National Geographic explorer Mike Libecki and his 14-year-old daughter Lilliana are essentially travellers who have been to several remote corners of the world. But it is not just the high-ranging mountains or far-flung seas that have a distinct pull for the American father-daughter duo; in fact, most of their travels are humanitarian- and- philanthropy-based expeditions.

In their latest venture, they collaborated with Dell as a part of its Give Back Project and worked in a remote village of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

At Jhamtse Gatsal’s Children’s Community, which is home to about 90 children, the father-daughter duo, along with Dell employees, have installed 20 new laptops, new printers, internet access and are imparting computer education to kids and teachers in Tawang.

They have also installed new solar power panels and solar generators for the computer centre and other buildings in the community.

“We worked closely with the community. All of the kids at the community are orphans or they have come to live there because they have family issues. They are all first-generation learners, none of the families of these kids have had an education.

“We came here to provide solar energy, a new computer lab with computers and internet installed, because the goal of the orphanage is to provide education to the kids. They want the children to go to college; without having computers and internet, they will lag behind and not be able to do. In the times that we live in, we need to be technologically advanced and savvy to make progress,” Mike told IANS.

Maintaining that progress is not possible without access to technological tools such as computers and the internet, Mike explained that all the equipment was shipped from the United States to Tawang and Dell employees were on ground to help in the installation process.

“But just installing the computers wasn’t enough. We needed to ensure that the children are able to use them… that they are trained properly and, whenever the situation arises, they should have help from technicians. We also had to ensure that these systems run on solar power because remote areas like these do not have electricity running most of the times,” he said.

And so when they set out on what turned out to be a very enriching and satisfying experience, there was a lot of anticipation in the air as many of the kids at Jhamtse Gatsal’s Children’s Community were seeing computers for the first time.

When the young children saw Lilliana, who at the age of 14 has already been to 26 countries, all seven continents, five major expeditions and has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, helping her father set up the computers and teach not just the kids but also the teachers and other workers at the community on how to go about using the computer and accessing the internet, their faces lit up with brightness and, in Mike’s words, “They learnt to aspire.”

“Every-time we connect with a community and we try to give back, we get more than we give. We have opportunities that they don’t and making a little impact on their lives really leaves us with a great feeling of satisfaction. We are giving them computers and internet.

“Think about you and I, we have access to these technological boons but we take it for granted every day. We never think what our lives would be had we been unfortunate too. We just have these at our disposal. So why should other human beings not have them too?” he asked.

Mike said that just like the word “technology” comes from the word “tool”, they envisaged a similar approach towards this project.

“We are using technology as a tool. These kids want to go to college, just like anybody else. Why shouldn’t the most remote and poor kids have the same opportunity that you and I have? So we want to do our part. If we are doing our part and impacting one community may be we are impacting thousands of people because initiatives like these create a ripple effect. The one who has been benefited will, some day, if he/she has an opportunity to, make a difference in the lives of others,” Mike said.

Jhamtse Gatsal’s Children’s Community is located in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The nearest town is Lumla, less than half an hour away by car, or an hour or two by foot. It is a community, a school, and a home for about 90 children ranging in age from toddler to adolescent.

Most of the children at the community have a background of adversity and the driving goal of the community is to provide these children with better lives, helping them to achieve their fullest potential.

(IANS)

Thousands of Americans from all walks of life took to the streets of cities across the US and chanted “families belong together”, nearly two months after President Donald Trump implemented the “zero tolerance” policy toward undocumented immigrants, prompting the separation of thousands of children from their parents.

The main rally on Saturday was in Washington, D.C., but hundreds of marches, protests and rallies took place across the country in major cities like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver, Miami, St. Louis, San Francisco and Los Angeles, where crowds called for the immediate reunification of migrant families and an end to family detentions and separations, reports CNN.

According to organisers, the protesters called for three demands: they want separated migrant families to be reunited immediately; they want the government to end family detentions; and they want the Trump administration to end its zero tolerance policy.

