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Antibiotic resistance burgeoning problem in South East Asia: WHO

A just released WHO report looks at antibiotic resistance globally and finds a very dismal picture for South East Asia.

A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – the first to look at antibiotic resistance globally – reveals that this serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happeningright now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country. Antibiotic resistance – when bacteria change so antibiotics no longer work in people who need them to treat infections – isnow a major threat to public health.

“Without urgent, coordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill,” says Dr KeijiFukuda, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Security. “Effective antibiotics have been one of the pillars allowing us to live longer, live healthier, and benefit from modern medicine. Unless we take significant actions to improve efforts to prevent infections and also change how we produce, prescribe and use antibiotics, the world will lose more and more of these global public health goods and the implications will be devastating.”

The report, ‘Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance’, notes that resistance is occurring across many different infectious agents but the report focuses on antibiotic resistance in nine different bacteria responsiblefor common, serious diseases such as bloodstream infections (sepsis), diarrhoea, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and gonorrhoea. The results are cause for high concern, documenting resistance to antibiotics, especially“last resort” antibiotics, in all regions of the world.

antibiotic resistance risingKey findings from the report

– Resistance to the treatment of last resort for life-threatening infections caused by a common intestinal bacteria, Klebsiella pneumonia – carbapenem antibiotics – has spread to all regions of the world. K pneumoniae isa major cause of hospital-acquired infections such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections, infections in newborns and intensive-care unit patients. In some countries, because of resistance, carbapenem antibiotics would notwork in more than half of people treated for K pneumoniae infections.

– Resistance to one of the most widely used antibiotics for the treatment of urinary tract infections caused by E coli – fluoroquinolones – is very widespread. In the 1980s, when these drugs were first introduced,resistance was virtually zero. Today, there are countries in many parts of the world where this treatment is now ineffective in more than half of patients.

– Treatment failure to the last resort of treatment for gonorrhea – third generation cephalosporins – has been confirmed in Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Slovenia, Sweden and theUnited Kingdom. More than 1 million people are infected with gonorrhoea around the world every day.

– Antibiotic resistance causes people to be sick for longer and increases the risk of death. For example, people with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) are 64 per cent more likely to die than people with anon-resistant form of the infection. Resistance also increases the cost of health care with lengthier stays in hospital and more intensive care required.

South East Asia findings

The available data reveals that antibiotic resistance is a burgeoning problem in WHO’s South-East Asia Region, which is home to a quarter of the world’s population. The report shows high levels of E coli resistance to third generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones – two important and commonly used types of antibiotic – in the Region. Resistance to third generation cephalosporins in K pneumoniae is also high and widespread. In some parts of the region, more than one quarter of S aureus infections are reported to be methicillin-resistant (MRSA), meaning that treatment with standard antibiotics does not work. In 2011, the health ministers of the Region articulated their commitment to combat AMR through the Jaipur Declaration on AMR.

Since then, there has been growing awareness of the need for appropriate tracking of drug resistance, and all countries have agreed to contribute information to a regional database. “Combatting drug resistance is a priority area of work for WHO in the Region,” says Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. “We need to act now to use antibiotics rationally, ensuring their availability for future generations.”

The report reveals that key tools to tackle antibiotic resistance – such as basic systems to track and monitor the problem – show gaps or do not exist in many countries. While some countries have taken important steps inaddressing the problem, every country and individual needs to do more. Other important actions include preventing infections from happening in the first place – through better hygiene, access to clean water, infection control inhealth-care facilities, and vaccination – to reduce the need for antibiotics. WHO is also calling attention to the need to develop new diagnostics, antibiotics and other tools to allow healthcare professionals to stay ahead ofemerging resistance.

This report is kick-starting a global effort led by WHO to address drug resistance. This will involve the development of tools and standards and improved collaboration around the world to track drug resistance, measure its healthand economic impacts, and design targeted solutions.

(Picture courtesy antimicrobial.blogspot.com, www.theguardian.com)

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‘Pet pooja’ in the city

Animal adoption camps are picking up pace in Mumbai and surrounding cities and suburbs, as one in Thane recently proved.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

As each day passes in Mumbai, stories of animal cruelty and abandonment of pets are on the rise. While such tales pain most of us, only dedicated animal lovers decide to do something about it.

