Category Archives: Useful / HEALTHCARE

She almost did not become a Doctor; but now Dr Farida Ghoghawala helps thousands of women for free

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, FREE : Healthcare / Assistance, NRI's / PIO's, Useful / HEALTHCARE, World Opinion, , , , ,

Ahmedabad, GUJARAT / Fort Myers (FLORIDA) , U S A :

Dr Farida Ghoghawala.

Fort Meyers, Florida: 

For most professionals, 60 is the age when they are expected to take a backseat, relax, and retire. But then, most professionals are unlikely to have the zeal of Dr Farida Ghoghawala. She might have officially retired in 2000, but since then, the 72-year-old obstetrician-gynaecologist, who is now a US citizen, has travelled extensively in India, Philippines and Jordan to treat women who can’t afford quality health care. What is even more commendable that she offers her service for free, paying for her own travel and food, only to serve humanity.

After retiring from her practice in 2000, Dr. Farida started volunteering for health programs. In 2012, she came to India to help in a health initiative organised by Indian Muslims Relief and Charities and has been visiting every year since then. Since 2015, she has been spending six months in India doing medical activities, treating and providing quality medical care to poor and low income women, free of cost.

Her dedication to women who cannot afford treatment comes partly from dire financial constraints during her childhood. Dr Farida was born in a low income class family in Ahmadabad, Gujarat in 1944 to Mohammad Usman, who worked in a book-binding center and Zeenat-un-Nisa,a home maker. She did her primary education in a neighborhood Government-run Urdu elementary School. However, her parents asked her to drop out, as they weren’t much educated and wanted her to instead focus on domestic chores.

Fortunately, her maternal uncle came to her rescue. He took her with him and got her admitted into an English school in 5th grade. Having studied in Urdu medium school, English was quite difficult to comprehend for the little girl, but she was full of enthusiasm when it comes to studies and joined Kindergarten classes to learn the subject.

After years of struggle and getting admission into B. J. Medical College Ahmedabad, she finally graduated in October 1967. But fate had better in store for her. “Mamu (maternal uncle) insisted that i should take the US entrance exam called Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). However, there was a small catch. India had closed centers for ECFMG exam to prevent physician outflow to foreign countries. So, Mamu sent me to Ceylon for the exam by borrowing application fee of 15 dollars from the Physician son of his business colleague, who was doing residency in Cleveland Ohio,” recalls Dr. Farida.

Finally, she was selected in four-year residency program in Saint Johns Hospital of Cleveland Ohio in 1970.With 15 dollars in hand Dr.Farida landed in United states.

“That time was such a struggle for me. I use to sleep in hospital call room,” she recalls.
After finishing her residency, she started private practice in Fort Myers Florida and settled their along with one daughter and a son, who is now working as an ophthalmologist in Texas.

Dr. Farida has also served during Iraq-US war in the United States Army. But she continued to have one wish.

“Despite all such work something was amiss in my life. I always wanted to go back to India, because my childhood memories and our poverty and that of other people living in the neighborhood used to haunt me and I wanted to do something for them, especially the women who used to suffer silently,” says Dr. Farida.

Dr. Farida came for treating poor patients in India in year 2012, with IMRC, which conducts an annual India Health Initiative for treating poor patients in India for free.

“Finally in 2012, I first came to India as a volunteer doctor for IMRC, organizing free medical camps across various parts of India. They are really doing a great job in India,” she added.

The India Health Initiative (IHI) was started by IMRC in 2010. Every year, doctors from the US volunteer for this health initiative by rendering their services free of cost. Since its inception, the organization has successfully conducted seven India Health Initiatives comprising of medical camps across different rural areas, poor localities and slums in India.

Dr. Farida, through her efforts, has treated thousands of female patients in Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Assam and Haryana in the last four years.

“Really, the experience has been so fulfilling that after my first visit in 2012, I started coming to India every year and now Alhamdulillah, every year, I spend six months in India,” she says.


