Supraja Dharini And Her Turtle Protection Super Squads

Supraja Dharini And Her Turtle Protection Super Squads Sat May 19, 2012 10:31 pm (PDT)
Supraja Dharini And Her Turtle Protection Super Squads Posted: 19 May 2011 06:57 PM PDT Chennai (Women’s Feature Service)
Until some years back, he would dig out the leathery, cricket-ball sized turtle eggs from their sand pits and use them to play cricket with his friends. And he was not the only one doing so in the fishing village of Periya Neelangarai on the East Coast Road (ECR), a few kilometres from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Today, however, young T.A. Pugazharasan is a turtle conservationist. In fact, during the nesting season of the Olive Ridley turtles, from January extending up to May each year, if you head towards the Coromandel Coast at nightfall, you may find an eclectic bunch of people – school and college kids, lungi-clad fishermen and white collar types – patrolling the beach. Why? Because even though this species of sea turtle is hardy, it faces multiple threats and needs protection. The Olive Ridley turtle has a remarkable nesting characteristic: It always makes its way back to where it was born to lay its eggs. It reaches the spot – right down to the same 500 metre to one kilometre stretch – and lays the eggs before going back into the sea. The emerging hatchling continues this incredible migratory tradition. Nesting is a regular occurrence on the coasts of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. But, unfortunately, the turtles and turtle eggs get savaged by people, stray dogs and crows. Plastic garbage strewn on the beach – that can choke the turtles, lights from the nearby farmhouses and from vehicles plying on the ECR – which confuses them and lures them on to the roads where they get crushed under the wheels of vehicles – or the wiry bushes that entangle them are some of the other threats they face. That is why the informal protection squads on the beaches as well as the Kadal Aamai Paadukaavalar (Sea Turtle Protection Force or STPF), which comprises over 165 fisher youth living along the Coromandel Coast, are such a boon. But how is it that turtle conservation has become a priority for the citizens of Chennai and those in its neighbouring towns? For this one can credit artist-conservationist, Dr Supraja Dharini, the woman behind this ‘save the turtles’ mission. Members of Supraja Dharini's protection group keeps an eye on a nesting turtle. (Credit: Hema Vijay\WFS) She has not only converted youngsters like Pugazharasan into loving the turtle but has also created a sea change in the attitudes of the local community towards the turtles that inhabit the area. In fact, since 2002, more than 44,654 hatchlings have been safely released into the sea, thanks to Dharini’s initiatives. She has helped remove tonnes of debris from the Chennai coast with the help of the Indian Coast Guard, National Institute of Ocean Technology, South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme and Loyola College. She has campaigned for the protection of sea turtles with thousands of school and college goers in Tamil Nadu – even in towns as far flung as Sivakasi – who now know how crucial it is to provide a safe haven for migrating turtles. “The world over, there are many people trying to save the turtles, but I find Supraja Dharini’s efforts unique because she manages to bring together all stakeholders, from government ministries to local fisher folk,” says Shannon McDonnell, honorary coordinator for India for Roots and Shoots, an organisation founded by famous primatologist and conservation biologist Dr Jane Goodall. McDonell has been working with Dharini to spread conservation efforts to schools across India. It’s Dharini’s efforts that have brought together a city youngster like Robin, who is preparing for his IAS exams, and fishermen like T.A. Pugazharasan, to work together for a common cause. “I have been working with ‘madam’ for eight years to save the turtles, and now I see a definite change in our fishing community. A year back, some fishermen used to chop off the flippers of turtles caught in their nets, because they didn’t want to cut their nets. Today, they gently set them free,” informs Pugazharasan. Supraja Dharini (second from right) keeping a watch on a nesting turtle along with her turtle protection squad. (Credit: Hema Vijay\WFS) From being a successful artist – she runs her own art studio, Kalakruti, which she had started in 1991 – to becoming a saviour of turtles, it’s been an interesting transition for Dharini. It was a dead turtle she noticed during a walk on the Neelangarai shore that triggered the change. “I noticed that it had been killed from cuts sustained from sharp wires, perhaps fishing nets,” she recalls. On further inquiry, she found out that many such dead turtles were washed ashore regularly between January and March. The sight of the dead turtle brought back Jane Goodall’s words she had heard on a television programme: ‘Each and every individual can make a