World Tuberculous Day 24th March

Did you know Tuberculous (TB) ranks alongside HIV as a leading killer worldwide? 

I noticed it was World Tuberculous Day this Thursday and did a little research on it and was surprised and shocked by the findings particularly as this is a completely preventable and curable disease.

Every day over 4,000 people are dying from TB which is horrendously unacceptable especially when it is a curable disease.   This includes 383 children a day. It is among top 5 causes of deaths for women between 15-44.

According to UN Global Tuberculous Report the worldwide incidence has fallen 1.5% per year since 2000 for a total reduction of 18% and still in 2014 1.5 million people died from TB.  In 2014 9.6 million people fell ill with TB.

Photo Credit: World Health Organisation Global Tuberculous Report 2015

Yet it is not all bad news, we have made much progress with the death rate 47% lower than it was in 1990 and an estimated 43 million people saved between 2000-2015.

54% of the world’s TB cases occurred in China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan though there is a significant gap in diagnosis of TB.

So just what is TB?  

It is a bacterial infection which most often affects the lungs spread through the air.  Scarily about 1/3 of the world’s population has latent TB which means that they have the disease but are not yet ill and cannot transmit the disease.  However there is a 10% risk of falling ill with TB which increases for those with compromised immune systems such as those who are HIV positive, are malnourished or use tobacco.

Without treatment 45% of HIV negative people and nearly all HIV positive people with TB will die.   In 2013 86% of people who were treated fro TB were cured. 

Photo Credit: World Health Organisation

Why is there a TB day? 

World TB Day is the opportunity to raise awareness about the burden of TB and also provide an update on the status of TB prevention and treatment. 

Included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals is the aim to reduce TB incidence by 80% and TB deaths by 90% as well as the burden of the disease on the family by 2030.

Photo Credit: World Health Organisation 

Challenges of TB

• symptoms of TB (cough with sputum and blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, ever and night sweats) can present mildly for several months which leads to treatment delays and continual spread of TB to the community
• The length of treatment is from 6 months to up to 2 years which do not come without side effects leading to low adherence rates
• Access to and cost of diagnosis and treatment hinders prevention and treatment
• The emergence of not only Multi Drug Resistance TB (MDR-TB) but also Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) where both first and second line medicines fail to work

What can we do? 

• Enourage family and friends who have the symptoms of TB to see a Dr
• Support those on TB treatment to continue the entire course
• Donating to The Global Fund which will lead to additional research to improve access to and diagnosis and treatment of TB (as well as AIDS and Malaria). There is an estimated $1.3 Billion Dollar shortfall. Donate here
• Ensure children in India and other countries at risk are vaccinated against TB
• Listen to World TB Day 2016 To be continued 24 hour music event About World TB 2016 24 hour Music Event  Listen to the Event here

Photo Credit: WHO Global Tuberculous Report 2015

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AarogyaSeva and AarogyaSeva does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

To get in touch with the author or to join our team write to us at – Volunteer@aarogyaseva.org

International Day of Happiness 20th March

Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji of Bhutan addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventieth session. UN Photo/Kim Haughton

"The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal”  said the Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji of Bhutan when he addressed the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventieth session.

Here are 6 health reasons on why we should celebrate International World Happiness Day

1. Happiness is good for your heart
2. Happiness strengthens your immune 
3. Happiness combats stress
4. Happy people have fewer aches and pains
5. Happiness combats disease and disability 
6. Happiness lengthens our lives

For more information please visit: Six Ways Happiness is Good for Your Health 

The International Day of Happiness was proclaimed at General Assembly of the UN on 12 July 2012 as March 20th to recognise the relevance to happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives.

It was first celebrated on 20 March 2013 and events now occur annually across the world. There have been much celebrity support around this day including Pharrell Williams with one of my favourite songs Happy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM

Photo credit: www.ghanaflow.net 

I understand the day was chosen as it is the Spring/Autumn Equinox (depending on which hemisphere you live in) and is the day when the Sun crosses the celestial equator being the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator from south to north (vice versa in September) giving a nearly equal length of day and night.

Photo credit:www.wonderopolis.org  

The World Happiness Report 2016 Update has just been released and ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels. Denmark took out the top honour this year with the report noting that inequality strongly correlated with unhappiness. Populous nations such as China, India and the United States came in at 83, 118 and 13 respectively   Countries at the bottom of the list include Syria, Burundi and Afghanistan where there is much unrest and instability.  

For those interested to find out more it is available download free here: World Happiness Report 2016 Volume I 

As much as the study of happiness is expanding I do believe that the findings are just a glimpse into our lives and we all find happiness in our own way wherever we are.  

I leave you with 10 keys to happier living and invite you to join in taking some steps to happier and thus healthier living. 

To find out more please visit: Action for Happiness  

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AarogyaSeva and AarogyaSeva does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

To get in touch with the author or to join our team write to us at – Volunteer@aarogyaseva.org

International Women's Day Event

I hope everyone had a lovely day yesterday celebrating International Women's Day.

We at AarogyaSeva were lucky enough to have 6 artists come down yesterday to help decorate the walls of our soon to be open AarogyaSeva Karuna Clinic right near the Siddaoura Lalbagh Gate.

As Poornima, one of our artists said, it was bridging art and health via an Art to Heart Collective. Each artist had her own style and interpretation of the heart and it all come together in such beautiful way.

Two of the artists are still working on their pieces and photos will be posted of their completed works in the come week.

The kids in the neighbourhood come by throughout the day and really enjoyed watching the artists work. In fact some of the time they had too much fun just hanging out inside the clinic.

We were honoured to also run the trailer to Meryll a story about a young girl who lives in seclusion until when a series of events open a dark alley that bring back her worst nightmares to life.

We also ran an impromptu community session with thanks to Dr Karishma Kagod who spoke to women in the neighbourhood about giving themselves a voice and looking after themselves as they are the centre of the community and their families.  Dr Karishma is a plastic surgeon who is head of burns unit at Kolar Medical College.

Special thanks to Madhu from By the River who helped give thanks to our artists.  If you're after a storyteller please feel free to connect with her at:  By the River

I look forward for the clinic to be finished and for the community to be able to use the space.

You may have also noticed that we launched our campaign yesterday with the aim of providing 250 refugees with sanitary napkins for $20 per person.   Please support this worthwhile cause:  AarogyaSeva: Health, Dignity for female refugees

If you would like to volunteer or contact the author please drop us a line at Volunteer@aarogyaseva.org

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AarogyaSeva and AarogyaSeva does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.