While sharing her experience, she further said, “Women here get exploited by local medical fraternity due to lack of awareness, especially in fertility treatment. I am educating them on when to say no and how to get proper treatment. Apart from that, many ailments arise in women due to nutritional deficiency. Women are the caretaker of the whole family if we educate them about health issues then we are saving families from chronic diseases.”

Earlier this year Dr. Farida travelled with a team of 10 US based doctors volunteering for IMRC and treated patients in slums of Hyderabad and villages in Kozhikode district of Kerala.


She has also volunteered and worked for four months since November, 2015 in a low cost medical care clinic in Bangalore, Karnataka.

On August 18, Dr. Farida will embark on a new mission, but to a new country and new people, whom she considers most deserving. She is going to Amman in Jordan with IMANA Syrian Refugee care mission, where she will treat refugee women.

Later this year she is again coming to India to be the part of IMRC’s health initiatives and also treat poor women in Jammu and Kashmir. This might seem daunting tasks for many, but for Dr. Farida, this is what she does best, and she is unlikely to stop anytime soon.

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Indian Muslim> TCN Positive / August 12th, 2016

‘Ambulance Dada’ Ferries Over 5500 Patients to Hospitals On His Motorbike

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, FREE : Healthcare / Assistance, Useful / HEALTHCARE, World Opinion, , , , , , , ,

Jalpaiguri District, WEST BENGAL :

Awarded the Padma Shri in 2017, Karimul Haque began helping the sick commute to the hospital in his village. But his reason will bring you to tears.

Jugaad – a flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way.

The reason I start with this definition of a colloquial Hindi term is only because the protagonist of my story—Karimul Haque (55), who is also referred to as ‘Ambulance Dada’—truly embodies the meaning of the word jugaad.

Losing his mother due to the non-availability of an ambulance in time led him to start his own motorcycle ambulance in 1998. Since then he has ferried over 5,500 patients from across 20 villages in West Bengal’s  Jalpaiguri district.

In 2017, Karimul was also awarded with a Padma Shri for his service. Karimul is a stellar example of the phrase – ‘service above self’.

No one should die for lack of treatment

Karimul Haque – Ambulance Dada

Having seen his mother pass away due to lack of timely access to treatment, Karimul says that his constant thought was to find a way to ensure that this does not happen to anyone else. He says, “It was just another day when I was working in the tea garden. I saw a fellow worker collapse and without thinking about it, I put him on my motorbike, tied him to me and took him to the nearest hospital.” It worked and Karimul managed to save his life.

“That incident was all the push I needed. I decided to use my motorbike to ferry those in need,” he says, adding, “I realised that in my area, a motorbike works better than a van or a full ambulance. The reason why a bike ambulance works best in this area is because the roads are not conducive for a larger vehicle to cross and sometimes even the rivers overflow. It is easiest to maneuver a motorbike in these conditions.”

‘People would mock and even laugh at my face’

Ambulance Dada providing first aid to an elderly.

Since the ambulance that Karimul operates is not one that follows conventional norms, he says he was often mocked and even laughed at. “But once they saw the work that I was able to do and the number of people I was able to help, people’s perception started to change,” he says. Besides always being there for people when he is called upon, Karimul also seems to always have a solution to the problems people come to him with.

Not just an ambulance service provider

Day and night ambulance service.

With the passage of time, Karimul and his sons also got trained in administering basic first aid to patients. He says, “Today, I also organise regular health camps in the village. The kind of poverty that the villagers live in often stops them from visiting a doctor or the hospital. With these camps, many small niggling health issues are being corrected.”

Karimul has also gone one step further and converted a part of the land his house is built on to serve as a hospital. “We have tie-ups with doctors who also do video consultations now. Basic tests like sugar and blood pressure are also conducted at the hospital. In the case of an emergency, I am also trained to administer saline drips,” he says.

With former President Pranab Mukherjee.