difference’. “I decided that I would make a difference,” Dharini says. Her first move? She went with fishermen on their catamarans and trawlers to gauge what exactly created this pointless massacre. She discovered that fishing nets needed turtle extruders, a device attached to the net that allows turtles to escape from the net, leaving the fish behind. And, more significantly, she understood that awareness building amongst the fishing community was crucial. So she toured village after village, talking about how important turtles are for sustaining fish in the sea, upon which rested the community’s livelihood. She also roped in Dr Karthik Shanker of Wildlife SOS, who showed fisher folk slides portraying how turtles created areas for the fish to breed. Once the fishing community was won over, it was time to get the youth involved. Youngsters in the villages like Periya Neelankarai, Injambakkam, Pannayur, Nayanarkuppam-Uthandi and Reddykuppam-Kanathur along the ECR were trained to identify places where turtles laid eggs, to gently retrieve them and place them in easily-built safe enclosures, to guard them during their 48-day gestation period, and finally to safely lead the emerging hatchlings to the sea. Dharini also set up the TREE (Trust for Environment, Education, Conservation and Community development) Foundation in October 2002. She now plans to start a marine biodiversity conservation research centre with a fully-equipped aquarium that would help create more bonding between humans and turtles. “All sea turtles are listed as endangered. The TREE foundation works along the coasts of Chennai and Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh with plans to expand the programme nationwide,” says Dharini, who is the founder of the Bay of Bengal Ecologists and Conservation Network (BEACON) as well. Monetarily, the TREE Foundation functions with the support of its trustees and through donations. Some help comes in from the government: For instance, the Wildlife Wing of the Forest Department (Tamil Nadu) had provided a stipend to members of the STPF during the turtle nesting period since 2006, while the Wildlife Wing of the Forest Department (Andhra Pradesh) has been supporting the STPF from 2009 onwards. The good work done by Dharini over the years hasn’t gone unnoticed. She was conferred the Whitley Associate Award for 2009-2010, the Disney Worldwide Conservation Award, Sea World and Bush Garden Conservation Award, and the Peoples’ Trust for Endangered Species Award. Called the Gardeners of the Sea – because they help sea plants grow faster – turtles figure on the protected creatures’ list of India’s Environment and Forests Ministry. And yet, unlike its more famed fellow list-member, the tiger, there are not many who undertake awareness drives for turtle conversation and no celebs rooting for its cause. For now, its survival rests on people like Dharini, her friends and her dedicated protection squads. (Dr Supraja Dharini and the TREE Foundation can be contacted at: Tel – +91 44 42862014 / 9444052242; Email – treefoundation2002@gmail.com; Website: www.treefoundationindia.org) Article written by Hema Vijay for Women’s Feature Service (WFS) and republished here in arrangement with WFS

Healthcare revolution in Gadchiroli, considered India's most backward district as per human index indicators

Public Health: Gadchiroli's trudging doctors spell hope

Wed Apr 18, 2012 3:36 am (PDT)
Gadchiroli's trudging doctors spell hope....Pramit Bhattacharya A healthcare model relying mainly on people from within the community to provide care is reaping success Mumbai: One of India's most backward districts and Maharashtra's worst ranked in human development indicators, Gadchiroli, today finds itself at the forefront of a healthcare revolution that can potentially save millions of infant lives and help India rapidly reduce her abysmal infant mortality rate (IMR). Under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), India is replicating a unique model of using "barefoot doctors" to save infant lives, pioneered by an extraordinary team of physicians led by Abhay and Rani Bang and their Gadchiroli-based non-governmental organization, Society for Education Action and Research In Community Health (SEARCH). With around 4,600 children dying each day, India has the highest number of child deaths in the world. Seventy per cent of under-five deaths occur in infancy and a majority of infant deaths occur in the first four weeks of life. India's IMR, or the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births, at 47, is close to that of poorer African nations such as Senegal and Ghana. Even neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal have lower IMR. The country's IMR has declined only by 2 percentage points per year over the past five years despite the introduction of a cash incentive scheme for mothers who deliver at hospitals. At the current rate of decline, India will easily miss the millennium development goal of bringing down IMR to 27 by 2015. Most deaths in the newborn period are