Category Archives: Useful / HEALTHCARE

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

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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

Al Hamd, Mesco commence COVID relief operations in Hyderabad

Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, Education, SCHOLARSHIPS, Science & Technology, Useful / HEALTHCARE, , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

“God forbid, if the patient dies, we have also kept arrangements in place to shift the body to the graveyard and also to look into other formalities like shroud, etc,” added Dr. Fakhruddin.

Hyderabad :

Al Hamd and Mesco led by Dr. Md. Fakhruddin Sahab and Abdul Azeem has initiated COVID relief operations. The team will function round the clock in the twin cities of Hyderabad-Secunderabad.

The team will be fully equipped with operational vehicles after a formal inauguration on 3 August, the operations then will begin in full swing. People can access their services through the helpline number 8008834011.

People of Hyderabad are panicked and confused with the way COVID is being managed in the state. Hospitals remain overcrowded with no beds available and the people are at a loss not knowing what to do. In such a scenario, Hyderabad is likely to explode, more so after Bakrid, predict some health care professionals.

Al Hamd and Mesco have jointly come to relief, especially the poor, marginalized sections of society from this mess. While several are unaware of being asymptotic or symptomatic others take it easy thinking they are invincible.

Equipment, arrangements in place

The team of Al Hamd and Mesco will focus more on preventing the spread of the disease. Talking to Clarion India, Dr. Fakhruddin, who is leading the team and is also the general secretary of the Mesco Foundation, said, “We will create awareness and educate the people on how to prevent the spread of the disease. And then among the identified cases, we will educate the attendants how to take care of themselves as they are taking care of the patient during home quarantine.”

“The medicinal sachets to be distributed in the containment zones will contain everything a COVID patient and his/her attendant needs. The sachet contains different packets for different uses such as a packet containing personal protection equipment such as soaps, gloves, masks, sanitisers. Another packet has immunity-boosting drugs such as tablets of vitamin C, Zinc, B complex, paracetamol, thermometer, pulse oxy-meter. The third packet will have virus-specific treatment medicines such as anti-biotic and other medicines as prescribed by the doctor.”

“Everything has been thought of. Even the attendant will be given a kit containing face shield, goggles, cap, shoe covers, masks. These will be available in the Mesco office and also delivered at doorstep as per the necessity,” added Dr. Fakhruddin.

Ambulance services are also available if the patient is critical. “And, God forbid, if the patient dies, we have also kept arrangements in place to shift the body to the graveyard and also to look into other formalities like shroud, etc,” added Dr. Fakhruddin keeping in mind the difficulties people are facing after the death of a COVID-infected person.

Since the team is operating low profile as of now, only people from the containment zones in the old city of Hyderabad are being taken care of as they are reluctant to get tested due to various rumours. The cost of test along with the treatment is crossing the margins of common men.

“The infection is spreading due to lack of knowledge, overconfidence among the people and carelessness. If one person in the family is infected, other family members are vulnerable. We plan to educate them about the initial symptoms which they should not ignore and start treatment soon even if they do not go for tests.”

“In 90% of the cases timely treatment has saved lives. Our main aim is to save patients from hospitalisation as much as possible. Many people are working to fight COVID and our work is also complementing these efforts. We have sought permission from the Drug Control Authority to supply oxygen as the Government of India has authorised the same,” said Dr Fakhruddin.

Call Centre

The volunteers at the call centre will receive the calls and counsel the people guiding them about the preventive methods and also train them to use the kits, especially using the thermometer and the pulse oxy-meter.

“Wrong readings of the oxy-meter have caused panic among the people. So, It is important to train the people on reading the thermometer, oxy-meter and ways to monitor the patient and sanitise as much as possible the articles used by the patient. We have also included tissues and wet wipes in the kit so they can dispose of them.” Dr Fakhruddin explained.

Economic situation analysed

“The medicinal sachets are given for a very nominal amount. Doorstep deliveries will be done to study the economic situation of the family. If the family is very poor, the team will also ensure they receive ration and other essentials. Thus, along with health care, even food supplies are provided,” Clarion India said.

For tests, the team has tied up with some diagnostic centres in the city which will charge the patients referred by the Al Hamd-Mesco team at a subsidised rate.

MPLAD funds

The team is also trying to rope in MLAs to use the MPLAD (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) funds for this relief operation. Their work is already in the process of duplication in other states where the MLAs have come forward to provide financial assistance.

“A manual has been prepared which we have sent to other philanthropic institutions and doctors so they can also start relief operations at the earliest. We all need to work together irrespective of caste, creed and religion,” Dr Fakhruddin explained saying that the Mesco Foundation had been doing philanthropic activities for the past several decades now.