Dr Soumen Mondal, a general surgeon practicing in Jalpaiguri says, “I have known ‘Ambulance Dada’ – Karimul since 2013. Not just dedicated but he is also someone who will go out of his way to help those in need. I have personally trained him in many of the basic first aid techniques and often help through video consults as well.”

Even busier during the pandemicpix06

At a time when a majority of us stayed indoors during the lockdown period, Karimul and his sons have been busy. “Besides ferrying patients to the hospital on my motorbike ambulance, we also saw that many of them were not even able to afford one meal a day. That was when we decided to start supplying rice to as many people as we could,” says Karimul.

So far close to 1,000 people have benefitted by the rice that Karimul and his family have distributed and another 200 families have been provided with cooked food. “These are migrant labourers, and with no work, they had no income whatsoever. We started cooking at home and serving these families,” says Raju, the elder son of Karimul.

He goes on, “Now people know baba (Karimul) and we also get donations and sponsorships. We have used the money to buy and provide blankets and food to those in need near our village.”

Raju ends the conversation by saying, “We have grown up seeing him readily available to everyone at whatever time they needed. Even though he is in his 50s, the energy he has sometimes even puts me to shame.”

This nine-times over grandfather says, “I may be 55 years of age but mentally and even physically I am not a day older than 30. It is my duty to serve those in need and will do so until the day I can’t any more.”

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

source: http://www.thebetterindia.com / The Better India / Home / by Vidya Raja / December 04th, 2020

Kerala firm launches nano soaps to fight Covid

Business & Economy, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, Useful / HEALTHCARE, World Opinion, , , ,

Kozhikode, KERALA :

Kochi:

Orial Imara, a Kerala-based soap manufacturer and exporter, has launched Elaria, nano soaps packed in tablet strips to help fight Covid conveniently on the go.

Jabir K C, Managing Director, Orial Imara, who developed the nano soap, said each tablet soap, weighing around 2 gm, is enough for one good hand wash. The company has now launched packets of 20 tablet soaps in two strips priced at Rs.30.

Elaria handwash nano soaps are made available in supermarkets and drug stores across Kerala and Karnataka now and will be taken to other south Indian markets in phases while exports to Qatar have already been started.

Jabir said according to many experts, a bit of soap and water is still the best way to get rid of germs, including the virus that causes Covid-19. Using alcohol-based sanitizer should be your second choice, according to the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He also said Elaria could be first of its kind nano soap in the world which is ideal for people who are always on the move and those who do not want to touch soap dispensers in public places like restaurants. “It’s also a grade 1 soap with 76-80% total fatty matter (TFM),” he said.

Kozhikode-based Orial Imara is into the manufacture and export of grade 1 soaps with its R&D centre in Kozhikode and manufacturing units in Mumbai and Solan in Himachal Pradesh. 

source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManaroma / Home> Lifestyle / by OnManorama Staff / January 08th, 2020

This biochemist turns bike into ambulance

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Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

For non-Covid-19 patients

Credit: DH

After observing that several non-Covid-19 patients are dying due to delay in accessing medical treatment, a city-based biochemist is helping them in a unique way. 

Dr Syed Moinuddin Shabbir, a clinical biochemist at Santosh Hospital in Fraser Town, has turned a two-wheeler into a bike ambulance to treat needy patients at their home. He also provides medicines to poor patients based on prescriptions from their doctors.

“After the lockdown was imposed, people were facing problems in even buying provisions. Many senior citizens and children were finding it difficult to access hospitals. I started with providing medicine to poor patients,” he said.

The problems were exacerbated in containment zones where people had to struggle for simple check-ups like blood pressure and glucose levels. “I went to containment zones on the bike and did what was needed,” Shabbir said, listing Padarayanapura, Frazer Town, Bharathinagar, Indiranagar, Vijayanagar, and Thanisandra as some of the areas where he has treated people.

In Shivajinagar, 40 people in one building had tested positive for Covid-19. Shabbir could not take his bike there, but he managed to send the necessary medicine to the people.

The demand for his services did not come down with the lifting of the lockdown but has only increased.

