths, a large number of women die
during transit to a health facility or returning home after a delivery.
What is Maternal death?
Maternal death is defined as the death of a woman who dies from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or
its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes) during pregnancy or child birth or within 42 days of
termination of pregnancy, irrespective of duration and site of the pregnancy.
What is Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)?
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is the number of women who die from any cause related to or aggravated by
pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes) during pregnancy and childbirth or within 42
days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, per 1,00,000 live births.
What is Maternal Death Review?
Current Affairs Published on www.gktoday.in from January 1, 2012 to
September 10, 2012
The Maternal Death Review (MDR) was rolled out in 2010 under the Reproductive and Child Health programme as an
important strategy to improve the quality of obstetric care and to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. It provides
detailed information on various factors at the facility, district, community, regional and national levels that need to be
addressed to reduce maternal deaths. Analysis of these deaths can identify the delays that contribute to maternal
deaths at various levels and the information can be used to adopt measures to fill the gaps in service.
What is FBMDR (Facility Based Maternal Death Review) and CBMDR (Community Based Maternal Death Review)?
Maternal Death Review is contemplated to be implemented in two forms – Facility Based Maternal Death Review
(FBMDR) and Community Based Maternal Death Review (CBMDR), which are defined as below:
 FBMDR is a process to investigate and identify causes, mainly clinical and systemic, which lead to maternal
deaths in the health facilities; and to take appropriate corrective measures to prevent such deaths. Page 3 of 56
 CBMDR is a process in which deceased’s family members, relatives, neighbours or other informants and care
providers are interviewed, through a technique called Verbal Autopsy, to elicit information for the purpose of
identification of various factors – whether medical, socio-economic or systemic, which lead to maternal deaths;
and thereby enabling the health system to take appropriate corrective measures at various levels to prevent such
deaths.
What are the major causes of deaths in maternal deaths in India?
Major medical causes:
 Abortion
 Obstructed labour
 Haemorrhage
 Hypertensive disorders
 Sepsis
Other factors:
 Delay in initiating treatment
 Substandard care in hospital
 Lack of blood, equipment and drugs in hospitals coupled with lack of staff at health facility
 At the community level, absence of ante-natal check ups, delay in seeking care, referral, getting transport,
mobilising funds and not reaching the appropriate facility in time are some other factors of maternal deaths,
besides prevailing beliefs and customs that prevent women from going to a health facility at the appropriate
time.
Experts believe such deaths could possibly have increased because of an emphasis on institutional deliveries and a lack
of corresponding clinical infrastructure — the Janani Suraksha Yojana gives women financial incentives for delivering at
a health facility, but are often taken to the health facility as a mere formality and often asked to go home immediately
after delivery because of lack of infrastructure to deal with the heavy patient load, which puts the life of the child and
mother at huge risk.

black money cases

Supreme Court constitutes a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate black
money cases
Supreme Court appointed a high-level Special Investigation Team(SIT)
Headed by: B.P.Jeevan Reddy (Former apex court judge)
Other members: Justice Reddy (Chairman of the SIT), Former
judge, Justice M B Shah (Vice-Chairman of the panel)
Objective: To monitor the investigation and steps being taken to
bring back black money hive away in foreign banks
The Bench also directed the Government to disclose the names of
all the persons who have been issued show cause notices by the
authorities in connection with the probe into the black money issue
The Court passed the order on a petition filed by eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani and others seeking
directions to the Government to track black money hived away abroad and to bring it back

42.5% children below five malnourished: Govt
As per the NFHS-3 Survey (National Family Health Survey conducted in 2005-06) 42.5% of children below 5
years in India are malnourished, a "complex and multi-dimensional" problem which cannot be tackled by a
single sector intervention. However, the level of malnutrition amongst children below three years has
declined from 42.7% in 1998-98 (NFHS-2) to 40.4% in 2005-06. The determinants of malnutrition, she said,
include household food insecurity, illiteracy, poor access to health services, lack of safe drinking water, poor sanitation
and other environmental conditions.
Since there are multiple determinants of malnutrition, this cannot be addressed by single sector scheme or
intervention alone. This requires multi sectoral, direct and indirect interventions.










PM favours multi-layered approach to determine poverty estimates
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held that he favoured a multi-layered approach to assess poverty estimates and the
Socio-Economic Caste Census, being carried out in many parts of the country, would throw up an entirely new set of
numbers.

March 24, 2012
Tendulkar method abandoned, new panel to review poverty data
The Planning Commission effectively abandoned the Tendulkar panel’s estimation method. A committee would be
constituted to revisit the methodology to estimate poverty. This move was taken as pressure from all sides over
Planning Commission’s estimate of people living below the poverty line.
The committee, to be constituted in a couple of months, would take a comprehensive view on the entire method of
estimating poverty, including the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011.








Panel on Black money presents report, silent on estimates,
suggest steps
The government came out with a 66-page report elaborating ways to forbid generation of illicit funds.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) panel on black money submitted its report suggesting ways to forbid the
generation of illicit fund. The panel was established in 2011 to examine ways to beef up laws to check the generation
of black money in India, its illegal transfer oversees and its recovery.
The report focused bolstering of laws in following areas:
a) Investments by foreign institutional investors (FIIs)
b) Participatory Notes (P-Notes)
c) Funds routing through Mauritius and investments made through transactions in property, bullion and the
equity market.
The panel did not provide any estimate of the black money.
The committee has suggested augmenting manpower and resources in both the CBDT and CBEC as shortage of
manpower has been hindering the functioning of the tax collecting arms of the revenue department.