IIFL Foundation, which runs one of India’s largest girl child education programs – Sakhiyon Ki Baadi (SKB) – across 1200 remote schools in Rajasthan, has been able to leverage the digital medium to impart seamless education to over 36,000 girls making it one of the largest such program anywhere in the world.

SKB schools are dedicated to educating out-of-school girl children of primarily underprivileged tribal communities, where girl child literacy is in the single digits and worse than many sub-Saharan countries. IIFL Foundation’s Sakhiyon Ki Baadi program brought these out-of-school girls to education fold in remote inaccessible areas mostly making them the first female members or in any case the first member to receive formal education.

The Covid-19 pandemic which started a year ago disrupted the education system of 1200 SKB schools managed by 1200 teachers or Daksha’s.  Lockdown meant field staff could not visit the centers or conduct home visits and meetings with the community members.

There was of discontinuation of education for girls who with so much difficulty got into schools in the first place. There were reports of girl-child marriage in many communities across India.

IIFL Foundation led by Ms. Madhu Jain decided to ensure that the education continues using the digital model so that 2020 doesn’t become a zero year and many dreams don’t get shattered.

Ms. Madhu Jain, Director of, IIFL Foundation said, “During the pandemic, IIFL Foundation focused on turning challenges into opportunities. We revisited our vision and stayed true to our values of integrity and discipline. Lockdown provided us the opportunity to equip 500+ Dakshas with the knowledge to use a mobile phone, engage on online platforms, upgrade their English language skills and develop an understanding of basic financial concepts. This wisdom was then passed on to the students enrolled at the SKB centers through continuous online sessions.”

Most of the Daksha’s belong to tribal hamlets and did not have access to or knowledge of technology prior to the pandemic. One by one, the team at IIFL Foundation successfully removed several obstacles such as the absence of gadgets (Android phone), poor network connectivity, and lack of technical knowledge among Daksha’s. This was achieved by working closely with the community members. For instance, a community member lent his android phone to the teacher so she could attend training, another community member educated them over usage of mobile app for attending online training, and so on. The Daksha’s were enthused to complete these training and took measures such as climbing a hill near their house to address network issues, attending sessions in groups to help each other, and so on.

To begin with, the Daksha’s were brought together over WhatsApp Groups, establishing a two-way communication channel. Thereafter, they were taught to interact and participate in online training over virtual platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet.

With the newly built digital connect, video tutorials and PDF documents were prepared to facilitate the teaching activities. These study materials were shared over WhatsApp with the teachers. Live training sessions were conducted over Zoom and Google Meet with the students.

Through this robust system of remote working, the training team was able to coordinate with the on-field team. Similarly, Block Managers, District Managers, Trainers, and Program Managers were connected remotely through several online platforms.

Working remotely allowed the team to define new objectives of the program (building awareness around the pandemic, ensuring continuity of the literacy programs) and staying connected. Thus, it was ensured that the learning never stopped at the SKBs.

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Due to Covid 19 pandemic, frequent use of hand sanitizer and hand washing has become the new essential of our lives over the last six months. Hand sanitizer is a great supplement to soap and water but not a replacement; should use soap and water whenever possible as per Dr Ravi S – Consultant Dermatology and Cosmetology, Columbia Asia Hospital – Mysore

“Hand washing or use of hand sanitizer is of paramount importance or effective in infection control of Covid 19. These sanitizers have high levels of ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol and antibacterial ingredients called Triclosan. Though they are very effective in killing viruses, there are all possibilities of affecting the skin. Apart from this regular use of sanitizers may also result in dry skin, redness and in extreme cases eczema of the skin. It also thins out the skin and may also enhance ageing or pigmentation of the skin in the long term” said Dr Ravi

Going by all this immediately comes to our mind is should we stop using Sanitizer. Washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or more is as effective as using hand rub as it reduces infection. Avoid using hand rub unless you have no access to running water. Apart from this moisturizing the hands and using sunscreen can also minimize damage. If alcohol-based hand rub is used, wait for the hand rub to dry off completely before applying the moisturizer.