Camp in ThaneHence,while some rush to the aid of an injured animal on the street and treat it for free or facilitate its adoption, others set up dedicated camps where those wishing to add a pet to their families can come and adopt a suitable dog or cat. Mumbai and Thane are increasingly seeing more and more such adoptions in the last few months.

A Thane-based NGO, PAL Thane, which has been working in the field of animal welfare since 2010, held a pet adoption camp – Pet Ok Please – in Thane on Sunday, April 27, where over 500 people showed up for a look at the animals on offer. “The adoptions were done free,” explains PAL’s Aditi Nair. “The focus of the event was to spread the word about adoptions, helping pet owners and making people awere in general about animals. Of the 20 animals which were up for adoption, 15 found homes.”

Aditi added that the event is likely to be a monthly or quarterly feature in Thane, and it introduces the common public to concepts such as adoption and most importantly, free adoptions.

The animals in such camps are normally a mix of dogs, cats, kittens and puppies. Some of them are rescued from abuse or injury, while others are victims of abandonment and lack of care. ”

Rise in the number of animal adoption programmes

Aditi says that this was the first ever adoption program in Thane, while Mumbai has a couple of NGOs who have regular programmes. “We request people to do a registration for the animal they are interested in and then we contact them in the next couple of days to reach the animals to them. We do not do over-the-counter adoptions as people tend to take the animals home on an impulse and many a times they end up coming back in a few hours or the following day. The registration method gives them more time to mull over the decision they took the previous day.”

Says Gayatri Sarang Patkar, a city-based baker who uses social media to highlight cases of foster homes needed or impending adoption programmes, “I think there is a lot more awareness, and I think social media has gone a long way in ensuring that. NGOs like World For All and Yoda brought animal rights movements to Facebook in a big way. So someone, who earlier wouldn’t even have known that adopting was an option, now suddenly sees all these shares on their feed. A lot of first-time adopters find out that way.”

Why adopt?

Adds Sneha Shetty, who is studying to be a vet, “Since many people today live in nuclear families with stable incomes, they can afford to have a pet. Children, especially, insist on adding a pet to the family. Besides, the awareness about adopting an animal instead of buying a puppy has gone up, which is a great sign. There are several animals needing a home, and it is better to adopt an abandoned or injured animal that needs love and care, than to buy one.”

But, Aditi cautions, it’s not an easy decision to make and should be considered carefully. “Animals are taken home many a times just because they are cute or because the children Camp in Thane 1of the family want something to play with. The fact of the matter is that it is not just a furry looking cute living thing. They have to be fed the right things, watered, walked regularly, vaccinated, taken to the vet regularly, potty trained, trained to do the right things in the house in the right ways, etc. There comes a huge responsibility with an animal. And people should be very clear on this. Such programmes encourage people to interact with animals and understand the factors involved and then take an informed decision about taking an animal home.”

A question of abuse

However, the numbers of animals either abandoned by their masters or left injured owing to abuse and cruelty have also seemingly gone up. Gayatri says, “I think cruelty and abandonment cases happened just as frequently earlier, too, it was just that few recognised it as that.” Aditi adds, “The general apathy of people has increased these days. When people do not do anything and watch girls being raped on the streets in our country, you cannot really expect the general public to raise their voice when they see cruelty to animals. There are a lot of wrong practices as well in the field of animals which are encouraged without being aware about the consequences.

“For example, people readily pay Rs 20,000 and purchase a breed animal from a breeder. They do not check if this breeder is registered with the Animal Welfare Board of India or not. They do not check if the puppy is a result of inbreeding. They do not ask even to see the parents. They are not told by anyone about the responsibilities which go into adopting an animal. They take the puppy home and within a week, it dies maybe because it was sick from the very beginning or because the family had no guidance on what to do and what not to do. The vets many a times get commissions from these breeders if they recommend them, and this results in them recommending the same vet back to the customers for business. It is a vicious cycle and this can be broken only if more correct awareness is generated about all kinds of animals.”

She also explains why animals are being increasingly abandoned. “If the family was not prepared from the very beginning to have a pet and not guided well, the chances of abandonment are very high. We need to break all these intersecting circles and make the non-animal loving as well as the animal-loving public aware. Many a times, being an animal lover is not enough. Anyone can be an animal lover, you need to know the right things to be able to actually help animals.” 