Attendees in Washington marched from Lafayette Square to the White House — though the President is at his golf resort in New Jersey — and down Pennsylvania Avenue, past the Trump Hotel, where chants of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” broke out.

In Atlanta, demonstrators carried cages with dolls inside, and marchers in Chicago encouraged each other to “fight back”.

In New York, protesters overflowed Foley Square in Lower Manhattan and filled the surrounding sidewalks. Crowds also inched across the Brooklyn Bridge for more than two hours.

Protesters in Houston chanted, “No baby jails”, outside City Hall. Crowds gathered in McAllen, Texas, the border town where one of the Customs and Border Protection agency’s processing detention centres sits.

Several celebrities joined the rallies, including singer-songwriter John Legend, who sang his song “Preach” at a demonstration in Los Angeles, veteran singer Cher who encouraged people to vote in November, actresses Kerry Washington and Amy Schumer marched in New York while singer Alicia Keys performed in Washington.

Many attendees carried signs, some demanding a change to the administration’s policy, others celebrating the contributions that immigrants make to the country.

There were also plenty of signs and shirts declaring, “I really do care, do u?” — a dig at the jacket First Lady Melania Trump wore while departing for a trip to the southwest border last week.

Event organisers said Saturday’s protests were about addressing an ethical issue.

“This is not left or right,” Anna Galland, Executive Director of MoveOn.org, one of the organisations leading Saturday’s protests, told CNN. 

“It is right and wrong.”

Galland said she and Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal put out a call for protests less than two weeks ago and they were “overwhelmed” by the response.

Jayapal, who was also arrested during a similar protest at the Senate office building last week, said: “This is beyond politics… You don’t put kids in cages. You don’t separate breastfeeding babies from their mothers. You don’t put asylum-seekers in prison, and we’re calling for an end to that today.”

More than 2,500 undocumented children were separated from their parents in the weeks since the zero-tolerance policy took effect, reports CNN. 

Under the policy, any adult caught crossing the border illegally faced prosecution and their children were sent to federal shelters all over the US.

There were widespread outrage over the separations which prompted Trump to sign an executive order on June 20 reversing the family separation policy.

Six days after that order was signed, only six children had been reunited with their parents — meaning more than 2,000 children were still in limbo.

The directorial debut of Shekhar Kapur was an adaptation of Erich Segal‘s novel Man, Woman and Child, (1980) was released on October 22, 1983 seven months later the Hollywood version starring Martin Sheen and Blythe Danner.  The film is a rare attempt in the coming-of-age genre in Bollywood. The screenplay, dialogues and lyrics were penned by the inimitable Gulzar and the music was by R.D. Burman.The film went on to win five Filmfare awards for Best actor (Naseeruddin Shah), Best music (RD Burman), Best lyrics (Gulzar) and Best female playback singer (Aarti Mukherji) and Best Film judged by Critics. It had further garnered nominations for Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress.

Shekhar Kapur completed his chartered accountancy course from London and after some years of the routine grinding returned to Mumbai to seek a career in films. Dev Anand gave him the first break in Ishq Ishq Ishq (1974), he got his full fledged role in Jaan Hazir Hai (1975) along with Prem Kishan and Loveleen. Both films failed to register at the box-office and with the audience. He next featured opposite Shabana Azmi in his cousin Ketan Anand’s debut vehicle Toote Khilone (1978). 

In 1984, the year his last mainstream film featuring him as an actor, Bindiya Chamkegi, was released, Shekhar Kapur made the low-budget Masoom with Naseeruddin Shah, Kapur’s then-girlfriend Shabana Azmi and a trio of child artistes. Kapur still recalls with fondness the period he stayed at the Taj West End for three weeks along with Gulzar, while writing the script for Masoom. And although he has never shot any film in Bangalore but the gulmohur trees around the hotel in full bloom is a sight that has stayed with him. 