“At least 50 people contact me through Facebook or WhatsApp,” he said.

Shabbir said charitable organisations have come forward to fund his work, which has benefited about 5,000 people and cost him Rs 3 lakh. 

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> City> Life in Bengaluru / by Manohar M ,DHNS, Bengaluru / September 04th, 2020

This Kashmiri woman distributes sanitary napkins for free

Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, FREE : Healthcare / Assistance, Useful / HEALTHCARE, , , , ,

Srinagar, JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Irfana Zargar was settling in after a long day at work when she received a desperate call from a woman asking for sanitary napkins. Despite the lockdown, Irfana set off to deliver the napkins in person. In a dilapidated house in the downtown locality of Srinagar, she met Sabia Khan who was in a wheelchair. Sabia was the one who had made the call. Due to the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus lockdown, Sabia was unable to buy essentials for herself.

Five years ago, Irfana – who stocks public toilets in Kashmir with sanitary napkins, took an initiative to help Kashmiri women meet feminine hygiene needs. She would prepare an ‘Eva Safety Door’ kit consisting of sanitary napkins, underwear and handwash, for women who cannot afford to buy them. All the arrangements are done from Irfana’s personal savings although, she says, a lot of people are now coming forward to help her.

“Menstruation is a natural phenomenon and I don’t understand why people shy away from talking about it. Some women do not buy pads because they feel ashamed. I want to change this. We have been asked to stay silent all our lives, enough is enough,” says 28-year-old Irfana who works as a Helpline Assistant in Srinagar Municipal Corporation on a consolidated-basis.

Providing kits to women in Covid wards

Irfana came across the case of a woman being treated for coronavirus in a hospital in Kashmir. Due to unavailability of sanitary napkins, the woman was forced to wear a cloth pad cut out of a curtain during her menstrual cycles. Shocked by the incident, Irfana prepared several kits and distributed them in different wards of the hospital.

On the onset of coronavirus lockdown, Irfana received hundreds of calls from women asking for kits as they could not buy pads from the local stores. As people were hoarding up essentials in the initial days of lockdown, a shortage of menstrual products was reported from all over the country. Apparently, it was not looked upon as an essential commodity. When a countrywide lockdown was imposed in India, pads did not make it to the list of essentials, the delivery of which was allowed despite restrictions. Only when the grocery stores and chemist shops ran out of supplies did the government deemed it a necessity.

“I was very anxious at that time. Not everyone can afford to hoard. Also, hospitals should take special care of stocking sanitary napkins. Pandemic or not, periods do not stop,” says Irfana.

According to Irfana, she delivered 19000 sanitary napkins and 16 Eva Safety Door kits during the lockdown. Even then, she could not reach many women due to restrictions on movement. After meeting them in person, Irfana would make sure that they received sanitary napkins every month.

“It was a complete mess. There were days when I could not help these women and it was starting to take a toll on my mental health. This was when I realized that buying sanitary napkins is a privilege a lot of us cannot afford,” says Irfana.

Unaffordable for people with lower incomes

17-year-old Zainab (name changed) lives in a one-storey house in Srinagar with her parents. Her father, a daily wager, experienced financial constraints as his income was seriously affected during the lockdown. Trying to make ends meet, her family struggled to survive the pandemic. Zainab could not muster the courage to ask her parents for money to buy pads.

“One packet of sanitary napkins costs around 40 rupees and you at least require two or three packs a month. For some people, it might be a small cost but for us, it meant a day’s meal. I had no option but to use cloth and cotton,” says Zainab.

Irfana says that under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushdhi Pariyojna (PMBJP), sanitary pads were being sold for Rs 1 per pad at Janaushadhi Kendras. Despite this many women are still unable to make use of such schemes due to lack of awareness.

Zainab is thankful that her father managed to find work after the lockdown. Some of her friends are still facing hardships and continue to use cloth. According to a report of BBC, only 15% of girls had access to sanitary napkins  during the lockdown.

“When it comes to food or menstrual products, the obvious choice would be food. But I am happy that I am able to buy pads again,” says Zainab.