(Pictures courtesy PAL)

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Climate change impacts could increase risk of violent conflicts

A recently released IPCC report finds that climate change impacts may potentially trigger, increase rivalry among States over shared resources.
by TERI Feature Service

The second volume of the most comprehensive and up to date report on the state of knowledge on climate change was released late last month, establishing that the effects of climate change are already occurring on all continents and across the oceans, and that the severity of impacts will increase unless the rate and magnitude of climate change is brought under control.

The United Nations’ report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that countries at all levels of development lack preparedness for risks from a changing climate. The geographic scale of widespread impacts is concerning as they spread from tropics to the poles, from small islands to large continents, and from the wealthiest countries to the poorest. The impacts of climate change could make efforts to tackle poverty more difficult, trapping people in poverty, hunger and poor health.

The impact of climate change could increase risks of violent conflicts in the form of civil war, says Pachauri, by amplifying well-documented drivers of these conflicts such as poverty.

Potential impacts, as mentioned in the report

Save the EarthThe impacts of climatic change are not limited to natural systems such as water resources, oceans and ecosystems. Some impacts on human systems such as food production, agriculture, human health and peoples’ livelihoods have also been attributed to climate change. The report identifies vulnerable people, industries and ecosystems around the world and finds some impacts are expected to disproportionately affect poor people, as they have less infrastructural and adaptive capacity to cope with climate-related losses.

But the worst is yet to come. The IPCC report is compelling in terms of the impacts of climate change that are already occurring: “Many terrestrial, freshwater and marine species have shifted their geographic ranges, seasonal activities, migration patterns, abundances, and species interactions in response to ongoing climate change,” says the report. “Based on many studies covering a broad range of regions and crops, negative impacts of climate change on crop yields have been more common than positive impacts.”

“I hope these facts – for want of a better word – will jolt people into action,” said Dr RK Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC, at the release of the report in Yokohama, Japan, recently.

New findings

Some studies till now had revealed a mix of impacts on food production, with some regions of the world benefiting from climate changes, while others were hit harder. But the IPCC report assesses with high confidence that the negative impacts of climate change on crop yields have been more common than positive ones. The impact of climate change could increase risks of violent conflicts in the form of civil war, says Pachauri, by amplifying well-documented drivers of these conflicts such as poverty. He said that nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change. “The world has all kinds of drivers of stress and drivers of conflict. With the climate change, these are likely to get exacerbated further,” said Pachauri.

The report, in fact, establishes a link between climate change impacts and increase in inter-State rivalry. “The impacts of climate change on the critical infrastructure and territorial integrity of many states are expected to influence national security policies.”

For example, land inundation due to sea-level rise poses risks to the territorial integrity of small-island States and States with extensive coastlines. “Some trans-boundary impacts of climate change, such as changes in sea ice, shared water resources, and pelagic fish stocks, have the potential to increase rivalry among States, but robust national and intergovernmental institutions can enhance cooperation and manage many of these rivalries,” the report says. The report found evidence of climate change in the thawing permafrost in the Arctic and in the destruction of coral reefs. It found many freshwater and marine species had shifted their geographical range due to climate change.

The report also projects that risks will get more severe if global greenhouse gas emissions are not mitigated. “Increased tree mortality and associated forest dieback is projected to occur in many regions over the 21st century, due to increased temperatures and drought. Forest dieback poses risks for carbon storage, biodiversity, wood production, water quality, amenity and economic activity.”

Moreover, IPCC concludes that people, societies, and ecosystems in poor and rich countries around the world are vulnerable and exposed to climate change, with different vulnerability and exposure in different places. “Impacts from recent climate-related extremes, such as heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, and wildfires reveal significant vulnerability and exposure of some ecosystems and many human systems to current climate variability.”

(Pictures courtesy

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More Indian women in the driver’s seat

A survey finds that with financial independence, more women are driving cars in India and stating their specific personal preferences.
by Nielsen India

The following is excerpted from a survey conducted recently by Nielsen.com (India), which tracked the numbers of women on Indian roads, their choices in the cars they drive and whether they are decision-makers in the car-buying process.

How Women Decision-Makers Are Influencing Car Purchases

– Women have become more involved in decision-making when buying a car.

– For women, safety features more important than price.