The Urban middle-class India was mesmerised by the film and Bollywood itself mostly a cynical fraternity fell for it hook, line and sinker! Javed Akhtar was so impressed by Kapur’s directorial debut that he went to the extent of lowering his price to work with Shekhar on his next venture, Joshilaay (1989) the critically correct film that was a dud at the box-office! It was during the making of Masoom that Shekhar Kapur met and married Medha Gujral, niece of former Prime Minister I. K. Gujral.

Naseeruddin Shah considers Masoom as one of his favourite films in a career lasting over four decades and lambasted the buying of remake rights of the movie by actor-singer-producer Himesh Reshammiya in 2013 saying Masoom cannot be made in the present world of emails and mobile phones in which a father has no clue of the existence of his 10 year old son! The original film had a far more innocent and technologically laid back world as its setting! Shekhar Kapur regrets that Naseer and he never worked together after Masoom, the director feels that Naseer’s character was so finely etched and was so humane that nearly four decades later, generations of film-goers still respond with the same warmth as if the film was made yesterday!

 The film belonged to the child actors in a forceful way and had the premise been not a lost love story, reconciliation and coming of age then you would be fooled in believing that one of the finest films after Bootpolish or Jagriti was unfolding before you! Jugal Hansraj was a successful child model from the age of 2years and had 75 ad campaigns under his bet when at 11 he acted in Masoom. Jugal shot for Masoom in his summer vacations. The 80s saw him in cast of hits like Sultanat, Karma and Loha. He made his adult debut with Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1994), opposite his Masoom co-star, Urmila Matondkar. In 2000, he made another comeback in Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein as the refomist at heart. He directed the animated film, Roadside Romeo (2008), jointly produced by Yash Raj Films and Walt Disney Studios, the first mainstream CGI feature film to come out of India. 

Urmila Matondkar had a tiny role in the Marathi films Karm (1977) at 3, Zaakol (1980) at 6 and then found herself at a tender age of seven playing the son Parikshit in Benegal’s, Kalyug (1981).  At the age of nine, she got Shekhar Kapur’s Masoom and later made her adult debut in N.  Chandra’s Narshima. Her as a heroine arrived with Chamatkar (1992), opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Her biggest and critically hits were with Ram Gopal Varma in films like Rangeela (1995), Satya (1998), Kaun (1999) and Bhoot (2003).

Aradhana Srivastav was recommended by writer-lyricist composer Gulzar to Shekhar Kapur to play the youngest child in the film. She bonded and had found a mother figure in Shabana who fondly called her Ijji-Bijji. After Masoom, Aradhana was cast and did her own playback in Kidar Sharma’s Khuda Hafiz (1983) with her Masoom co-star Urmila and Ram Terey Kitney Naam (1985) , these films flopped and Aradhana faded away from public memory.Aradhana completed her studies at Pune’s Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce and got a PhD in Hindustani vocal music. Aradhana Shrivastav is at present teaching in one of the best music schools of the country in Delhi. She wrote the lyrics for the Delhi anthem, One Billion Rising, in 2013.

This film was among the critical milestones in the life of a genius called Rahul Dev Burman. The 80s as a decade saw him bag two back to back film fare awards for Sanam Teri Kasam (1982) and Masoom (1983). Sagar (1985) failed at the box office and his stock plummeted to the extent that he lost Ram Lakhan (1989) which Shubash Ghai had promised him, to Laxmikant Pyarelal, the duo who had played in his orchestra! Rahul Dev Burman once said that his best tunes came to him in his dreams and that he had to be in happy frame of mind even while composing sad tunes, he is also reported to have said “…When I am down, I end up making a mess of things!”.

Aarti Mukherjee won the Metro-Murphy music contest, where the judges were music directors like Anil Biswas, Naushad, Vasant Desai and C. Ramchandra. She got her first break as a playback singer in Hindi film Sahara (1958) .Aarti Mukherjee, won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1983 for the song, Do Naina Aur Ek Kahani from Masoom, but her career graph in Bollywood didn’t progress due to her limited oeuvre. Arati Mukherji joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014.