preventable, and occur because households, communities and health facilities are often unable to provide the required care, according to the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef). Health workers are often unavailable and most are ill-equipped to provide newborn care. SEARCH's strategy to curb infant deaths relies on training community health workers to diagnose and treat newborn diseases and has been dramatically successful in reducing IMR. Over a span of 15 years, SEARCH has been able to reduce IMR in its intervention area by 75% to around 30, by providing home-based newborn care (HBNC). At a time when India plans to universalise basic healthcare, the Gadchiroli model has emerged as a cost-effective way to correct the nation's dismal child-health record. At $7 per disability-adjusted life years saved, SEARCH's intervention is more efficient in saving lives compared with other tested methods, such as micro-nutrient fortifications for malnourished children. Behind SEARCH's success lies the meticulous research and undying perseverance of its founders, the Bangs, honoured as global heroes in health by Time magazine in 2005. Trained in public health at the US-based John Hopkins University, the couple returned to India in the mid-1980s to study the health problems of the rural poor, and founded SEARCH at Shodhgram (or research village) in Gadchiroli. Six hours away from Melghat, Shodhgram shows how the drive of a small but committed team can succeed where the state has failed. Abhay Bang, 61, said he was inspired by the Chinese example of barefoot doctors. "The Chinese adopted a simple principle that said that healthcare must be available within that distance, which a mother on foot can walk with a sick baby," he said in an interview. In the Bangs' case, that principle meant providing care to the newborn at home. Almost all Indian states barring Kerala and Tamil Nadu (which have low IMR) and Chhattisgarh (that already has a similar 'mitanin' programme) have initiated the first phase of implementing the Gadchiroli model. The National Health System Resource Centre (NHSRC)-a nodal agency for training community health workers or accredited social health activists (Asha)-is facilitating the training with inputs from SEARCH. Each Asha worker will be paid Rs. 250 for each infant each tends to, using NRHM funds. Around 30 batches of Asha trainers have been trained at Shodhgram so far. "This is a first of its kind initiative at such a large scale," said Rajani Ved, adviser, community processes, NHSRC. While HBNC was emphasized when NRHM was started six years back, it is only now that the state is providing the training and incentives to health workers to implement the Gadchiroli model in right earnest. Several aspects of the model have already been adopted in Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of Africa. Both the World Health Organization and Unicef have approved the Bangs' community based intervention as an effective strategy for infant and childcare. The Bangs have helped focus the world's attention on neonatal deaths. Deaths in the neonatal period or first four weeks account for roughly 40% of all under-five deaths and their proportion has grown by 10% since 1990, according to the latest Unicef estimates. Of the 3.3 million neonatal deaths globally in 2009, the Indian share of 28% was the highest, even as it accounted for fewer than 20% of live births in the world. A 1999 Lancet research paper by Abhay Bang and his colleagues at SEARCH, based on their interventions in Gadchiroli, showed for the first time how very sick newborn babies could be saved even in poor nations with a novel cost-effective strategy. Bang's paper found a place in a 2005 compilation of "vintage papers" in the 180-year-old history of the prestigious medical journal. Global impact is not new to the Bangs. Their earlier work on the widespread prevalence of sexual health problems among rural women had forced a big shift in maternal health policies from birth control to reproductive health in the late 1980s. Maternal health policies had until then focused only on family planning. Their work on neonatal health turns conventional medical wisdom on its head. The traditional approach to improving maternal and child health lays emphasis on widening the reach of hospitals in under-served communities. In contrast, the Gadchiroli strategy relies almost exclusively on people from within the community, usually uneducated traditional birth attendants and community health workers, to deliver care for the mother and her child. These health workers, who have undergone rigorous training, form the backbone of SEARCH's intervention in 39 villages. They diagnose and treat infections such as sepsis and pneumonia, two major killers in the neonatal period. Their home visits start when a woman is pregnant and continue till her child is two months old. In case of low birth weight or pre-term babies who are at the greatest risk of death, health workers visit roughly once in two days to check for signs of infection in