– Automatic transmission, abs and run-flat tyres key factors for women car buyers.

The gender gap on Indian roads is rapidly decreasing. As with other roles, women in India are taking the wheel in larger numbers—a shift that can be attributed to several factors, including rising education levels and increased career opportunities.

In Patna, for example, 3,228 driver licences were issued to women in 2010- 2011, up 37 percent from the previous year. Moreover, between 2008 and 2011, the percentage of cars registered by women in the city has doubled.

This growth spurt in women drivers has prompted car makers to innovate and design vehicles to suit women’s preferences. A Nielsen study into the subject of gender-based auto needs found that women today play an important role when choosing, and in some cases, even buying the family car.

Who’s making the decisions? 

Almost half of all women respondents in the survey were the key decision-makers during car purchases. One in every four women said she was a joint decision-maker on important car features, including the manufacturer and type.

Based on the survey, women not only influence decisions about which car to buy, but on occasions, are also the sole decision-makers on crucial vehicle features. Around 75 percent of women decision-makers said they were the only ones deciding a car’s key elements during a purchase.

Nielsen’s findings also revealed that income plays a role in women’s involvement in the purchase process. Women who earn more than 75,000 rupees a month and are in control of the household budget are the key decision-makers while purchasing a car. Moreover, families with higher incomes have more women decision-makers. According to the survey, older women from more affluent families are also likely to be highly influential at the time of car purchases.

Consider the graphic below (click to magnify):

women and cars

 

 

 

 

 

(Featured image courtesy www.bbc.co.uk)

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Mumbai losing call centre business to Philippines?

Mumbai and other Tier I cities are fast losing the voice and call centre business to Philippines, finds a study.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Mumbai has a sizeable number of call centre businesses – or so we think. If a recent study is to be believed, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai may be losing its BPOs and call centres to Philippines.

“India is currently losing about 70 per cent of all incremental voice and call centre business to competitors like Philippines and Eastern Europe, and unless the domestic BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) industry diversifies the delivery footprint to take advantage of low-cost centers, our competitors will further consolidate their position,” says the study conducted by KPMG and ASSOCHAM. 

“It is estimated that in the ongoing decade, India might lose about $30 billion in terms of foreign exchange earnings to Philippines which has become the top destination for Indian investors, thus the need to reduce costs and make operations leaner is increasingly becoming significant across the BPO industry,” said DS Rawat, Secretary General of ASSOCHAM while releasing the findings of the study.

Reportedly, even a number of Indian firms have also set up substantial operations in Philippines which has a large pool of well-educated, English-speaking, talented and employable graduates (about 30 per cent graduates in Philippines are employable unlike 10 per cent in India where the training consumes considerable amount of time).

“Employees in Philippine’s call centers speak English fluently with a neutral accent, which is what customers look for and that is something missing in Indian accents and that is a prime reason why BPO business is thriving in that country,” said Rawat. “Cultural proximity to the US together with availability of talented manpower are key reasons why BPO companies prefer expanding their operations in Philippines.”

Expansion of non-English BPOs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 centers, which can provide services to the telecom and aviation sectors at low costs, will increasingly play significant role in growth of domestic outsourcing industry, further noted the study.

“Lower attrition rate in smaller towns is a big positive owing to lower recruiting and training costs, while there is comparatively high attrition rate of 30-35 per cent in tier I cities,” said Rawat, quoting from the study. “Besides, even transportation costs for BPO employees and real estate prices in smaller cities are lower as compared to the metros.”

Cities like Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Jaipur, Kozhikode, Nagpur, Nashik, Palakkad and others can help meet 50-60 per cent of projected talent requirement of BPO industry over the next five years, the study added. In order to provide the content in local language there is need to address challenges of fonts, poor bandwidth and the sector specific need based services should be offered.

Besides, projects like the National e-governance Plan (NeGP), the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)  and other government projects are likely to give a fillip to the domestic BPO sector in smaller cities and towns if the industry is able to tap the talent successfully.

The decision to set up BPO centers in Tier 2 and 3 cities requires striking the right balance between all elements and a patient, long-term approach is the key, added the ASSOCHAM-KPMG study.

