How protein deficiencies impact the health of communities in India
The state of Madhya Pradesh in India is largely vegetarian with limited consumption of eggs and meat.
While these dietary preferences are commonplace in other Indian states, Madhya Pradesh is facing a protein deficiency epidemic which threatens the long term health of its population.
How did it get there?
In 2015 I spent five weeks in rural and tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh evaluating the World Bank’s Madhya Pradesh District Poverty Intervention Project (MPDPIP II), with the support of the South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFANSI)
Across the 8 districts I visited, families shared how they had improved their agricultural productivity, started backyard kitchen gardening, and supplemented their income through dairy and poultry farming, collective procurement and small scale enterprises.
As I examined local village level health records, Anganwadi Center (AWC) registers, Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife (ANM) registers and Primary Health Center (PHC) documents, I noticed a reduction in severe malnutrition and severe anemia among pregnant women and under 5-year-old children.
However, this decrease did not extend to moderate or mild malnutrition and anemia.
This was puzzling, as I had expected rates of malnutrition and anemia, be they moderate or high, to be lower for families who were backyard gardening and therefore benefited from a more diverse and nutrient-dense diet.
Furthermore, I did not observe a correlation between higher income and reduced malnutrition. I realized that perhaps acute malnutrition can be addressed to a certain extent by rise in income, but improvement of chronic conditions cannot be brought about by income increase alone.
Based on the data I had gathered, and several discussions with PHC doctors, the missing link, I concluded, appeared to be the lack of dietary protein in daily consumption. This deficiency may be the result of multiple factors:
First, there are no incentives for small farmers in Madhya Pradesh to cultivate dried legumes known as pulses, which are very high in proteins. Additionally, market prices of pulses and lentils are prohibitively high, which discourage consumption by poor families.
Second, the government practice of banning eggs in mid-day meals and Anganwadi health centers for children has exacerbated the current protein deficit.
Finally, and ironically, household consumption of the protein-rich soya bean is almost non-existent, despite Madhya Pradesh being one of the largest soya producers in the country.
Addressing this grave issue will require a multi-pronged approach involving improved accessibility to food items rich in protein, behavior change communication, and fortification of commonly used food products.
There is also a need for production support, through agriculture extension services, value chain interventions that make protein rich crops lucrative for farmers, input support through credit access and convergence with allied government activities.
Furthermore, households that cannot afford to produce or purchase protein-rich foods need to be provided consumption support through credit access and subsidies through public distribution systems and other means.
Trump remarks on immigrants ‘problems’ baffles Sweden
US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Sweden experienced an immigration-related security incident prompted a baffled response from the Scandinavian country on Sunday as diplomats asked for an explanation and citizens responded with amusement.
Trump, who in his first weeks in office has tried to sharply tighten US borders on national security grounds, cited Sweden as a country that had experienced problems with immigrants in remarks at a rally on Saturday.
“You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden,” Trump said. “Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible.”
That appeared to confuse the Swedish government, which asked the US State Department to explain what the new president meant.”We are trying to get clarity,” Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson said.The State Department said it did not comment on diplomatic communications.
Trump has been widely criticised for making assertions with little supporting evidence.
In recent months, he has argued that more than 3 million people voted fraudulently in the U.S. election, an assertion that election officials say is false, and incorrectly stated that he won the election by the most decisive margin in decades.
Swedish news sources made no mention of a recent terrorism attack or other high-profile crime in the country.
“Nothing spectacular happened in Sweden on Friday,” wrote the Local, an English-language website in Sweden.
Fox News, a US cable news channel that has sometimes been cited favourably by Trump, ran a report on Friday night about alleged migrant-related crime problems in the country.
Sweden’s crime rate has fallen since 2005, official statistics show, even as the country has taken in hundreds of thousands of immigrants from war-torn countries like Syria and Iraq.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom appeared to respond to Trump’s latest statement by posting on Twitter an excerpt of a recent speech in which she said democracy and diplomacy “require us to respect science, facts and the media.”
Her predecessor was less circumspect.
“Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound,” former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter.
Other Swedes mocked Trump’s remark on Twitter using the hashtag #LastNightInSweden, posting pictures of reindeer, Swedish meatballs and people assembling the country’s famous IKEA furniture.
“#lastnightinsweden my son dropped his hotdog in the campfire. So sad!” Twitter user Adam Bergsveen wrote.