the neonatal period. A system of rewards and penalties depending on whether or not the correct diagnosis is made and regular visits by a supervisor have ensured that the strategy has worked efficiently. "Everyone including doctors of the village trust us to take care of their children's illnesses," said Anjana Uikey, one of Bang's "miracle workers" at Bodhli village in Gadchiroli. After Abhay Bang's research was published in 1999, it has taken more than a decade of advocacy in partnership with a global alliance called Saving Newborn Lives (SNL)-supported by Save the Children USA and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-and more field trials, to win acceptance at home and abroad. A lifelong vision to see Indian villages become self-reliant in health propelled Bang. Brought up in Sevagram, Mahatma Gandhi's ashram at Wardha, Bang had decided early in life that he would follow the path laid out by his hero. "Gandhiji spoke of gram swaraj (free or self-reliant villages); I decided to work on arogya swaraj (self-reliance in health)," said Bang. The decision was not just about idealism but also a hardheaded assessment of reality: Qualified doctors are often unwilling to work in villages. "As long as rural communities continue to depend on outsiders for even basic health needs, they will continue to face neglect," said Bang. Only 47% of Indian women give birth at hospitals and the figure is much lower for rural areas, according to Unicef. And with 21% vacancies among general physicians and 50-60% vacancies among specialists at rural health centres, access to healthcare is skewed against the rural poor. The Gadchiroli model addresses precisely that gap. The runaway success of the HBNC model raised doubts on whether this could ever be replicated. Sceptics questioned the wisdom of allowing uneducated health workers to administer injections. Others saw in SEARCH's work an island of success, which was possible only because of Bang's commitment. To answer these doubts, the Ankur project was launched in 2001 to replicate the SEARCH model in seven different parts of Maharashtra in collaboration with local NGOs. In four years, neonatal mortality dropped by 50% and infant mortality by 47%. The Indian Council of Medical Research has also conducted field trials on HBNC in five different states of the country and while the results have not been published yet, the trials have shown significant impact, Bang said. It is difficult to predict the success rate across the country as the SEARCH model is scaled up since a lot will depend on effective administration. Unlike in Gadchiroli, health workers nationally are selected by the government and not the Bangs, and the technical and moral support that SEARCH gives to its community workers while handling complications will be missing. Bang is aware of the challenges. "There will be uncertainties in such a large scheme but we will remain focused on how to make things work because the number of lives at stake is in millions." (The "Tracking Hunger" series is a nationwide effort to track, investigate and report India's struggle against hunger and malnutrition. This special report on malnutrition is the result of a fellowship jointly awarded by Save The Children and Mint. To know more about Save The Children: www.savethechildren.in)
pramit. b@livemint.com * Filling the gap: Abhay Bang, the founder of SEARCH, at his office. Photo: Pramit Bhattacharya/Mint * Anjana Uikey, a health worker, providing care to an infant boy at his home in Bodhli village in Gadchiroli. Photo: Pramit Bhattacharya/Mint URL: http://www.livemint.com/2012/04/17223413/Gadchiroli8217s-trudging-do.html

NGO civil society partnerships, Plan Panel moots skill development at village level

NGO, civil society participation mooted

Posted by: "Sheetal - Karmayog" info@karmayog.orgbr/>
Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:31 am (PST)br/>
NGO, civil society participation mooted....Santosh Tiwaribr/>
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society members may soon become a part of the civil service functioning, if the Central and state governments agree on implementing a human resources management strategy recommended by the department of administrative reforms and public grievances (DARPG). br/>
As part of its next stage of administrative reforms against the backdrop of recent agitations against corruption, including that of social activist Anna Hazare, the DARPG has proposed the involvement of NGOs and civil society in policy making and their implementation. The strategy and action plan, outlined during a two-day conference of chief secretaries of states and union territories last week, includes adoption of the UK concept of Big Society Reforms. The Big Society refers to the NGO and civil society's involvement in the process of governance and allowing them to frame suitable policies and their delivery. The department has recommended lateral entry to the civil service from outside the government and allowing civil servants to move out for a short period and come back again to contribute to the government. br/>