Frequent use of hand sanitizer irrespective of access to soap and water is not advisable. If the option is only hand sanitizer, we should make sure it is of good quality. When water and soap are not immediately available hand sanitizers with more than 60 percent of alcohol are good as second alternatives.

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The on-going Covid-19 has made a drastic impact on our society and all activities have come to a halt, including blood donation. We have been witnessing a shortage in the blood units across various blood banks in India which has created a challenge for people who are in need of emergency procedures and require blood. Blood banks in India have already been facing shortage due to increased demand and a low number of donors, and this shortfall is to the extent of over a million units. This is why, particularly during this time of emergency, it is critical to educate people about the importance of donating blood. Blood cannot be stored indefinitely, hence it is crucial that we find ways and means to conduct blood donation camps in a safe manner, and people must step forward to donate blood during these critical times.

The Ministry of Health has developed guidelines to safely conduct blood donation camps and these must be strictly followed. Certain cities have also begun to conduct such activities, which is a great sign. Covid-19 does not transfer via blood; hence people need not worry and healthy individuals must come forward to donate during this time. Along with permissions from the district authorities and by following the required measures such as thorough sanitization, maintaining social distancing, conducting thermal and respiratory scanning, medical authorities present at the camp may safely collect blood. Some volunteers may be rejected due to ineligibility or health conditions.

What patients require today are safe blood and blood products and this is only possible through regular donations by voluntary blood donors. The facts below should help clear any misconceptions about the effects of blood donation on the body:

1. Age of donor: There is no ‘right age’ to donate blood. Anyone who is fit and healthy up to the age of 60 can donate blood.
2. Loss of blood from the body: Drinking liquids can replace the lost fluid in a couple of hours, and recovery after blood donation is complete in a day or two. All the red blood cells are replaced within a few days and white blood cells within 3 weeks.
3. Effect on physical activity: Donating blood has a very minor physical effect – one should avoid any strenuous workout like lifting heavy weights for the rest of the day. But one can get back to these activities the next day.
4. Blood donation is complicated: No. In fact, blood donation normally takes less than an hour
5. Time between donations:Male blood donors need to wait at least 12 weeks between whole blood donations and female donors 16 weeks.

Donated blood has many uses. It is used in emergencies like in treatment of trauma suffered during an accident or natural disasters, in surgery including cardiac surgery and emergency surgery, and in medical conditions such as sickle cell anemia, thalassemia and haemophilia, cancer and blood disorders.  It helps extend the life of patients suffering from life-threatening conditions with a higher quality of life. It also has a life-saving role in maternal and child care when there are complications, leading to blood loss. It is said that when one person donates blood, three lives are saved. This is because when blood is donated, different components like red blood cells, platelets and plasma are used to treat various conditions. In fact, plasma therapy, a procedure in which a part of blood containing useful antibodies is transfused from someone who has successfully recovered from Covid-19 into a patient who is currently battling it, is one of the important treatment methods being explored to treat the coronavirus today.

This World Blood Donor Day, we urge people to find out more information about donation camps being conducted near them and come forward to donate blood for those in need. In case there are no camps happening, please speak with your local authorities to see how you could be part of organizing such a camp in a safe and hygienic manner and encourage more people to participate. There are thousands of people who are battling pre-existing conditions that require to be attended to and that cannot wait until the end of the pandemic – you could be the one to save them during these difficult times. Go ahead, and donate.

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Coronavirus has put us all into doubt and the constant news about the pandemic is making us feel anxious and stressed. All of this is taking a toll on mental health and have increased stress and anxiety levels in children and adults in an unprecedented way. This is the time to do all we can to protect our mental health and the mental health of those we love.

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, self-isolation, or quarantine is one of the key tactics in reducing infection rates. This lockdown period has made families stay within their homes and not having physical contact with those outsides. With the school and day-care getting closed, workplaces shutting and most of them working from home, families are experiencing longer days at home.