300 doctors and parademics

The organisation have a team of 300 doctors and trained paramedics as volunteers at the call centre to deliver the kits and to drive the vehicles.

The Al Hamd Charitable Trust which is sponsoring the entire operation cost is located in Secunderabad. The Trust chairperson and founder, Abdul Azeem Mohammed, said, “We are filling in the gap of the lapses in the way COVID is being handled by both the government and the corporate hospitals. While the corporate hospitals are fleecing the patients, the government hospitals are not fully quipped.”

“The relief operation process is very scientific but schematic. When a person calls on the helpline, it gets connected to the IT-based WhatsApp location logger and to the computer for the patient record maintenance. The coordinator who receives the call after taking the details connects to the doctor as per the need.

The required kit is then delivered to the home of the caller by the paramedics who will also check on the patient and see if there is a need for oxygen. The paramedics go along with oxygen concentrators if there is a need so that no time is wasted in making arrangements for an oxygen cylinder. Medicines for symptomatic or asymptomatic patients are prescribed by highly-qualified doctors,” said Abdul Azeem.

“We have no non-medical staff because every single person associated in this relief operation is trained. So we have medical and paramedical staff”, Abdul Azeem told Clarion India.

“We ensure sanitisation at the office. The staff is also in uniform and equipped with all precautionary devices. We want the attendant of the COVID patient also to be healthy so we have designed a kit for them as well.

The most important feature of this relief operation is a mobile ICU which is owned by a handful of hospitals in the city. The mobile ICU has a ventilator, defibrillator, ECG, Oxygen concentrator, etc.

Another important feature that has been designed for the mobile ICU is the dead body carrier which is a freezer and will be inserted perpendicular to the driver’s cabin,” Abdul Azeem added.

The Mesco Foundation runs 5 schools in Hyderabad. The foundation has Pharmacy College in Hyderabad. Apart from educational institutes, they also have healthcare services at nominal costs, and take up relief work during natural disasters.

Al Hamd Foundation is a charitable trust to help the poor, needy people through old-age homes, food distribution, healthcare, blood banks, scholarships for poor students, etc.

Both the foundations collaborate for most of their projects regarding healthcare. While Mesco provides technical support, the financing and manning are done by the Al Hamd Foundation.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / by Sana Sikander / July 07th, 2020

MP Inaugurates Comprehensive COVID Care At Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital

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

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha, who heads COVID-19 Task Force for Narasimharaja Assembly Constituency, this morning inaugurated the Comprehensive COVID Care facility set up at Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital (BAMH) on Old Mysuru-Bengaluru Road. The Hospital has been converted into a modern 75-bed hospital and can be extended to 100 beds. 

Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital has tied up with Brindavan Hospital for this initiative and the facility will be entirely managed by Brindavan Hospital. It has facilities including Intensive Care Units, Surgery and Haemodialysis, ventilator support and even can handle child birth cases of COVID-infected pregnant women.

The Brindavan Hospital and the Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital will be treated as one hospital and as the State Government has mandated all Private Hospitals in the State to hand over their 50 percent of the beds to COVID care, all the beds at Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital will be reserved for COVID patients and all the non-COVID patients will be treated at Brindavan Hospital. 

MP Pratap Simha inaugurating the Comprehensive COVID Care facility at the hospital along with Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital President Iqbal Ahmed.

A team of specialist doctors, technicians and paramedical staff will run the Hospital with utmost precautions to help the District Administration in its efforts to control the pandemic. Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital President Iqbal Ahmed, Dr. M.R. Aiyappa, General Physician and Diabetologist and Dr. Ravindranath, Orthopaedician at Brindavan Hospital, Dr. K. Javed Nayeem, Dr. Mohan, Dr. Imran and others were present.

Disinfectant tunnel 

On the occasion, a unique disinfectant tunnel was inaugurated by the MP where liquid is not sprayed on the entrants but are fumigated with thick smoke. The smoke is, however safe to inhale. The tunnel has been installed by S3V Technologies and is called ‘3V Safe Tunnel’. Impressed by the tunnel, MP Pratap Simha asked the company representatives to demonstrate the tunnel to Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G. Sankar so that such facilities can be installed at all the other COVID Care Centres, and hospitals. 

MP Pratap Simha seen exiting a unique disinfectant tunnel where people are fumigated at Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital this morning.