Period shaming and Menstrual health

Irfana’s journey started in 2014 when she was walking the streets in one of the busiest places in Srinagar. She got her period and was unable to buy a napkin due to lack of money. Going inside a public washroom, she was appalled to see its condition.

“There was no soap and water. I had no option but to travel like this. Period shaming is so common here and in case you have a stain, you will be landed with insults,” recalls Irfana.

Since that day, Irfana made sure to donate sanitary napkins to public washrooms. Till date, she stocks around 15 washrooms in Srinagar district. After losing her father, Irfana wanted to make him proud by helping people and so she ventured out to help women in need.

Talking to TwoCircles.net about the harmful effects of using dirty or unsterilized cloth during periods, Seema Zahra, a gynaecologist based in Kashmir says, “It can be very dangerous and can cause serious health issues. It can expose them to infections which can later turn out to be more sinister.”

Dr Seema says most of the patients that come for treatment related to this problem are from lower-income groups. Due to their financial state, they are forced to look for alternatives like rags and cloths.

Even though Irfana has not received her salary for months now, she is adamant about working for the cause of women. She says these women look up to her and she cannot abandon them in these tough times.

“I have prepared more kits and I will be distributing them soon. It is important to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene and I will keep doing so no matter what,” says Irfana.

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Indian Muslim> Jammu & Kashmir> Lead Story> TCN Positive> Women / by Asma Hafiz, Twocircles.net / October 30th, 2020

Glocal Healthcare Systems: IAS officer-turned-entrepreneur plans to open 50 more hospitals

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Science & Technology, Useful / HEALTHCARE, World Opinion, , , , , , , , ,

UTTAR PRADESH :

Synopsis

Former Indian Administrative Services officer Sabahat S Azim’s biggest challenge when he launched affordable healthcare chain Glocal Healthcare Systems was to prove that he could make the hospitals profitable.

Former Indian Administrative Services officer Sabahat S Azim’s biggest challenge when he launched affordable healthcare chain Glocal Healthcare Systems was to prove that he could make the hospitals profitable.

Within six months of launching the first Glocal hospital in July 2011 in Sonamukhi, a town 126km from Kolkata, the hospital had reached break-even. A model that the 37- yearold entrepreneur has now replicated in each of his other four hospitals. “They have proved that social good and profit can go hand in hand,” says Sandeep Farias, Founding Partner of Elevar Equity, which invested Rs 15 crore in the company along with Sequoia Capital India in January 2011. Most other hospitals that also offer affordable healthcare take up to two years to become profitable according to industry estimates.

Glocal is now expanding operations beyond West Bengal with plans to open 50 hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa by December 2014.

It was the untimely death of his father that led Azim, a trained medical doctor, to launch Glocal in July 2010. “My father died due to unnecessary treatments. I thought, if this can happen to me, a doctor and an IAS officer, what about others?” says Azim, who found an early supporter in M Damodaran, the former Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), who became the Chairman of the venture. Azim has known Damodaran since his time as Secretary to the Chief Minister of Tripura, a position he held between 2004 and 2006.

“He is my first sounding board for any idea. When I think of introducing something new, my first thought is ‘how will Mr Damodaran react?’” he says. At Glocal, his team has come up with a protocol-driven model, where the computerised system will help the doctor automate diagnosis of 42 diseases, ranging from ischaemic heart disease to malaria, which they identified as affecting 95% of the patients.

Other affordable ventures are also attempting to cater to the semi-urban and rural market. Like Glocal, eight-yearold Vaatsalya also sets up hospitals (smaller than 100 beds) in small cities and towns with a focus on primary and secondary care. However, Vaatsalya leases out pre-existing hospitals and other buildings and upgrades them to high-quality hospitals. Azim, a fan of Fountainhead—Ayn Rand’s paean to individualism, wanted to design a hospital with just essential infrastructure.