It has stressed on the need to ensure that the best person, either from within or outside the system, is appointed for a specific position, especially in the senior civil service. br/>
This would allow people, both from inside and outside the government, to develop the requisite skills and competencies and compete for any position. It has suggested identification of fast streamers and their grooming by way of learning and development opportunities and on-job experience on lines of the UK model. It has also pitched in for a continuous performance appraisal cycle, which should include agreement on objectives and competencies required and identification of development and coaching need. br/>
A system of accreditation - to be acquired in the first 20 years of service in key identified areas, including finance, human resources, policy and planning - is also part of the plan. br/>
Civil servants would have to acquire a minimum of three accreditation certificates in two key areas at least. Their career progression would be limited to these two areas. br/>
The Central government has already made several changes in the functioning of ministries and departments, including performance-based transfers and posting of officials. br/>
As part of this exercise, rules were notified on January 31, under which the Central government in consultation with states concerned can ask a civil service official to retire in public interest after 15 years of service. br/>
Those who cross this barrier will have to face another review after either completing 25 years of service or attainment of 50 years of age. br/>
URL: http://business-standard.com/india/news/ngo-civil-society-participation-mooted/464290/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plan panel wants skill development at village levelsbr/>
Posted by: "Sheetal - Karmayog" info@karmayog.org Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:31 am (PST) br/>
Plan panel wants skill development at village levels....Sangeeta Singh The commission's suggestion may be accepted in the national budget br/>
New Delhi: To better implement India's marquee rural job guarantee programme, the Planning Commission wants more money to be set aside to train officials involved in the welfare schemes by paring administrative costs. br/>
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of 2005 promises 100 days of employment in a year to adult members of rural households willing to do unskilled manual work. br/>
"We have suggested that at least two-thirds of the money that goes into administrative costs of implementing MGNREGA be spent on training programmes for functionaries involved in implementing the scheme at block and panchayati raj institutions (PRIs), or local governance bodies, levels," said Mihir Shah, member of the country's apex training body. br/>
Currently, 6% of the total outlay, or about Rs2,400 crore, goes into administrative expenses. The outlay for the programme in 2011-12 is Rs40,000 crore. If the government accepts the commission's recommendation, it could mean an outlay of at least Rs1,600 crore for training officials. At present, no fixed amount is earmarked to be spent on training officials. br/>
The commission's suggestion may be accepted in the national budget scheduled to be presented on 16 March, according to a Planning Commission official, who declined to be identified. Most of the funds allocated for administrative expenses are spent on wasteful expenditure such as buying cars and air-conditioners for officials at districts, Shah said.br/>
"We have also proposed that district-level bodies cannot reject the proposals made by blocks and PRIs for such administrative expenses," said Shah. The Planning Commission has also suggested the programme be linked with agriculture and allied sectors to create productive assets. br/>
Implementing the commission's recommendations is easier said than done, said S.L. Rao, former director general of National Council of Applied Economic Research, a New Delhi-based think tank. "Although the idea of capacity building and training at village level is good, who will see to it that wasteful expenditure at any level is stopped?" he asked. "Why has the government not been able to stop buying of cars and ACs till now?" The government is actively considering restructuring of the job guarantee programme to plug loopholes in the scheme and make it more effective. br/>
Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, in an interview on 2 February, has admitted that there are problems in the scheme, including poor quality of assets built and diversion of funds into wasteful expenditure such as purchase of vehicles. sangeeta.s@livemint.com * At work: NREGA workers in Naya Gaon, Rajasthan. The government is actively considering restructuring of the job guarantee programme to plug loopholes and make it more effective. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Minte URL: http://www.livemint.com/2012/02/10010842/Plan-panel-wants-skill-develop.html