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Malnourished in Gaza
Recent surveys done by CARE International UK assessing the
nutritional status of young children in the West Bank and the Gaza strip reveal that
almost 13 per cent of children under the age of five year suffer from short-term
malnutrition, and almost 18 per cent have long-term malnutrition. Lack of iron in the
daily diet resulted in about 20 per cent of children being anaemic. It is the Israeli
policies of curfews and closures that have affected the food availability as a result of
which many households have less food to eat. Children are the worst sufferers of this.
CARE International and Johns Hopkins University Emergency Medical Assistance Project
carried out surveys in different households, medical clinics and markets along with
collaboration of the Al Quds University in Jerusalem and US Agency for International
Development (USAID). The survey pointed out that more than half of the children ate food
having fewer calories and half of them did not get enough vitamin A. Iron and zinc
deficiency was found in almost 80 per cent of the children. To deal with the current
problems of wasting, stunting, anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies, the Palestinian
Ministry of Health has declared a nutritional emergency. Polluted
heart
Evidence upon evidence shows rising air pollution levels
affect the heart. Recent study published in the Indian Heart Journal shows that around
54,000 to 2,00,000 deaths take place each year due to bad air. Says Anoop Misra, of the
department of medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi,
''High levels of pollution which are characteristic of any city today are associated with
arteriosclerosis, which translates into the deposition of fat in blood vessels. This leads
to heart disease, increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.'' This is concurred by
Upendra Kaul, director of the interventional cardiology unit at AIIMS. Suspended
particulate matter (SPM) is known to rise to upto 811 microgrammes per cubic meter post
Diwali. Rising pollution levels can result in a youngsters suffering from heart attack at
least 10 years earlier than his or her parents. Stressful lifestyle, lack of sleep and
exercise combined with alcohol and substance abuse aggravates the situation. Today even 18
year olds are prone to contract heart disease because of the genetic make-up and smoking
and prevalence of diabetes. A recent study of 26 European cities- A Health Impact
Assessment of Air Pollution (APHEIS) finds that reducing particulate alone could prevent
12,000 premature deaths in a year in cities across Europe. The report estimates that 2,653
premature deaths could be prevented annually if long- term exposure to PM10 concentrations
were reduced to 40 µg/m, the cut-off value set by the European Commission for 2005. |
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