Timely backing from investors helped convert the idea into a business. “I had a 30-minute meeting with Sabahat and he spoke about focusing on a limited set of diseases that constitutes 95% of healthcare issues in the country. I was hooked by this powerful idea,” says Elevar’s Farias.

Sequoia’s Managing Director GV Ravishankar says Glocal fit their requirement of backing good entrepreneurs in large and attractive markets. Glocal charges patients around onefifth of the fees a hospital with similar infrastructure would otherwise charge. It charges Rs 10,000 for a caesarean section, which costs about Rs 50,000 in other private hospitals.

Azim points out that he is able to charge lower fees due to lower cost of infrastructure and by eliminating unnecessary procedures. While a typical 100-bed hospital is about 70,000 square feet in size, Glocal has been able to restrict it to 30,000 square feet thus keeping cost of construction lower. At around Rs 8 crore for a 100-bed hospital, a Glocal hospital is built at about 50% of the cost of a private secondary hospital. The company aims to reach over Rs 28 crore in revenue in fiscal year 2014. As Azim begins Glocal’s expansion beyond West Bengal, he is not resting on his laurels. “It has been exciting so far but there is much more work to do,” he says.

source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> Business News> Rise> Entrepreneurship / by Radhika P Nair, ET Bureau / January 25th, 2013

Muslim organisations sets up 3 CCCs in Mysuru

Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, Science & Technology, Useful / HEALTHCARE, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Sankar inaugurates Quba Covid Care Centre at Mysuru recently.

Organisations of the Muslim community has opened three Covid Care Centres (CCC) under the Narasimharaja (NR) Assembly constituency in the city as the number of Covid positive patients is on the rise of late.

It has to be noted that NR segment, where Muslims are a majority, was being discussed over the past one week. District In-charge Minister S T Somasekhar has said that among the active cases, over 50% of the patients were from NR constituency and even most of the deaths related to Covid are from the same segment. There were also talks of ‘mini-lockdown in parts of the segment, citing non-cooperation by the residents.

On July 14 (Tuesday), Quba Covid Care Centre and Quba Covid-19 Care Centre and Quba Covid-19 Help Centre was opened, with its own 24/7 helpline number 91640 54053 at Quba Public School in Udayagiri, in the city. Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Sankar inaugurated the Quba Covid-19 Care Centre and said this CCC should serve as an example for other districts and cities.

He said, it is an example of cooperation to the government by good citizens. “Particularly in such areas, where Covid-19 pandemic is on the rise exponentially, such positive cooperation will check the spread of Covid and help save critical patients.”

The centre initiated instant door-to-door Covid tests by Dr Nayaz Pasha Dr Shiraz Ahmed. Chaand Saab, ex-mayor Ayub Khan, Zaheerul Haq and Shahab Rahman were present.

The Quba CCC has set up three centres — 200 beds at Farooqia College in Udayagiri, 200 beds at Andalus Public School at Rajeev Nagar and Beedi Workers Hospital at Azeez Sait Nagar — in consultation of religious heads, NGOs and corporators. However, the Quba CCC will accommodate and help patients of all other communities also.

The Quba CCC has two ambulances and is used for ferrying Covid patients and unclaimed bodies.

The centre will provide all facilities like food. Besides, Muslim doctors have offered their services voluntarily. Healthcare workers and beds have to be provided by the district administration.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Karnataka Districts / by T R Sathish Kumar / Mysuru – July 15th, 2020

Hyderabad mosque where women, children of 31 slums go for healthcare

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Useful / HEALTHCARE, , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

The women and child centre at the mosque has an all-women team comprising a senior general physician and other staff

[Image for representation.]

Hyderabad: 

Proving that mosques can play a larger role beyond merely serving as places of worship, a Hyderabad-based NGO has opened a community healthcare centre at a mosque in the city to specifically cater to the health needs of women and children in the slums.

Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), in collaboration with US-based Support for Education and Economic Development (SEED), has opened the clinic at Masjid Mohammed-e-Mustafa, in Wadi-e-Mahmood, a slum area in Rajendranagar mandal.