There are a lot of changes children are experiencing right now. There is a disruption of normal activities like the sudden split from friends, including not being able to go to school, the park, play area, and seeing the effects of stress on their parents. Children might not find easy to deal with change and some might find it extremely difficult. For parents trying to work from home, their ability to do so will rely on various factors from the age of their children, and the nature of their work. The personality of parents and kids will also play a vital role in emotionally preparing kids during the coronavirus quarantine.

Here are a few tips on how to help children get through this situation

• Reassure children that this is a temporary phase and that it is a beautiful way to spend quality time with their parents and family members, who are otherwise busy with office or work. Listen to their concerns and try answering their queries. Give them the attention that they need.
• Manage your child’s anxiety. It is normal for the child to become anxious at this time. Look out for emotional cues in your child and talk to them regarding the same. Make them understand that things will be better if we take proper care. Remember this is a new situation for your children and do not get irritated with them.
• Set up a robust routine and schedule for children at home for online schoolwork, playtime, self-studies or recreational activities such as board games, music, screen time, etc
• Keep them in contact with their friends. Physical distancing from friends could because of distressing for children. Help them to be connected to their friends, cousins, and loved ones by calling them up or through video calls.
• Do not stay on screens all the time. It can be tempting for children to just sit in front of the tv or gadgets. When children stop doing their normal activities, it can have an effect on their mood. Families should try to enjoy having more spare time than usual, especially what can be very rare for kids during normal days. Parents can be prepared with games, crafts, schoolwork, and books.
• keeping physically active is critical to boosting the mood of the children. Engage them in indoor activities as they might get easily bored during the lockdown. Involve them in stretching exercises, yoga, and dancing. Ask them to help you with simple household activities.
• Explain to them that social distancing is the best way to curb the virus from spreading and affecting people that they love. They need to understand that this is a worldwide phenomenon that’s never happened before and that everyone is in this together.

Above all, take good care of your children’s health and ensure they get into the habit of washing their hands frequently and cover their mouth and nose with a bent elbow when they cough or sneeze. Watch out for any symptoms of COVID 19 in your children and reach out to the doctor if required. Ensure the child gets good sleep and eats healthy food. Try to be as honest as you can about the current situation and the virus as children thrive on honesty. Thus, creating experiences with mindfulness will ensure children’s emotional and psychological well-being are safeguarded at all times.

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With the current pandemic situation resulting in activity restrictions, staying healthy and fit has become a challenge. These sudden changes have brought about drastic lifestyle transformations, making it difficult to get into a routine. More than ever, it is critical for us to exercise regularly to boost our immunity.

With gyms, fitness centers and clubs closed, meditation and exercising at home have become the newfound routine for fitness enthusiasts across the nation. According to Garmin Connect data, from January to March 2020, the activity count for outdoor activities had an overall drop of 15.5 percent, with activity count for golf, hiking trail running and running decreasing by 87.6 percent, 34.9 percent, 29.2 percent and 18.8 percent respectively. In comparison, indoor activities such as floor climbing, yoga, Pilates and indoor cardio workouts showed an overall increase of 38.5 percent in the same period.

With travel and activity restrictions implemented from March 2020, overall outdoor activity count from January’20 till 21 April’ 2020 dropped by 71.2 percent while indoor activity count increased by 40.2 percent in the same period.

In light of the lifestyle changes, it is crucial to keep a consistent check on one’s physiological data to actively monitor physical health and wellbeing.

World Health Organization’s “Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected” Interim Guidance[i] spotlights the importance of health monitoring data; one of the clinical syndromes is severe pneumonia where the patient may experience fever or suspected respiratory infection, plus the respiratory rate of more than 30 breaths/min; severe respiratory distress; or SpO2 of less than 93 percent on room air.

Garmin smartwatches enable users to track their physiological data[ii], providing daily insights to their health status.Garmin India has identified five key health indicatorsto enable Garmin users to track and manage their health profile. Users should refer to data from their Garmin smartwatch with the five health indicators to identify any changes rather than depending solely on own assumptions to determine their own health status.