100 Days of Demonetisation Observed with Protests:
Citizens’ Protest Demand Whitepaper on Impacts of Demonetisation
New Delhi: “Demonetisation policy has been proved to be a disaster for the people”, D Raja, Rajya Sabha MP and Communist Party of India leader said at a Citizens’ March and Protest today at Jantar Mantar.
People from different walks of life, representatives of various people’s movements, civil society groups, trade unions and political parties protested on the 100th day of demonetisation questioning the motive and implementation and highlighting the colossal damage that has caused to the lives and livelihood of common people, while the ones with the black-money managed an easy escape.
Congress Party veteran and former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) Nilopal Basu, leader of National Federation for Indian Women Annie Raja, General Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha Hannan Molla, Vice President of All India Bank Officers Association Ravinder Gupta, leader of New Trade Union Initiative Gautam Modi were some of the prominent political and trade union leaders who spoke at the protest.
“Not only did Prime Minister Modi fail to bring black money back, or depositing Rs. 15 lakh in every bank account, as promised during elections, he snatched whatever little people had as savings through demonetization”, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said.
“Note ban devastated the lives of the poor and unorganised sector, while the rich lose nothing”, CPI (M) leader Nilopal Basu said.
“With 98% of demonetised currency returning to the banks, the said objectives of the demonetisation failed, while the miseries of common people, and the bank employees who had to face the wrath of distressed people kept growing”, Ravinder Gupta from Bank Officers Association.
Large number of people from Katputli colony, which is under the threat of demolition, and whose livelihoods have been severely hit because of demonetisation turned out in large numbers for the protest. Adding insult to injury to their lives, while the demonetisation left them nearly jobless, the threat of forced eviction, without adequate rehabilitation has put them in a precarious condition. Political party leaders extended support to their struggle.
Domestic Workers Union, Railway Mazdoor Union, Delhi Young Artists Forum, Safai karamchari Union, Jhugi Jhopdi Union, Construction Workers Union and farmers affected by industrialization in Kanjhawala in the outskirts of Delhi were some of the prominent people’s movements protested today.
People protested vehemently said, we, the common people of India, need people oriented governance and not corporate-driven economic emergency. We reject the economic and political premises of demonetization and affirm that a transparent and accountable government is required to replace the current logic of ‘we know what is good for the people’. We reject in totality the authoritarian drive to push the UID/Aadhar scheme down people’s throats and demand political and judicial intervention to stop the drive immediately. We demand that the government produce a white paper on the impacts of demonetization on people’s lives and livelihoods and compensate for the lives and livelihoods. We demand that the corporate-driven ‘cashless’ economy plan be immediately withdrawn.
Contacts:
Sanjeev Kumar – +91-9958797409
Joe Athialy – +91-9871153775
No need to include US in Ukraine peace talks
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel says he sees no need to add the US to the current format of four-way ministerial meetings concerning the Ukraine settlement, noting, however, that close contact with Washington on the matter is “necessary.”
“There must be close contact with the United States, but we think this [Normandy] format… should be maintained,” Gabriel said after he met with his Russian, French, and Ukrainian counterparts on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. The Minister added that the matter had been discussed with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and that he had “agreed with this.”
taken to a new “higher level” with the participation of the US.
Ukraine’s representative to the Trilateral Contact Group for Donbass (the name commonly used for the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine), former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, said in December last year that Russia’s stance was an obstacle to including the US in the Normandy format. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said that Moscow does not oppose the inclusion of other countries, including the US, in the talks.
Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine on Saturday talked mostly of the recent escalation in eastern Ukraine and ways to stem the violence. The sides agreed to use their influence to introduce a new ceasefire and facilitate the withdrawal of heavy weapons in the region starting Monday.
“We have reached several agreements. All sides have agreed to use their influence to implement the decisions made by the trilateral contact group on February 15,” Sigmar Gabriel said, as cited by Reuters. The group comprises Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and aims to facilitate the peace process.
“We are going to meet in a few weeks for preparations of the political process, which will be the hardest task. But the political process cannot be started without a ceasefire and pullout of heavy weapons,” the minister concluded.“The aim is to have a ceasefire starting from February 20 and to do what has long been agreed but never implemented: to withdraw the heavy weapons from the region, to secure them and enable the OSCE monitors to control where they are kept,” Gabriel added. He noted also that the Normandy group will meet again soon to start preparing the launch of the political settlement process.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Russia has been actively supporting the decision to introduce an immediate ceasefire.
