Drishtipat Blog

Shadakalo and 3rd World View are reporting on what could possibly be an oil spill near the Sundarbans.

Prothom Alo has been reporting that the waters near the Sundarbans have changed colour and that sharks and crocodiles are flaoting on the rivers. Today, Reuters carries this story about an Iranian vessel that has been in trouble en route from Chittagong to Kolkata. More details can be found on the blogs linked above.

All this has gone mostly under the media’s radar. Anyone has any more information or any contacts in the area?

There is a saying in Bangladesh “শিশুরাই জাতির ভব্বিশ্যত”. Save the Children’s annual State of the World’s Mothers for 2007 indicates that impressive progress in cutting down the infant and child mortality rates and placed us well over India and Pakistan among 60 developing nations in this regard. In fact, the percentage drop in the mortality rates is much higher than South Asian average of thirty percent. If things progess at this rate, Bangladesh is sure to have a positive contribution to the Millennium Development Goals that targets to reduce child mortality rate by two thirds by 2015.

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Where prescription by World Bank, ADB, WHO fails, the simple grassroot, local solutions work wonders.

BETGARI, Bangladesh — In the golden haze of dawn, Mohammed Salim Sheikh walked slowly through the paddies, so frail and thin that the lungi wrapped around his waist looked like a clown’s oversize trousers.

Carrying a treatment chart in one hand and a stainless steel water glass in the other, he crossed the threshold of a house. The housewife inside, Zahida Khatun Jharna, rose from her cooking fire, fetched his medication and filled his water glass. Then she ticked off his chart for the day and sent him home.

The routine plays out in countless villages across this country every morning, and it represents a remarkably simple but apparently effective effort to tackle a stubborn and deadly epidemic: tuberculosis, a scourge that kills 1.6 million people worldwide each year.

Full Article

Slideshow

The chickens in Savar poultry farm that had been initially suspected to be suffering from Ranikhet disease (a local disease for the poultry) had been tested positive for the very deadly Avian Flu. The reason for the alarm is that this particular virus can affect human as well (even though known cases are relatively small) and due to the absence of a vaccine researchers have feared the disease might become pandemic.

From bdnews24.com

Avian influenza has been detected in a poultry farm in Savar, the government said in a statement Thursday. The government rushed a meeting where health adviser ASM Matiur Rahman and livestock adviser CS Karim broke the news that results of laboratory tests showed the deadly virus of H5N1 in chickens in the farm.

Some Facts about Bird Flu:

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In the recent news, the use of formalin by the dealers/transporters/shop owners in the Bangladeshi fish market has raised lot of concern, genuinely so, because Banglee’s ever lasting fondness for fish is well known. Hence the saying Machhe Bhate Bangalee. It’s time we have some perspectives on the issue of formalin use in fish.

First of all ‘what is formalin?’. To most of us it is the smell of the air when you enter any hospital/clinic in BD. (more…)

A lead newsitem following Mr. Wahidul Haq’s death was donation of his body for medical science. His body was handed over to BSMMU. In the past, several similar gestures and wishes could not be fulfilled due to family unwillingness as well as inaction of the authority citing lack of guideline and law. When Aroj ali Matubbor first donated his body for medical science, that created a huge backlash and controversy. Writer Humayun Azad’s wishes could not be fulfilled as apparently the family was not sure about it. In this context after death, Mt Wahidul Haq created another milestone in Bangladesh. He finally succeded in donating his body while all previous attempts failed.

With his donation Mr Wahidul Haq threw a challenge to the medical community of Bangladesh. Now it was the responsibility of the medical community to harvest all the organs and save multiple lives by transplanting them. I don’t know what exactly happeneded with his body, but I doubt his organs could have been harvested for proper transplantation. We simply do not have an efficient system in effect to harvest body organs and parts those can be life saving to others.

In this juncture I also take the opportunity to remember Dr Enamul Haq who first donated his cornea in Bangladesh. In a very humble move late Shahadat Chowdhury, ex editor of Bichitra and 2000, was the one who came forward to receive that cornea for his injured eye. Thanks to the way they showed, only organs that is regularly harvested in Bangladesh is the cornea (eye).