Anup Ghoshal is known in Bengal as one of the foremost Nazrulgeeti exponents. He first performed at 4 yrs, for Shishu Mahal children’s programme from All India Radio, Kolkata. Anup Ghoshal got dream break as a playback at 19 yrs, in Satyajit Ray’s classic Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne and got National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1981 for Ray’s Hirak Rajar Deshe. Anup Ghosal was elected in 2011 to West Bengal Legislative Assembly as All India Trinamool Congress candidate. In an interesting episode, Anup Ghoshal not a gifted orator, found that hardly anyone was listening while he was delivering a brief speech during the Budget session in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. He swirched to singing to make a point and started crooning Tujhse naraaz nahin hain zindagi, hairaan hoon main, his most famous ditty from Masoom and got the rapt attention of everyone in the House both from the Treasury benches as well as the Opposition. 

Anup Ghoshal despite his hugely popular Tujhse Naraz Nahi Zindagi from Masoom, was never repeated as a playback for any other Hindi film. Both Mukherjee and Ghoshal though, were highly popular Bengali playback singers in their native film industry.

Shekhar Kapoor tweeted about his directorial debut in 2017-“Masoom. My first film. Never learnt filmmaking, never assisted anyone. No knowledge of filmmaking at all. Nothing but pure instinct.” Not vainglorious words from a man who has just directed 8 complete films and walked out of 2 films midway in a career lasting 35 years and is still considered one of the greatest filmmakers in the world!

A new formulation of a drug to prevent excessive bleeding following childbirth could save thousands of women’s lives in low- and lower-middle-income countries, according to a study led by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with MSD for Mothers and Ferring Pharmaceuticals.

Currently WHO recommends oxytocin as the first-choice drug for preventing excessive bleeding after childbirth. Oxytocin, however, needs to be stored and transported at 2–8 degrees Celsius, which is hard to do, in many countries, depriving many women of access to this lifesaving drug. When they can obtain it, the drug may be less effective because of heat exposure.   

The study, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, has shown an alternative drug – heat-stable carbetocin – to be as safe and effective as oxytocin in preventing postpartum haemorrhage. This new formulation of carbetocin does not require refrigeration and retains its efficacy for at least 3 years stored at 30 degrees celsius and 75% relative humidity, a statement issued by WHO has said.

“This is a truly encouraging new development that can revolutionize our ability to keep mothers and babies alive,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO.

Approximately 70 000 women die every year because of post-partum haemorrhage – increasing the risk that their babies also die within one month.

The clinical trial, the largest of its kind, studied close to 30 000 women who gave birth vaginally in 10 countries: Argentina, Egypt, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda and the United Kingdom.

Each woman was randomly given a single injection of either heat-stable carbetocin or oxytocin immediately following the birth of her baby. The study found that both drugs were equally effective at preventing excessive bleeding after birth.

Since both drugs in the study were kept in at the temperatures required to ensure maximum efficacy of oxytocin, the trial may underestimate the benefit expected with heat-stable carbetocin use in real-life settings where oxytocin may have degraded due to exposure to higher temperatures.

“The development of a drug to prevent postpartum haemorrhage that continues to remain effective in hot and humid conditions is very good news for the millions of women who give birth in parts of the world without access to reliable refrigeration,” says Dr Metin Gülmezoglu, from the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at WHO.

The next step is regulatory review and approval by countries.

WHO will ask its Guideline Development Group to consider whether heat-stable carbetocin should be a recommended drug for the prevention of postpartum haemorrhage. 