“On February 20 the ceasefire regime will start and withdrawal of heavy military hardware will also start… We have actively supported this decision and obviously expressed a conviction that this time, failure should not be allowed,” Lavrov said after talks with his counterparts, adding that he believed both Kiev and the rebels would abide by the February 20 date. He noted, however, that the talks failed to bring about all the anticipated results.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said he was “not at all” happy with Saturday’s talks and complained about a lack of “powerful results,” speaking to Reuters after the ministerial meeting.RT news
Ajeetesh Sandhu retains title in style with playoff win over Khalin Joshi
Ajeetesh pulls out dazzling 63 on final day to set up win
Hyderabad, February 19, 2017: Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu continued his love affair with the city of Hyderabad as he won the Golconda Masters, a Rs. 40 lakh event, for the second year running at the picturesque Hyderabad Golf Club (HGC) on Sunday.
Sandhu (70-67-73-63), lying a lowly 17th, five shots off the lead, after the penultimate round, literally pulled a rabbit out of the hat on day four as he fired a dazzling eight-under-63 to take his total to 11-under-273 and as a result earn his place in the playoff against Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi (65-70-70-68) in the second event of the 2017 PGTI season. Joshi, the overnight joint leader, posted a three-under-68 in the final round.
Ajeetesh finally sealed his third professional title with an eight feet birdie conversion on the first playoff hole (played on the 18th) even as Khalin could only manage a bogey after finding the bunker with his tee shot.Ajeetesh, who refreshed memories of his victory last year, took home the winner’s cheque worth Rs. 6 lakh to emerge as the PGTI Order of Merit leader.
Sandhu didn’t have the best start to the day as he struggled on the first three holes. He found the water on the third where he dropped a bogey. The turnaround for the 28-year-old began from the fourth where he drained a 25-footer for birdie. From there on, he went on to add an eagle and six more birdies to match the tournament’s best single-round score achieved earlier in the week by Pune’s Sameer M Shaikh.
Sandhu, who has a conditional card on the Japan Golf Tour, scored heavily on the par-5s. He eagled the eighth from 20 feet and sank birdies on the sixth, 10th and 17thto be five-under for the day on the par-5s. A magnificent tee shot set up a tap-in birdie for him on the seventh.
The wiry Chandigarh lad also drove the green on the 15th and rolled in a 25-footer on the 16th that contributed towards his hat-trick of birdies in the closing stages.
Sandhu, composed as ever, despite his sensational win, said, “I’m enjoying a terrific start to the season. This win comes after a good performance in Noida last week where I finished tied third. The HGC is turning out to be one of my favourite courses. Interestingly, I had missed the cut in the first edition. To follow that up with wins in the next two editions is quite incredible.
“The third round was my worst as far as putting is concerned. But I was in prime form with the putter today. The eagle on the eighth lifted my confidence. It took me to four-under for the day and at that stage I had this gut feeling that I was in with a chance since I also had some good memories from last year.
“I was quite relaxed in the break I had between my round and the playoff. I didn’t think too much about the playoff and just focused on repeating what I had done during the round.
“I had the advantage of teeing off second in the playoff. I hit a cracking drive to the centre of the fairway even as Khalin landed in trouble. That got me going. I must thank my friend and fellow professional Naman Dawar for sharing a valuable putting tip with me last evening. It worked for me.”
Khalin Joshi was on course for his fourth win being four-under for the day through the first 10 holes thanks to a hot putter. However, a missed birdie opportunity from three feet on the 14th followed by an erratic tee shot that led to a bogey on the 15th, saw him lose his grip of the match.
Khalin said, “It was a good putting day for me, unlike the previous rounds. But the stretch on the 14th and 15th was a poor one for me. I lot some momentum there. Nonetheless, I’ve relished the playing conditions here at the HGC and look forward to coming back next year.”
Veteran Mukesh Kumar of Mhow struck a 68 in round four to clinch third place at 10-under-274. Delhi’s Shamim Khan (69) was a further shot back in fourth place.
Delhi’s Himmat Singh Rai, the overnight joint leader, slipped to tied 13th at three-under-281 after a final round of 76. Harendra Gupta (71) of Chandigarh, the 2015 champion, also took a share of 13th place.
Interestingly, the trophy was won by a Chandigarh golfer for the third time as Ajeetesh’s city-mate Harendra Gupta had won the first edition two years back.
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