I hope, thanks to the way Mr Wahidul Haq showed just showed us, someday our poor healthy young man and women will no longer have to sell their organs. Posthumous donations will ensure enough organs for transplantation.

Related Blog is here.

4 years ago I was @ a Dhanmondi cafe and was astounded to see how much weight a once-tubby friend had lost.
“Ki byapar, e tho dekhi MED BHURI KI KORI er biggapon, etho shukaiso kibhabe?”
“Arre bujhos na,” interrupted a friend, “Yabba e dhorse.” (more…)

While waiting for a latte in a local Starbuck Coffee Shop the other day I was pleasantly surprised to see a poster with a photo of a Bangladeshi rural woman pumping water from a tube well. The poster was part of the campaign started by the company Ethos that produces bottled water. What makes it different from any other bottle water company is this; a portion of their profit goes to help the children around the world. By transforming every purchase into an opportunity, they directly engage a growing community to help solve the world water crisis.

The founder Peter Thum conceived the idea of Ethos after observing first hand the suffering of impoverished children in South Africa, whose life prospects were diminished due to the lack of safe drinking water.

Ethos was acquired by the Starbucks Coffee Company in 2005 and as part of Starbuck’s long standing dedication to Corporate Social Responsibility, Starbucks and Ethos are committed to raising awareness of the World Water Crisis and empowering their consumers to make a difference with every purchase of Ethos. Every time you purchase a bottle of Ethos water we will contribute 5 cents toward our target goal of raising at least $10 million over five years.

Among the countries who are being benefited from this program who tops the list? Yes. Bangladesh. Currently in partnership with wateraid (www.wateraid.com) the Ethos is working to provide relief to the populations of Thakurgaon Upazilla and Bazitpur in Kishoregonj Upazilla in the north of Bangladesh. Of the residents 21,300 will receive clean water; 36,000 residents will benefit from sanitation systems; 100,000 residents will participate in hygiene education programs. It clearly shows that there is huge potential for corporate sponsored social development projects. [If only the local mega companies in BD will think along that line…....]

So remember, if you need to buy a bottle of water, and Ethos is available, please go for it.
BUY ETHOS AND SAVE THE CHILDREN.

What is Yaba? Believe me I didn’t know the answer till this morning. I was at work, going on with my business, and then I saw a chat window popping up. It was someone I came to admire since my entry in the blogging world only a few months ago. We have much in common – both juggling work and home, both being mothers of little one(s). The chat soon turned into something other than exchange of pleasantries as she at one point shared her worries about someone very close to her who got into Yaba recently.

My naive question was “what is that?”

Later I found an article in Star Weekend Magazine. I vaguely remember skimming through it and not paying much attention because this was something I couldn’t relate to (typical attitude was “it is not as bad a problem as is in the western world” or “doesn’t happen to people I know” type of attitude). I started to read the article and my eyes opened. It was more like a jolted awakening!

This particular drug Yaba that hit Dhaka in late 2004’s is apparently a mixture of methamphetamine, caffeine and at times heroin. It gives people euphoria and heightened energy (opposite to Phensydil that causes people to have drowsy spell), and the recent “must have” thing within the most privileged class of Dhaka. Some of the former junkies interviewed for the article admitted that it all started with ‘innocent’ recreational use of ‘marijuana’, apparently readily available in Dhaka (!), then went downhill from there. The numbers of users have increased amazingly within a year.

According to the SWM report Yaba had been linked to lung and kidney disorders, hallucinations, increased and irregular heartbeat along with a host of other psychological effects. Users of Yuba run the risk of rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure and damage to the small vessels in the brain that can lead to a stroke. Chronic use of the drug can result in inflammation of the heart lining. Overdoses can cause hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), convulsions, and death. Yaba users also may have episodes of violent behaviour, paranoia, anxiety, confusion and insomnia. Those coming off the drug are also susceptible to severe depression and suicidal urges. It is basically a non-stop adrenaline rush, followed by exactly the opposite feeling.