This WHO study, also referred to as the CHAMPION  (Carbetocin HAeMorrhage PreventION) trial, was funded by MSD for Mothers. Heat-stable carbetocin was provided by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, the product innovator and oxytocin was provided by Novartis for the study. The study was conducted under a collaborative arrangement between WHO, MSD for Mothers and Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Following the positive results from the trial, the parties will now work to advance affordable access to this lifesaving drug in countries that have a high burden of maternal deaths.

NEW DELHI : The price of non-subsidised LPG cooking gas will be hiked by Rs 55.50 per cylinder in New Delhi, and that of the subsidised one by a marginal Rs 2.71, effective July 1.

According to Indian Oil Corporation, the increase is mainly on account of GST on revised price of domestic non-subsidised LPG.

“There is a marginal increase of Rs 2.71 per cylinder (from Rs 493.55 in June 2018 to Rs 496.26 in July 2018) in the effective price of subsidised LPG cylinder in Delhi for domestic customers for the month of July 2018,” IndianOil said in a statement on Saturday.

“The increase is mainly on account of GST on revised price of domestic non-subsidised LPG.”

As per the statement, the price of non-subsidised LPG at Delhi which consumers buys after exhausting their yearly quota of 12 will increase by Rs 55.50 per cylinder in July 2018 due to increase in international price of LPG by $57 per MT.

“The balance Rs 52.79 (Rs 55.50 minus Rs 2.71) is being compensated to the customer by increase in subsidy transfer to their bank account,” the statement said. 

Accordingly, the subsidy transfer in customer’s bank account has been increased to Rs 257.74 per cylinder in July 2018 as against Rs 204.95 per cylinder in June 2018. 

Oil companies revise the rates of LPG on the 1st of every month based on average crude price and foreign exchange rate. Prices vary at locations according to local taxes as petroleum products are not included under the pan-India GST.

NEW DELHI : The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task Force of the Ministry of Defence led by Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran on Saturday submitted its final report to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on using AI for military superiority.

“The Task Force handed over the final report to Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman to accept it and to implement its recommendations,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The Task Force was constituted in February 2018 to study the strategic implications of AI in national security perspective and in global context. It is a multi-stakeholder group comprising members from government, services, academia, industry and start-ups. 

“AI has the potential to have transformative impact on national security. It is also seen that AI is essentially a dual use technology. While it can fuel technology driven economic growth, it also has potential to provide military superiority,” the statement said.

The government wants to leverage the country’s strong IT industry and huge talent pool of engineers. The ministry has initiated the process of preparing Indian defence forces in their use of AI and how these capabilities can be increasingly developed within the country.

The report, which studied the level of AI or machine learning (ML) development in India mainly in context of defence needs, suggested making India a significant power of AI in defence specifically in the area of aviation, naval, land systems, cyber, nuclear and biological warfare.

It made recommendations for policy and institutional interventions that are required to regulate and encourage a robust AI based technologies for defence sector in the country. 

Considering that most AI work is happening in private sector, it made recommendations to work with start-ups and commercial industry in the field of use of AI for defence purposes, the release said.

As part of its deliberations, the Task Force had an intensive deliberations with all stakeholder representatives including officers from Army, Navy, Airforce, Coast Guard, representatives of all Defence PSUs, namely BEL, HAL, BEML, BDL, MIDHANI, MDL, GRSE, GSL and HSL and OFB. 

Defence Minister is the main promoter and patron of the AI Task Force.

(IANS)

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government is transforming the country’s health infrastructure that is fit for “New India”.

Speaking after inaugurating five projects worth Rs 1,700 crore at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung Hospital, Modi said: The government is building a suitable health infrastructure across the country for a New India that will have quality and adequate hospitals, more beds, better facilities and best doctors.” 

“The health sector in the country has got a new direction with major policy interventions by the government in the last four years. The Centre with the help of states is putting up an advanced health infrastructure in the country including in tier 2 and tier 3 cities,” he said.

The Prime Minister said his government wants to provide quality healthcare to the citizens at lowest possible cost as the burden of disease is the major cause of poverty. For this, his government has initiated more AIIMS-like hospitals in the last four years than done in the last 70 years, he said.