Protest held, withdrawn 

A group of five to six people claiming to be members of Waqf Board in Mysuru objected to the conversion of Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital into a COVID Hospital. Claiming to be the owners of the building and the property where the hospital stands, the members protested. They objected for the commercial use of the Hospital and at the same time said that the hospital is located in a thickly populated area and there is a danger of virus spreading. 

Narasimharaja Sub-Division ACP Shivashankar, Inspector Shekhar and Pratap Simha intervened in the protest and asked the Waqf Board members to withdraw the stir. They told the protesters that real estate matters could be sorted out in other platforms later.

The Hospital has been taken over as COVID-19 is a national disaster and people who object to such issued can be booked under National Disaster Management Act, they said. The protest was later withdrawn. 

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Covid-19> News / July 24th, 2020

Malegaon shows the way

Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, Green Products, Leaders, Science & Technology, Useful / HEALTHCARE, , , , , , , ,

Malegaon (Nashik District) , MAHARASHTRA :

Life in Malegaon appears to have retur­ned to normal, even as Maharashtra struggles to contain the pandemic. As of July 15, the state had 107,963 active cases, with 10,695 deaths.

A new normal: Healthcare workers on a door-to-door Covid-19 test drive in Malegaon, July 14. / Photo by Milind Shelte

The covid-19 battle

On July 14, Malegaon’s Moha­mmad Ali Road, the city’s main commercial street, was full of shoppers, mirroring the sort of normalcy seen in days before the national lockdown in March, and presenting a stark contrast to the fearful retreat from public spaces seen in many areas of Maharashtra. The shops were open, selling everything from cutlery to electronics, and the restaurants and street food vendors were busy serving crowds of customers. Burqa-clad women thron­ged the ladies’ market. Life in Malegaon appears to have retur­ned to normal, even as Maharashtra struggles to contain the pandemic. As of July 15, the state had 107,963 active cases, with 10,695 deaths.

Malegaon’s return to normalcy is striking and worthy of note because, till recently, the city was one of the state’s five Covid hotspots, alongside Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad. Until May, the city had seen a daily average of five deaths due to Covid-19, and reported about 200 fresh cases in the early part of that month. Today, there are just 60 active cases in the city, most of them non-residents of Malegaon, with no coronavirus-linked deaths since May 25. The doubling period has improved from 2.2 days in April to 112 days on July 15, the best in Maharashtra. At 82 per cent, the rate of recovery in Malegaon is also much better than the state average (54 per cent). The turnaround was so hard to miss that, in the first week of July, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) sent a confidential letter to the state government, asking for permission to study the ‘Malegaon model’.

Mal­egaon is a Muslim-majority city (80 per cent residents are from the minority community), with a population of 750,000. The city administration’s success in controlling the pandemic is especially laudable given that the average population density here is 19,000 per sq. km, the state’s highest. In areas like Kamanipura, this goes up to 72,000 per sq. km, second only to Mumbai’s Dharavi, where 800,000 live in a 2.1 sq. km area. Maintaining physical distance, the standard-format safety protocol to avoid infection, is then practically impossible. The Malegaon Municipal Corporation (MMC) was also working with severe limitations, it still does not have a single ventilator.

Municipal commissioner Deepak Kasar says the MMC was struggling on two fronts. First, it had to tackle a staff shortage, with many workers refusing to report to work for fear of being infected. This even led to the MMC being unable to make use of the ambulances provided by the Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana, an NGO focused on disaster response. Second, Kasar says convincing people to come forward for screening, testing and quarantine was a Herculean task, especially since a communally sensitive environment had been created in the initial days of the pandemic.

The MMC’s task was made much more complicated by rumours on social media, one of which was that the coronavirus screening efforts were a conspiracy against Muslims. This led to people refusing to be tested and even attacks on MMC health workers who were conducting screening tests. In the last week of April and the first week of May, six ASHA (accredited social health activist) workers suff­ered burns after being attacked with boiling water. Many residents also reportedly refused to give their real names and symptoms to health workers. Superstition played its part, for instance, many believe the dead will not reach heaven if their eyes are open, leading to people touching infected bodies and increasing the risk of transmission. Another tradition requires women from households in which a death has taken place to isolate themselves for four months and eight days, this complicated contact tracing.

To address these problems, Kasar appealed to community leaders for help, especially the influential Mufti and local MLA Mohammad Ismail. Leaders like Ismail made appeals at mosques for people to stay at home and to cooperate with the MMC health workers. As a result, people increasingly came to see that the administration’s efforts were genuine, leading to more and more coming forward for testing. The success of the appeals to stay home was clearly visible on Eid-ul-Fitr (May 25). Malegaon’s Idgah Maidan was deserted, normally around 300,000 people gather here to offer prayers on the holy day.