Good thing is celebrities like Mac Hauque (Feedback) and Buno (Bangla) are speaking up, and alerting people, having gone through phases themselves. Famed dance performer Lubna Mariyam is trying to reach out to concerned parents She even convinced Grameen Phone to open hotlines where the parents or the abusers can call for counseling.

The GP hotline numbers are
0171-306-0001 and 0171-306-0002.

I never thought I in my lifetime will write about substance abuse. My purpose for opening up the thread is to let people know that there is help available in Dhaka if someone needed it. If you or anybody you know is in trouble, please have them call this number, and they can let you know of places where they could get all the help they needed.

If anyone knows of more places that offer rehabilitation, or know where brochures are available with information, please post it here. I think a lot of people do not even know how to tell if their loved ones are in trouble. What are the signs to look for? There are some good pointers in the article I mentioned above.

Eid was just celebrated all over the world this week and with much controversy on the timing, Eid is taking place today in Bangladesh and the celebration and joy will continue for few more days. Right in the beginning of festivity yet another ferry sank taking the lives of at least 15 unfortunate women and children en route to celebrate Eid with family.

It is almost a predictable affair as we see one or more of these ferry disasters around the major holidays. In the statistics book, the picture is far worse as far as the number of ferries that sank and the human toll that they took. For example, based on a study done by the Alliance for Safe River Routes campaign group, some 500 ferries were involved with around 4000 lost lives since the independence. That translates to over one ferry and 10 lives per month since independence in ferry accidents. Each study such as this one usually has some margin of errors but in reality, the numbers are most likely far worse.

We hear about grave concern of the citizens on maritime safety, shakeups in the ministry, and promise from the authority on proposed safety measures after each incident but they seem to disappear like those ferries and the lives leaving ferry disasters to repeat itself. When my friends and colleagues in the US mention that they saw a news on calamity in Bangladesh, ferry incidents seem to have taken the second spot after floods and cyclones. We can’t stop floods and cyclones from occurring, we can only take precautions but can’t we ever stop or at least minimize such incidents involving ferries?

Food tampering in Bangladesh is not an unknown tale anymore. Unfortunately and quite frequently we hear about the mobile courts, established by the government to curb food tampering, unearthing horrendous cases of food adulteration across the country. People are not let off even during the holy month of Ramadan by the evil businessmen trying to make money leaving human lives at stake.

Muri, known as puffed rice in English is probably the most common Iftar item in Bangladesh. Finding an Iftar table without Muri is simply unimaginable. Right around the beginning of Ramadan, I was watching Shykh Seraj’s Hridaye Mati-o-Manush in Channel I and the episode was about adulteration of Muri with Urea fertilizer and other chemicals to make them puffier and whiter. I am not a medical professional but I am aware that consuming Urea adulterated Muri day after day and at worst in empty stomach can cause kidney failure at some point. It is one thing that these businessmen with no humanity and honesty are posing immense threat to human lives but what is more alarming is that the lack of awareness of the consumers. When Shykh Seraj was interviewing the sellers and consumers, it seemed Muri that looked whiter and fluffier was selling better than the ones looking less white to brownish.

There are some measures in place to restrain adulterated food getting to the consumers in the first place like the mobile court and the Pure Food Act 2005 passed by the Bangladesh parliament that carries big fines and jail terms. However, in a country with immense population and corruption, detecting these crimes and enforcing the law is not an easy matter. I am surprised that not much has been done in educating the consumers so a market for adulterated Muri or in that regard any other adulterated food items don’t exist in the first place. As for me, I was never aware of adulterated Muri but after watching the show I made sure the Muri I bought the other day for Iftar didn’t look superficially white, fluffy and had small pores.

MAQUILA Solidarity Network announces support for striking Bangla garments strikers.


People from all around the world feel class solidarity with our people. Can the privileged middle class/elite do the same?

From: Maquila Solidarity:
Demand that basic monthly minimum wage for the country’s 2 million garment workers be raised to Bangladeshi Taka (Tk.) 3000 (Can$50 a month). Currently the basic minimum wage, which has not been increased since 1994, is Tk.600 (Can$10) a month. Bangladeshi garment workers’ wages are among the lowest in the world.