“Thirteen new AIIMS have been announced in the last four year, of which work has started on eight of them. Apart from this, construction of super-specialty hospitals at 15 medical colleges across the country is underway,” he said. 

“New avenues for medical education are being introduced. Our government is upgrading hospitals as medical colleges in 58 districts. In this budget, the government announced setting up of 24 new medical colleges. We aim to have at least one medical college in three Lok Sabha seats.”

The Prime Minister said about 25,000 new under-graduate and graduate seats have been added in medical colleges in the last four years.

Earlier, Modi laid the foundation stone for National Centre for Ageing, and inaugurated the underground tunnel between AIIMS and Trauma Centre and Power Grid Vishram Sadan at AIIMS. He also inaugurated new emergency and super-specialty blocks at Safdarjung Hospital.

“Facilities at Safdarjung Hospital have been made more advanced with an investment of over Rs 1,300 crore. A super-specialty block and an emergency block have been dedicated to the nation. Safdarjung Hospital has become the country’s biggest emergency care hospital with 500-bed capacity just for medical emergency,” he said.

The National Centre for Ageing will provide state of art clinical care to the elderly population and play a key role in guiding research in geriatric medicine and related specialties. The Centre will provide multi-specialty healthcare, will have 200 general ward beds and will be developed at a cost of Rs 330 crore by February 2020.

The 997-meter tunnel, to be built at a cost of Rs 44 crore to connect AIIMS and Jai Prakash Narayan Apex (JPNA) Trauma Centre, will significantly reduce the commute time.

The Power Grid Vishram Sadan, built at a cost of Rs 32.67 crore, has a 300-bedded night shelter facility meant for the patients and their relatives visiting AIIMS and Trauma Centre at a nominal cost. The 11-floor facility with a helipad on the roof for heli-ambulances is funded by the state-run Power Grid Corporation.

Film: “Sanju”; Director: Raj Kumar Hirani; Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Dia Mirza, Manisha Koirala, Anushka Sharma, Sonam Kapoor, Boman Irani, Anjan Shrivastav; Rating: ****

Actor Sanjay Dutt’s life may have been an open book, yet Director Raj Kumar Hirani’s “Sanju” gives you a peek into Sanjay Dutt’s life with an honesty that instantly touches your heart. Sans any gimmicks, Hindi film tropes and unnecessary drama, Hirani lays bare the actor’s life, recounting each milestone of his turbulent and tumultuous life.

The length of the film here – 161 minutes, is not a deterrent, as Hirani manages to keep you hooked, divulging details about Sanjay Dutt’s life, which one may have known, but are brought to life through the sincere and effortless portrayal by Ranbir Kapoor, who essays the character of Sanju with panache.

Whether it is his craving for drugs, breaking down upon learning about his mother’s illness or being denied giving a speech owing to his “terrorist’ connections, there is complete sincerity in his emotions which strike a chord with the audience.

It is no denying that Raj Kumar Hirani is an auteur with a flair for storytelling, He effectively manages to keep the audience engrossed with the simple narrative, which is a journey of emotional upheavals, shocking revelations and tender moments.

The dialogues by Hirani himself and Abhijat Joshi are straightforward, colloquial, yet laced with humour. The songs too mesh perfectly with the narrative and nothing seems out of place.

Ranbir Kapoor shines all the way as Sanju and not only does his physical demeanour resemble that of Sanjay Dutt’s, but he slips into his psyche too and becomes an extension of Dutt, making you see Dutt’s life on screen.

Matching him in histrionics is Vicky Kaushal, an equally talented actor, who is effortlessly convincing as Sanjay’s friend Kamlesh Kanaiyalal Kapasi aka Kamli. He is endearing, as he steals your heart with his simplicity and unabashed affection for Sanju. Their on-screen bond is palpable.