Another initiative was to enlist community members for outreach, to spread information about the virus. Kasar roped in students of Ayurvedic and Unani medicine, aware that they were trusted within the communities. A Unani concoction called mansura kadha, with claimed immunity-boosting properties, prepared by the local Mohammadia Tibbia College, also played a bit role; the trust that runs the college has received requests for some 250,000 packets. The MMC also made short informational videos and uploaded them on YouTube, aiming to improve awareness about the coronavirus among Malegaon’s younger residents, especially women. Also important were the MMC’s efforts to give vulnerable households the resources they needed for home isolation. “We provided oxygen cylinders, though the police department was against the move,” says Kasar.

Maulana Imtiaz Ahmed Iqbal Ahmed, secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in Malegaon, says the comm­unity “scored over the fear factor…the mohalla clinics were the game-changer”. Kasar also points out that the success did not come at a major financial cost. “We did not send any patients to private hospitals, so the treatment bill was zero. We also spent less than Rs 20 lakh in the past two months on arrangements for quarantine and treatment,” he says. This stands in stark contrast to the efforts of other municipal corporations in the state; Pune has budgeted Rs 294 crore to fight Covid-19 for a population of about 4 million. Kasar says Malegaon has not only shown a decrease in Covid-19 cases but also other diseases, including those affecting the heart, lungs and kidneys. The ICMR study, once completed, will be submitted to a committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The MMC’s efforts have not only improved the health of Malegaon’s citizens, it has also rehabilitated the city’s reputation. Home to a local film indu­stry and a textile cluster with around 125,000 power looms, Malegaon attr­acted some bad press in the noughties for being communally charged, a riot in 2001 and bomb blasts in 2006 and 2008 seemed to lend credence to its reputation for being volatile. But it has moved on since, and now with the success of the ‘Malegaon model’, it has built a case for an image makeover.

source: http://www.indiatoday.in / India Today / Home> News> Magazine> UP Front / by Kiran D Tare / New Delhi, July 18th, 2020

NRIs and local Hyderabadis form task force to fight coronavirus

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, Education, Useful / HEALTHCARE, World Opinion, , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Asif Sohail, the coordinator of this initiative

Hyderabad:

A city-level task force of medical experts, philanthropists, social activists and Medical College Alumnus Association has been set up to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The task force monitored by Mohammed Asif Hussain Sohail, Chairman of Sakina Foundation and President of Telangana Parents Association For Child Rights and Safety. This force also includes a group of 25 national and international organisations, Doctors Association and doctors from other countries like Dr. Aslam of America whose roots are in Hyderabad. They have come together on a single platform to combat coronavirus.

This programme has been named as ‘Hyderabad COVID Task Force.’

Member of Hyderabad COVID Task Force, Mohd Asif Hussain Sohail said, “The idea of setting up the task force was conceptualised seeing the pain and sufferings of the Hyderabadis for medical treatment, ration and food especially funerals. The Task Force aims to serve the people who are facing difficulties during the pandemic. Hyderabad Covid Task Force is going to conduct awareness on Covid-19 pandemic in colonies particularly in the city’s slums. They will provide aid to COVID-19 patients for the medical treatment, food for patients and their attendants in hospitals. It will also help the family also organise final rides, land for the burial, final ablution and even for the other community people of the deceased persons died to COVID-19,” Asif Hussain told Siasat.com.

As a large number of people in the city are also being suffering from a viral fever which has created panic among them and they are going for COVID-19 tests. In this situation the Hyderabad COVID Task Force team is undertaking the awareness programmes, counselling for corona patients, checking peoples’ medical need and etc. in each locality with volunteers and also providing online consultations with doctors and giving a medication,” said Asif Sohail.

“Each organisation had at least 50 volunteers who are working in various parts of city. Under this, the Sakina foundation is working on a pilot project which identifies the poor and needy people, their health issues and helps them with food, medication, and funerals for their deceased ones,” he added

He also said that he is also supplying free Oxygen cylinders with Pulse oximeters for suspected carriers and positive cases under home isolation care by providing PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) among the deceased members during the funeral.

The organisation remains connected through a zoom call with Dr. Aslam from USA, who initiated and coordinated with other doctors, philanthropists and organisations from the USA — including DAAME (Deccan Alumni Association Middle East), DAA (Deccan College of Medical Science Alumni Association) and etc.

Asif Sohail coordinated all the doctors, NGOs, activists, and philanthropists based in Hyderabad.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / by Mohammad Hussain / July 10th, 2020