[i]World Health Organization, Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected Interim guidance, 13 March 2020

[ii]Garmin’s smart wearable devices and components are not medical products and intended to be used for leisure purposes only. They are not appropriate for use to diagnose, treat, mitigate or prevent any illness or disease. Garmin does not admit any legal liability for users’ health condition or for health benefits derived from using the product.

Garmin’s Five Health Indicators

• Heart Rate: The heart is the pilot of all body activities. The health status can be effectively monitored by analyzing your heart rates. It is generally believed that when the body temperature rises abnormally, the heart rate will increase; likewise, when the body temperature drops, the heart rate and strength of heart contractions will decrease accordingly. Those with a higher resting heart rate can indicate a higher risk of getting cardiovascular diseases. By doing regular exercises, the body’s sympathetic nervous activity decreases, which will lower the resting heart rate, improving the heart function and resulting in a more flexible neuromodulation.

• Respiratory Rate: Respiratory rate plays a critical role. The normal respiratory rate of a healthy adult is 12 – 20 breaths per minute (brpm). A low respiratory rate is a general indication of good health. Even while exercising, the respiratory rate of those with better physical fitness levels tend to be lower. There are many breathing techniques that can help you to manage your stress levels, relax and improve your concentration and sleep quality. Indulging in breathing exercises daily will help reduce the anxiety and stress and keep the health on track.

• Blood Oxygen Saturation: Blood oxygen saturation is closely related to lung health. Blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) refers to the concentration of oxygen in human blood, which is the key index to measure health. The ideal Spo2 level should be between 95 – 100 percent. A figure lower than 90 percent is considered too low, however, the figure may vary with individual physical differences. For instance, some people may feel discomfort at high altitudes because of the decrease in Spo2 levels. Monitoring how your body responds and changes with different blood oxygen saturation levels in different states can help you understand your own body better.

• Sleep Monitoring: Your immunity is the first line of defense against viruses. Quality sleep is the key to maintaining healthy body functions. When people go to sleep, they experience several cycles of rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement. The non-rapid eye movement stage can be further divided into deep and light sleep. During the deep-sleep stage, the body will begin to repair, build bones, grow muscles and enhance the immune system. In normal circumstances, a healthy adult will get approximately 15-25 percent of deep sleep each night. However, this figure varies amongst individuals. Garmin’s sleep monitoring function records the level of blood oxygen saturation and the number of times you toss and turn throughout the night so you can closely monitor your sleep quality.

• Stress Monitoring: The tenser a situation is, the more we will need to stabilize our physical and mental states. When we are caught up in highly stressful situations over long periods of time, our physical and mental health can get affected from coping with the stress and these responses could be destructive to our health over time. Garmin’s stress detection function uses Heart Rate Variability (HRV) to estimate the body’s stress levels. Training, physical activities, sleeping conditions, mental state and other daily activities will affect your stress levels. Garmin’s stress monitoring function measures stress levels from 0 to 100; 0-25 suggests a low stress level, 26-50 suggests a moderate stress level and 51-75 and 76-100 indicates high and extremely high stress levels respectively. This function will enable you to monitor your daily stress levels.

About Garmin’s physiological data monitoring

Garmin’s physiological data monitoring, along with exercise analysis and suggestions help users check their health status and training results. TheGarmin Connect APP offers users access to multiple training plans and various training exercises that can be done at home. Key physiological data arethen recorded during workouts to allow efficient health monitoring.

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With coronavirus numbers increasing day by day, social distancing is the only way to stop the spread of the pandemic. Out of all, senior citizens are at greater risk and need to take extra precautions. People older than 80 with some illness have to be more careful due to weaker immunity.

Multiple associated comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease result in severe COVID-19 infection in senior citizens.

Hence, the high mortality rate. Besides staying at home, they need to avoid meeting visitors. Food to boost immunity must be taken along with their daily prescribed medicines. Staying well-hydrated is important for them. Also, self-medication is not advisable.