Manisha Koirala as Nargis Dutt is genuine, while Dia Mirza as Sanjay Dutt’s Wife Manyata, is restrained and charming. Anushka Sharma as the renowned author Winnie Diaz fails to leave an impact, but Paresh Rawal as Sunil Dutt renders a heartfelt performance except for his diction that gives him away. Sonam Kapoor, as his love interest Ruby is effective and Boman Irani, as the quintessential Parsi father, is a delight to watch.

In cameo roles, Jim Sarb as Zubin Mistry, the drug peddler whom Sanjay Dutt refers to as “God” and Anjan Shrivastav in a one scene role as a prominent political figure, are brilliant.

On the technical front the film is mounted with ace production values. The production designs, the camerawork, editing and sound, are expectedly top notch.

The script steers clear from Sanjay Dutt’s personal life and romantic liaisons, but does in no way appear lopsided, as those do not seem intrinsic to the film’s focus.

Overall, ‘Sanju’ with a special emphasis on the father-son relationship, as well as his bond with his friend Kamli, is a heart-warming tale, honestly told.

(IANS Review)

Geneva : A novel formulation of drug carbetocin could be safe and effective in preventing excessive bleeding following childbirth and can save thousands of women’s lives, showed results of a clinical trial by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 10 countries, including India.

Currently, the WHO recommends oxytocin as the first-choice drug for preventing excessive bleeding after childbirth. 

Oxytocin, however, must be stored and transported at 2-8 degrees Celsius, which is hard to do in many countries, depriving many women of access to this lifesaving drug. If it gets exposed to heat, the drug becomes less effective.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that heat-stable formulation of carbetocin can be as safe as oxytocin in preventing post-partum haemorrhage. 

This new formulation of carbetocin does not require refrigeration and retains its efficacy for at least 3 years stored at 30 degrees celsius and 75 per cent relative humidity. 

“This is a truly encouraging new development that can revolutionize our ability to keep mothers and babies alive,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO.

Approximately 70,000 women die every year because of post-partum haemorrhage, increasing the risk of their babies also dying within a month.

For the trial, the team studied close to 30,000 women who gave birth vaginally in 10 countries: India, Argentina, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda and the UK.

Each woman was randomly given a single injection of either heat-stable carbetocin or oxytocin immediately following the birth of her baby. 

The study found that both drugs were equally effective at preventing excessive bleeding after birth, but oxytocin tend to degrade in higher temperatures, whereas heat-stable carbetocin had no effect of high temperature.

“This is an important step forwards in postpartum haemorrhage prevention and these results pave the way for heat-stable carbetocin to potentially save the lives of thousands of women, especially in areas where cold-chain transport and storage is not feasible,” said Professor Klaus Dugi, Chief Medical Officer, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a Switzerland-based company that developed the drug.

The next step is regulatory review and approval by countries, the WHO said.

A UN body has that children in India continued to be affected by incidents of violence between armed groups and the Government, particularly in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and during tensions in Jammu and Kashmir.

In its annual report, on “Children and Armed Conflict,’’ the UN has said that the United Nations continued to receive reports of the recruitment and use of children, including by the Naxalites, particularly in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Naxalites reportedly resorted to the use of a lottery system to conscript children in Jharkhand.

In addition, three incidents of the recruitment and use of children were reported in Jammu and Kashmir in the context of clashes with national security forces. One case was attributed to Jaish-i-Mohammed and two to Hizbul Mujahideen. Unverified reports also indicate the use of children as informants and spies by national security forces.

Children continued to be killed and injured in the context of operations of national security forces against armed groups. According to Government data, 188 civilians were killed in Naxalite-affected regions, although no disaggregated data on children were available. On 9 March, a 15-year-old boy was killed by national security forces during a clash with alleged Lashkar-e-Tayyiba elements in Padgampora village, Pulwama district.