The exclusive women and child centre located on the first floor is catering to a cluster of 31 odd slums in Rajendranagar Mandal, covering a population of about five lakh.

This is the second community health centre to be opened in a mosque by the HHF. It is already running one in the old city of Hyderabad.

The NGO embarked on the new initiative realising the need to focus on the healthcare needs of women and children, especially during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which has made things worse for women and children’s health.

Covid, lockdown induced joblessness, loss of income, coupled with closure of schools which serve mid-day meals and anganwadis, which provide supplementary nutrition, has only added to lack of adequate nutrition in children and women and more so pregnant women in the last few months, says the HHF.

Apart from hunger and malnutrition, lack of access to basic health care services in the public and private health care domain has made health care inaccessible and expensive for the weaker sections, particularly maternal health for pregnant women, consequently health issues like anaemia in women, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Women and immunisation services for children have been majorly compromised in the past few months.

The NGOs choose Wadi-e-Mahmood as the area lacks basic healthcare facilities.

The women and child centre at the mosque has an all-women team comprising a senior general physician, a child specialist, obstetrics and gynaecology specialist, a dental surgeon, dietician, nurses, counsellors and front desk support staff.

The centre, named Rabia Clinic in the memory of the mother of one of the principal donors, provides basic primary care in which women and children can approach for seasonal illness and for health services like nebulisation, IV fluid replacement, wound dressings etc. Free third-party lab services including TIFA scans will be provided to pregnant women from weaker sections during ante-natal period.

All patients coming to the clinic will be assessed in a triage, which has trained counsellors, who are doing thermal screening and checking oxygen saturation levels, and entering the details in an ICMR-developed risk assessment form which gives scores on a scale of 1-10.

A dental chair with state-of-the-art features has been installed to carry out simple to medium level procedures in women and children like removing dental carries, root canal procedures etc.

Apart from curative aspects, the focus is on preventive health to check for non-communicable diseases among women, anaemia during the ante- and post-natal periods and malnutrition in children.

Counsellors and dieticians use a WHO recommended template to check blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference and family history to assess the overall NCD score on a scale of 10. Those who score above 4 will be counselled for weight loss, diet and physical exercise along with early diagnosis and treatment of NCDs like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, thyroid problems and other chronic health issues.

Similarly, children will be also assessed using WHO recommended form to determine the extent of stunting and wasting and the ones who are chronically malnourished will be provided protein supplements and mid-day meal will be provided to 100 school going children under 10 years at the mosque three times in a week to fill in the gap.

Children will be checked for immunisation and will be vaccinated in due course if found not compliant. Iron supplements to women found anaemic and nutritional supplements along with vitamins will be provided to children found stunted and wasted through an exclusive Nutri Rehab Programme.

Mujtaba Hasan Askari of the Helping Hand Foundation said the clinic was catering to women and children, irrespective of their religion, caste and creed.

“Most of the health issues faced by women and children are being neglected in the current pandemic plus there is no focus on preventive health which we intend to focus on through this clinic at the masjid,” he said.

The women and child clinic is fully Covid-compliant with special cabins for doctors protected with plastic curtains, glass mounted tables to protect front desk staff, a triage at the entry point, pedestal-mounted sanitisers stands and large exhaust fans for free flow of air across the entire space of the clinic and a separate waiting area for patients coming to the clinic.

HHF has already been running a community health centre at Masjid-e-Ishaq at Nawab Saheb Kunta in the old city since November 2018.

The health centre last year introduced yoga to help people fight non-communicable diseases. The organization said since yoga was found to be effective in tackling non-communicable diseases, they made it part of the prescription.

The counsellors at the clinic teach various asanas to the patients every alternate day besides giving them YouTube links to follow yoga on their mobile phones.