 (Picture courtesy thehindu.com)

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Mumbai school students are heading overseas

Exchange programmes are slowly becoming popular with school students and parents alike, widening their horizons and enhancing their cultural experience.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Students these days have several things going for them – unconventional work options while they study, a multitude of courses to choose from, and most importantly, the opportunity to travel to foreign countries on short stints as exchange students.

Shubhra BharadwajIt is this last that is slowly picking up pace in our country – and Mumbai is particularly responsive to the trend of students travelling to distant shores to gain life experience and a chance to study other cultures up close. The Metrognome spoke to Ferriswheel’s founder Shubhra Bharadwaj (in pic on left) to gain more insights into the trend.

Excerpts from the interview:

What is the response from Mumbai students like, to the CEPs (Cultural Exchange Programmes)that you plan?

The response is phenomenal. We have used word of mouth as our marketing tool and it has offered extremely satisfying success on all fronts. Schools have supported us whole-heartedly and even the feedback from the people has been great.

Currently, students in Mumbai or any other part of India are not completely aware of such student exchange programes except the ones who have already gone on such programmes. We hope to create more awareness among kids, schools and parents about the benefits of our CEPs for children.

Can you describe the first CEP you planned? Which was the country the students visited?

This first International Children’s Festival was organised in 1996 where the children’s group was taken to Turkey to celebrate the National Children’s Day on April 23. It is the Ferriswheel Youth Ensemble presents- Ticket To Bollywood (5)world’s largest children’s festival that has seen participation from over 30,000 children from 116 different countries since its inception by Kamal Ataturk. Each year close to 50 countries participate in this festival. The gala performance is and was telecast live on all Turkish channels.

The prestigious event bestowed the honour and privilege on individually selected Indian children representing the team, to meet the Prime Minister and President of Turkey, the Honourable Mayor and Governor of Gaziantep, as well the Head of Turkish Parliament, a moment of pride for India.

So children also get to meet heads of State in the countries they visit?

Every time we travel under our CEPs, the children are taken to meet various dignitaries like the Governor and the Mayor of the host city and other heads of States. Every year one child from each participating country is chosen to meet the Prime Minister and President of the host state and is flown in a chartered aircraft. The event gets covered by the local press and media followed by a special dinner for the children.

A few of the heads that we have met earlier through our CEPs are the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, the Mayor of Izmir city, Aziz Kocaoðlu and Governor of Izmir city, M Cahit KIRAÇ.

What do students and their parents look for in a programme of this sort?

They are looking for education through travel, friends, carnivals, different cultures, sports, fun and international exposure. These exchange programmes are short dream lives that children and youth experience towards a future that is wholesome, open-minded and confident. Children get the unique experience of living with the host families and experience their culture on a first-hand basis. More importantly, they get an opportunity to exhibit their culture and represent their country on an extremely prestigious platform.

The objective of every parent and every school is to provide a child with the experiences and tools to develop holistically and learn to be a ‘global citizen’. While parents look for learning and their child becoming more responsible, students look for it as an opportunity to meet children of different countries, broaden their horizons, learn to adapt to new cultures and having fun.

Ferriswheel Youth Ensemble presents- Ticket To Bollywood (2)Thus, such programmes help children develop holistically and learn to be ‘global citizens’. The child learns to be independent and confident, becomes responsible, overcomes prejudices and pre-conceived notions about people of different cultures, gets to intermingle and make friends with children from all across the world. Also, the cultural exchange programme certificate is a great addition to their resume as it helps them in admissions abroad.

Of all the States and cities in India, from where do you see maximum participation? 

We have a strong base in Gujarat and Mumbai for years and now we will be looking at operations pan India. We have a tie up with Italy, Turkey, USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic and France for the programme.

How are foreign students able to adjust to life in India?

We only take a group of children from India to International festivals across the globe. We do not invite their children over to our country. The reason why this programme is called Exchange Programme is that the children live with the host families and interact with many children from other countries.

Please describe an interesting incident from the CEPs, which has remained with you till date.

Ferriswheel Youth Ensemble was awarded the best performing group trophy at a prestigious International Youth Festival in Canada through public voting. Our Executive Producer, CEP, Sabeena Kapur fondly remembers her CEP trip to Taiwan. During that trip, the children were sharing their memorable moments with us and one of them went up to her with a handmade card that said, “I don’t miss home because of you and whenever I will celebrate Mother’s Day, I shall think of you.” We were truly touched.

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