In Jharkhand State, suspected Naxalites elements attacked one school in Khunti district, partially destroying it. With regard to military use, the occupation of over 20 schools was documented by the Central Reserve Police Force in Srinagar, Kashmir, in April. Increased tensions in Jammu and Kashmir reportedly also led to school closures for varying periods, including in Rajouri (65) and Poonch (76) districts.

“I welcome the Government’s signature of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) in June 2017, and encourage the Government to put in place measures to hold perpetrators of child recruitment and use to account and engage with the United Nations in view of ending and preventing violations against children, ‘’ the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Virginia Gamba, said.

Globally, the number of children affected by armed conflict and the severity of grave violations affecting them increased in the past year, concludes the annual report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict released on 27 June 2018.

“The report details the unspeakable violence children have been faced with, and shows how in too many conflict situations, parties to conflict have an utter disregard for any measures that could contribute to shielding the most vulnerable from the impact of war,” the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Virginia Gamba, said.

Over 21,000 grave violations of children’s rights have been verified by the United Nations from January to December 2017, an unacceptable increase from previous years (15,500 in 2016).

The crises unfolding in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen brought about serious increases in verified grave violations. In Syria, children have suffered the highest number of verified violations ever recorded in the country. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, crises in the Kasais led to an eightfold increase of attacks on schools and hospitals (515). In a despicable trend, almost half of the 881 verified child casualties in Nigeria resulted from suicide attacks, including the use of children as human bombs.

Over 10,000 children were killed or maimed in 2017 with numbers growing substantially in Iraq and Myanmar, while remaining unacceptably high in Afghanistan and Syria.

“When your own house or your school can be attacked without qualms, when traditional safe-havens become targets, how can boys and girls escape the brutality of war?” SRSG Gamba asked. “This shows a blatant disregard for international law by parties to conflict, making civilians, especially children, increasingly vulnerable to violence, use and abuse,” she added.

In South Sudan, violence against children continued unabated with 1,221 children verified recruited and used. Rape and other forms of sexual violence against children remained disturbingly high with over 900 verified cases against boys and girls.

The number of children detained for their alleged association with armed groups remained extremely worrisome. For instance, in Iraq, at least 1,036 children were held in juvenile detention facilities on national security-related charges, mostly for their alleged association with ISIL. In Nigeria, over 1,900 children were deprived of liberty because of their or their parents’ alleged association with Boko Haram.

In the report, the Secretary-General reminded the authorities that children formerly associated with armed groups should be treated primarily as victims and detention only used as a last resort. 

Large scale abductions of children remained another worrying trend. In Somalia, Al-Shabab abducted over 1,600 children, many of which were also victims of recruitment and use or sexual violence. Massive cross-border recruitment by actors such as ISIL and Boko Haram was also documented as a continuous trend requiring concerted regional efforts.

Another disturbing trend was the denial of humanitarian access used as a tactic of war. Children in Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen were prevented from receiving life-saving support. In Syria, 400,000 persons, including children, trapped in besieged areas such as Ghutah and Rural Damascus, faced deteriorating living conditions. 

The number of unaccompanied children fleeing wars and violence also underlines the importance of a coordinated international response, including with regional and sub-regional actors, to multiply child-protection efforts and address the cross-border dimension of grave violations. Continuing cross-border recruitment and use by actors such as ISIL and Boko Haram was also documented as a continuous trend requiring concerted regional efforts.

Over 10,000 children were formally released from armed groups and forces to commence their reintegration process.

In Sudan, the Government Forces have been delisted for the recruitment and use of children following the completion of their Action Plan with the UN. In Colombia, as part of the peace process, the FARC-EP put in place measures to release children and prevent their recruitment and has been delisted. The signature of a new Action plan with the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Nigeria (September 2017) and with the Mouvement Patriotique pour la Centrafrique (MPC)in CAR (June 2018) is bringing the groups closer to stopping and preventing grave violations against children. Several armed groups, including in Myanmar and CAR, have also expressed their readiness to sign Action Plans with the UN.