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India> Health / by IANS / September 02nd, 2020

Fearless autorickshaw driver turns hero for COVID-19 patients

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, Transport, Travel & Tourism, Useful / HEALTHCARE, ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Fearless autorickshaw driver turns hero for COVID-19 patients

Hyderabad: 

At a time when people are turning on their old parents or sick family members, a 48-year-old auto driver, Mohammed Khalid , has become a hero of sorts for those who are dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike most others who would think twice before ferrying across patients, Khalid has been providing service to COVID-19 patients those who require transportation.

Mohammed, since July 13 has been only providing transportation to people from Gandhi Hospital to private and government hospitals as and when required.  Moreover, he also privodes service to COVID-19 patients to others from any part of Hyderabad as well. “This is the time to help people in need, irrespective of cast and culture I have been regularly ferrying COVID-19 patients from Gandhi Hospital to Osmania, King Koti, and Fever Hospital,” stated Khalid.

Mohammed Khalid ensures safety measures for his passengers.

Even after the Centre relaxed lockdown rules a few months (post May) ago, there has been a dearth in passengers, recalled Khalid. “So on July 13 I went near Gandhi Hospital in Musheerabad, the main treatment centre for COVID-19 patients, and noticed that emergency patients were unable to get ambulance services as there were many cases. Then I decided to start service for them at affordable rates,” said Khalid.

The 48-year-old believes that in these difficult times, we must help each other irrespective of any religion, caste or creed. “Sab jane dare to kaisa jo log bimaar hai unlo ku kaun lekar jainga dawakhano ku (If everyone is scared, then  how will people travel to the hospital)” Khalid rhetorically questioned? He has a point however, as several citizens have been complaining of slow or lack of ambulance services.

Mohammed Khalid provides service to COVID-19 patients at Gandhi Hospital in Musheerabad.

The auto rickshaw driver is also not scared of the pandemic. Furthermore, going and waiting for passengers in front of Gandhi makes him proud of what he is doing. “Carrying a patient itself is a matter of pride for me, and sharing the happiness with those who have recovered is amazing,” Khalid added. He also felt that the Telangana government should provide some monetary relief or schemes for autorickshaw drivers, as they have also been hit hard due to the lockdown.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad News / by Mohammed Hussain / August 24th, 2020

Hyderabad startup makes devices for labs affordable

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, Useful / HEALTHCARE, , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Livo develops three products for analysing blood samples

Dr Junaid Shaik (CEO) and Faisal Ahmed Sheikh (CTO) of Livo.

Hyderabad:

To help pathologists get access to high-end devices for their daily blood tests, Hyderabad-based startup Livo has developed three products in this space.

These devices include scanner, smearer and stainer which helps in getting a complete blood picture (CBP). The Livo A-1000 is a pathology scanner that scans the sample and also produces digital reports, thus helping pathologists to work remotely. “The scanner uses machine learning features and super resolution technology and is low priced when compared with the scanners available in the market,” said Dr Junaid Shaik, co-founder, Livo.

In addition, the AutoSmearer (A-700) is a device that is used to collect blood samples and smear to get a morphology report. The other product, Haematology Stainer, helps in staining the sample in to provide microscopy results in 90 seconds.

All the three devices have been developed by the company in-house and have been in the research and development for last two years. “We were planning to launch our product A-700 in April and A-1000 in August. However, due to the pandemic-led lockdown our whole supply chain broke down and we had to postpone our sales. We are getting a lot of interest from doctors and have received 25 pre-orders for A-700 and 11 for A-1000. Recently, we also closed a distribution deal for 800 devices in the South India region,” said Dr Shaik.

The other founders of the company include Faisal Sheikh and Professor Prasanth Kumar, head of mechanical department, IIT-Hyderabad. It recently raised Rs 1 crore from angel investors and industrialists Ravi Reddy, Dr Praveen Kumar and others. It is looking to raise another Rs 5 crore in the coming months which will be used to fund manufacturing of the devices

While moderate rains are very likely to occur at many places, thunderstorm accompanied with lightning will also occur at isolated places.

source: http://www.telanganatoday.com / Telangana Today / Home> Business / by Sruti Venugopal / August 14th, 2020