Full Article here

Couple of weeks ago the mobile court apprehended two persons for running an unauthorized blood bank. One of them was sent to jail because he couldn’t pay a fine of tk 50,000. Would he have been set free he could pay the fine, or rather pay someone a hefty bribe and get away with it?

Most of the blood donors are ‘professional’ – meaning their source of income is donating blood. I only feel empathy for these people who are this desperate to make ends meet. But it was horrific to know that some of the seized bags of blood had blue tint because they weren’t refrigerated properly. They used expired reagents to identify the blood group.

On a separate report in Prothom Alo a pathology/clinit in Rajshahi diagnosed a person’s blood group as B+, where he was actually B-. Imagine that! If B+ was transfused to his body it could’ve been fatal. The Rh incompatibility can kill a person.

How would you feel about going to one of these clinics for treatment?

As for silver lining around the clouds: our DP intern Piya Mukit is working on addressing Medical Negligence through the Law in Bangladesh. Read more about the agenda here…

A major disadvantage for them is that they work and live out of our views, even out of the radar screen of any dedicated NGO. Otherwise, like garments industry workers, ship breaking workers, the deep sea fisherman of Bangladesh are also vital to Bangladesh economy and with their blood and toil, Bangladesh earns millions of foreign currency every year.

These fishermen, while fishing with their self made trawlers, brave the rough seas at the largest and arguably the wildest delta of the world. They compete with the fishermen from neighboring countries who has modern sonar, radar, automated net and fishing gear equipped vessels and yet they come back home with catch enough to sustain the economy of the country.
Because they live in so remote coastal parts of Bangladesh, there is very limited knowledge about their life.

However, on a regular basis we read in newspapers about missing fishermen in the Bay of Bengal. This is almost a monthly event. We never know how many actually ever return. There is no registry for these people who are lost on a regular basis.

They have many problems, first being the danger of working in the rough seas with ill equipped boat without any navigational and rescue device.

Without navigation knowledge and equipment, very frequently they find themselves in foreign water and a large number of Bangladeshi fishermen are now in jail in countries like India, Myanmar, Thailand etc.

They don’t get adequate wages for their risky and very hard job. The fishermen can only keep 40% of the catch while 60% goes to the owner of the trawler. Yet, unlike garments workers, they have no association and their anger/sorrow is far removed from our policy makers to really make any law protecting their rights. Here is a picture of some fisherman who otherwise would be another 40 lost fishermen lost in the Bay of Bengal. But luckily they were rescued from yesterday’s storm.

In a blog titled ” What Khaleda Zia should tell India”, about six months ago, I wrote the following,

she should mention of a more serious threat, coming out of India through it’s border into Bangladesh.

She should remind India that rather than spending money in rocket, nuclear science, and not pretending to be world’s most advanced country, India should focus a bit more into some basic issues.

She shoukld tell that ..”Only 4 countries are still polio-endemic - : Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. ” This deadly polio virus is more dangerous than any possble terrorism.

Bangladesh is a succes story in immunization campaign agaist different deadly diseases. Polio was eradicated six years ago. But as India ( While focused on showcasing herself as world’s super power, did a poor job eradicating Polio; and this polio is spreading Back to Bangladesh.

Following this blog, I took a great deal of lashing as being an ultranationalist xenophobic, anti-India bigot, religious fanatic etc. However better late than never , World health Organization has finally came out with this statement yesterday, India actively ‘exporting’ polio to Bangladesh. I am not surprised at this statement. Considering the gravity of the situation, I knew it was coming.

Yesterday I wrote about Bangladesh being the Asian hub of MDR TB putting the whole region at great danger of having a MDR TB epidemic.

These are not issues of politics. These are matters of priority. While India is busy climbing up the stairs to become a superpower, they are forced to neglect in this basic sectors. At the same time, Bangladesh turned into a five year cycle of election-new government-political agitation-hartal-violence-lathicharge-caretaker govt.-new govt. Other than sporadic incidents, issues other than good old politics has been out of public’s mind.

We must set our priorities straight. We must tackle these looming public health calamities with all the resources we have. There is no alternative to political stability, national consensus, good governance and regional cooperation to achieve our goal. We can’t afford to fail in this endeavour.