Full Coverage: South Asia

05/09/2008 In Nepal, many women and children live with HIV/AIDS passed on to them by their husbands and fathers. UNICEF is helping them by taking care of their treatment and arranging for education of their children.

05/09/2008 Even though unofficial sources are claiming a hundred thousand deaths and many more rendered homeless in Myanmar from last week’s cyclone, the military junta is reluctant to allow foreign aid workers. People say the authorities do not want foreigners around when the country goes for referendum on May 10.

05/09/2008 Once called India’s bread basket, Punjab’s success story has been marred by pesticide poisoning, soil contamination, farmer indebtedness and drug addiction. A recent report says the production-centric approach of industrial agriculture needs to make way for environmentally sound practices that promote equitable access to food.

05/09/2008 Diverting agricultural land to produce biofuels, increased dependence on imports, hoarding by traders, ban on export of food grains by neighbours are reasons cited for rising food prices in Nepal. Experts feel the government needs to take long-term measures if it wants to save people dying of hunger.

05/08/2008 Freelance journalist and social activist Swagat Thorat in western India publishes a fortnightly called Sparshgyaan in local language for the visually impaired. In view of the limited availability of literature in Braille, this can be described as commendable effort.

05/08/2008 The latest health report of international organisation Save the Children says 83% of all child deaths worldwide happen in 55 developing countries, including India. By pursuing right policies and targeting the poorest families, the governments can easily prevent these child mortalities.

05/08/2008 Open Access to Knowledge and Information: Scholarly Literature and Digital Library Initiatives – the South Asian Scenario released by UNESCO, New Delhi illustrates South Asian initiatives to bridge knowledge gaps in the region. The book is a useful source for building up necessary information infrastructure for development.

05/08/2008 The natural caves of Meghalaya's Jaintia hills are a rich repository of climate change taking place over a million years. Indiscriminate coal mining and unsuitable extraction techniques are now imperiling the biodiversity of this archaeological heritage.

05/08/2008 Afghanistan government with UN help will soon carry out a study to assess the nutritional needs of people affected by rising food prices for future interventions. The country has large numbers of stunted, underweight and wasted children, and women in reproductive age suffering from malnourishment.

05/08/2008 Hundreds of members of the remote Dongria Kondh tribe held a protest in India yesterday against plans by a British company, Vedanta, to mine their sacred mountain.

05/08/2008

05/07/2008

05/07/2008 Durgabai Deshmukh Award winner Daud Sharifa Khanam from southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu provided Muslim women a platform to challenge the oppressive patriarchal system. For this, she has had to face the ire of Muslim clerics. She was hated, abused and threatened but she never gave up the fight.

05/07/2008 Considered a taboo and anti-Islamic during Taliban regime, condom usage in Afghanistan is slowly increasing. The government however feels a need to boost its demand to achieve public health targets on STD prevention and reduction in maternal mortality.

05/07/2008 Sri Lanka’s worsening human rights record and failed promises for improvement undermine its claim for a place on the UN Human Rights Council, a coalition of national and international NGOs said in a letter released today.

05/07/2008 Members of Indian anti-poverty network WNTA met the HRD minister in the capital to present a memorandum urging the government to table the Right to Education bill in the current parliament session. WNTA campaigns to hold the government accountable to its commitments to end poverty, social exclusion and discrimination.

05/07/2008 New mobile text message service called Reuters Market Light has made it easier for poor farmers in western India to get farm-related information. By subscribing to the service they can get regular updates on their mobiles about weather forecasts, pest attacks and daily market prices for their produce.

05/06/2008 Traditional midwives or dais have been overlooked by India’s National Rural Health Mission that focuses solely on institutional delivery. In a country having the highest maternal mortality rate and collapsing rural health care, there is a need to integrate these women in public health programmes.

05/06/2008 Indian government has decided to table the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha on May 6. Earlier in an interview with OWSA, Dr Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research spoke on the whole gamut of issues concerning the need for women in governance.

05/06/2008 Open Access to Knowledge and Information: Scholarly Literature and Digital Library Initiatives – the South Asian Scenario released by UNESCO, New Delhi illustrates South Asian initiatives to bridge knowledge gaps in the region. The book is a useful source for building up necessary information infrastructure for development.