*The 2011 Human Development Index that the urgent global challenges of
sustainability and equity must be addressed together � and identifies
policies on the national and global level that could spur mutually
reinforcing progress towards these interlinked goals. Bold action is needed
on both fronts, if the recent human development progress for most of the
world�s poor majority is to be sustained, for the benefit of future
generations as well as for those living today. Past Reports have shown that
living standards in most countries have been rising - and converging - for
several decades now. Yet the 2011 Report(Expected on 2nd Nov.2011) projects
a disturbing reversal of those trends if environmental deterioration and
social inequalities continue to intensify, with the least developed
countries diverging downwards from global patterns of progress by 2050.*
*The world�s most disadvantaged people suffer the most from environmental
degradation, including in their immediate personal environment, and
disproportionately lack political power, making it all the harder for the
world community to reach agreement on needed global policy changes. The
Report also outlines great potential for positive synergies in the quest for
greater equality and sustainability, especially at the national level. The
Report (Expected to be published on 2nd Nov.2011) further emphasizes the
human right to a healthy environment, the importance of integrating social
equity into environmental policies, and the critical importance of public
participation and official accountability. *
*Is malnutrition India's worst kept secret?*
*A CNN-IBN special report shows how, Maharashtra, one of India's high growth
states, is also home to a district that is in the grip of malnutrition.
Melghat in Amravti district in Maharashtra has been losing more than one
child a day for the last 20 years to malnutrition. *
*The government figures say 266 children have died in the last 4 months but
these figures could be much higher. *
*Pramila, a villager in Hira Bambai, is too numb to mourn. Her two-year-old
daughter starved to death in September. She walked 14 kilometer to the
closest primary health centre but her child was declared dead on arrival. *
*A few huts away from Pramila's house lives a disabled man, Sitaram, who is
struggling to feed his family of five. His son Ritesh is six but is so
malnourished and stunted that he looks no more than three. *
*"I don't know what is wrong. He has become like a stick," Sitaram says. *
*In September 2011, in reply to a PIL, the state told the Bombay High Court
that 14,500 children in Melghat are malnourished and that 266 had died in
the last 4 months. *
*"Government for them (Melghat villagers) is a curse because you
(government) don�t take care of their dignity," Sheela Barse, who had filed
the PIL, says. *
*At the health centre in Melghat the equipments lie unused as there is no
one to man them. In fact, there is not a single special paediatrician in the
entire district. *
*Doctor Aashish Satav working in Melghat says, "Most of the schemes are on
paper. They are not reaching the beneficiaries, like availability of the
medicines." *
*Interestingly, Melghat has 320 villages, but what's baffling is as an RTI
reveals that there are 370 NGOs registered in the area. With the stated
purpose of battling malnutrition come huge funds, big donors. But some
activists point out that several among the NGOs are politicians. *
*But the tragedy of Melghat isn't just the lack of healthcare. With large
part of the region denied access to power or clean drinking water, these are
India's forgotten children.*
See the vedio:-
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/195259/is-malnutrition-indias-worst-kept-secret.html
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