Also Read: List of approved private labs for coronavirus testing

Here are some of the health measures issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the well-being of the elderly population during the pandemic.

DO’s

1. Stay at home. Avoid meeting visitors at home. If a meeting is essential, maintain a distance of one meter.

2. Wash your hands and face at regular intervals with soap and water.

3. Sneeze and cough either into your elbow or into tissue paper/handkerchief. After coughing or sneezing dispose of the tissue paper/ wash your
handkerchief.

4. Ensure proper nutrition through home-cooked fresh hot meals, hydrate frequently and take fresh juices to boost immunity.

5. Exercise and meditate.

6. Take your daily prescribed medicines regularly.

7. Talk to your family members (not staying with you), relatives, friends via call or video conferencing, take help from family members if needed

8. Postpone your elective surgeries (if any) like cataract surgery or total knee replacement

9. Clean the frequently touched surfaces with disinfectant regularly.

DON’TS

1. Do not cough or sneeze into your bare hands or without covering your face.

2. Don’t go near your contacts if you are suffering from fever and cough.

3. Don’t touch your eyes, face, nose and tongue.

4. Don’t go near affected/ sick people.

5. Don’t self-medicate.

6. Don’t shake hands or hug your friends and near ones.

7. Do not go to hospital for routine checkup or follow up. As far as possible make tele-consultation with your healthcare provider.

8. Don’t go to crowded places like parks, markets and religious places.

9. Don’t go out unless it is absolutely essential.

Source: https://www.indiatvnews.com/health/coronavirus-elderly-senior-citizens-old-people-covid-19-602832

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Just two weeks after the Indian Council of Medical Research allowed private labs to test for coronavirus, the first made-in-India kits hit the markets.

Mylab Discovery Solutions, a biotech company in Pune, sent its kits to 150 diagnostic centres in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, and Bengaluru. In an interview to the BBC, Mylab’s research and development chief, Minal Dakhave Bhosale, said that the kits were designed in “record time” and took merely six weeks instead of the standard three or four months.

Mylab was the first in the country to receive a commercial clearance from the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).

A race against time

For Bhosale, it was a race against time, both professionally and personally. Mylab had only begun work on the kits in February, and on 18 March, just a day after the ICMR’s announcement allowing private labs to test for Covid-19, Bhosale managed to submit the kit for evaluation to the NIV.

Later in the day, she submitted the proposal to the FDA and CDSCO, an hour before she herself was taken to the hospital to give birth to her daughter. “It was an emergency, so I took this on as a challenge. I have to serve my nation,” she said to the BBC.

The hard work paid off. “If you carry out 10 tests on the same sample, all 10 results should be the same…Our kit was perfect.”

India’s low testing rates are worrying

The decision to allow private laboratories to test for Covid-19 came amid the growing criticism that India is not testing enough people. With only 6.8 tests being conducted for every 1 million people, India has one of the lowest testing rates in the world.

In the days following ICMR’s announcement, the government approved the sale of 18 diagnostic kits by private companies last week. India has so far reported a total of 873 coronavirus cases. The infection has claimed 19 lives so far.

The government also approved 12 antibody rapid tests. Known as a serological test, the antibody rapid test employs a different method that the usual RT-PCR test to diagnose Covid-19. It aims to determine even whether a person had been exposed to the virus earlier.

Approvals for antibody tests were granted to BioMednomics (USA), Getein Biotech (China), Sensing Self Ltd (Singapore), Hangzhou Biotest Biotech (China), AmonMed Biotechnology Co (China), Beijing Tigsun Diagnostics Co Ltd (China), Biomaxima (Polan, CTK Biotech (USA), Hunan Lituo Biotechnology Co (China), Vivacheck Lab (China) and Wondfo (China).

Government laboratories are also using RT-PCR probes, crucial in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 genome, that have been procured from the U.S.

Also, read Antibody test or RT-PCR. Both needed to fight Covid-19. Don’t rake up controversies

Source: https://theprint.in

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