Daily News Analysis 5th November 2018

Daily News Analysis (Prelims + Mains) – 5th November 2018

Topics for Prelims

Ayurveda Day

• Ministry of AYUSH observes Ayurveda Day every year on Dhanawantari Jayanti (Dhanteras).
• This year Ayurveda Day celebrated throughout the Country on 5th November.
• Theme of 3^rd Ayurveda Day is “Ayurveda for Public Life”
• Highlight of the 3rd Ayurveda Day is the launch of the AYUSH-Health Management Information System (A-HMIS), a dedicated software application for Electronic Health Record (EHR) for the AYUSH systems of Healthcare.
• A-HIMS which is being launched across 15 AYUSH units in different parts of the country in the first phase is expected to revolutionise the way Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy are practised in the country, by inducting modern IT-solutions into these systems.

About Ayurveda Day

• Ayurveda is perceived as one of the most ancient and well documented system of medicine equally relevant in modern times.
• Its holistic approach whether for healthy individuals or for diseased ones remains unparalleled. Prevention of disease and promotion of health is the main aim of Ayurveda.
• Lord Dhanvantari is considered as divine propagator of Ayurveda. He is conferred with the virtues of granting health and wealth. Therefore, Dhanvantari Jayanti was preferred for celebration of Ayurveda Day to nationalize this system of medicine which can prove to be a cornerstone for its ultimate globalization.
• Ministry of AYUSH observing Ayurveda day since 2015

Objectives of Ayurveda Day

• An attempt to further promote Ayurveda into mainstream
• Focus on strengths of Ayurveda and its unique treatment principles.
• Reduce the burden of disease and related morbidity and mortality by utilizing the potential of Ayurveda.
• Exploring the potential of Ayurveda to contribute towards National health policy & National Health programmes.
• Create a sense of awareness in today’s generation and promote Ayurvedic principles of healing in society.

National Ayurveda Day logo

The logo has the following elements.

National Ayurveda day logo has the silhouette of lord Dhanwantari in the centre of the logo represents the lord of Medicine.

The five petals in logo symbolize Pancha Mahabhuta and three circles beneath signify Vata, Ptta, Kapha, the fundamental principles of Ayurveda.

An oval leaf encircling the elements depicts the essence of healing through Nature based on these fundamental principles.

National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Award

• The award has been instituted by Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India to be conferred on Ayurveda experts possessing qualifications included in II, III, IV schedule of IMCC Act, 1970 and having profound contribution to the field of Ayurveda.
• The award is conferred every year on the Ayurveda Day.
• National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Award” comprising of Citation, Trophy (Dhanwantari Statue) and Cash reward of Rupees five lakh shall be conferred on this day to eminent Vaidyas.
• The Ministry of AYUSH has selected three renowned Ayurveda experts namely Vaidya Shiv Kumar Mishra, Vaidya Madhav Singh Bhagel and Vaidya Itoozhi Bhavadasan Namboothiri for the prestigious 3^rd National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Award for the year 2018.
• The winners of the National level Ayurveda quiz conducted by All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi also felicitated during celebration.

World Toilet Day Contest for District Collectors

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation today announced the Swachh Bharat World Toilet Day Contest for districts and States.

The purpose of the Contest is to encourage all districts in India to re-intensify the sanitation people’s movement with a special focus on ODF Sustainability.

Top 10 District Collectors, along with the Top 3 State Mission Directors/State Secretary in-charge of Sanitation will be recognized and awarded by the Swachh Bharat Mission

Awardees will get a chance to interact and share experience with Swachh Bharat brand ambassador, and Actor Shri Akshay Kumar.

About World Toilet Day

• World Toilet Day (WTD) is observed day on 19 November to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis.
• WTD was established by the World Toilet Organization in 2001. After Twelve years in 2013, the UN General Assembly declared World Toilet Day an official UN day.
• UN-Water is the official convener of World Toilet Day.
• UN-Water maintains the official World Toilet Day website and chooses a special theme for each year.
• WTD focuses on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: to ensure availability and sustainable management of sanitation and water for all by 2030.
• 2018 Theme: When Nature Calls
• WTD is marked by educational campaigns and other activities. Events are planned by UN-Water, local civil society organizations and volunteers.

This year’s campaign is based on the following narrative: “When nature calls, we need a toilet. But, billions of people don’t have one. This means human faeces, on a massive scale, are not being captured or treated – contaminating the water and soil that sustain human life. We are turning our environment into an open sewer. We must build toilets and sanitation systems that work in harmony with ecosystems.”

Nature-based Sanitation Solutions

Nature-based sanitation solutions (NBS) harness the power of ecosystems to help treat human waste before it returns to the environment. Most NBS essentially involve the protection and management of vegetation, soils and/or wetlands, including rivers and lakes.

For instance:

• Composting latrines that capture and treat human waste on site, producing a free supply of fertiliser to help grow crops.
• Human-made wetlands and reed-beds filter wastewater before it is released back into water courses.

About UN-Water

• United Nations Water (UN-Water) coordinates the efforts of United Nations entities and international organizations working on water and sanitation issues.
• No single UN entity dedicated exclusively to water issues. Over 30 UN organizations carry out water and sanitation programmes, reflecting the fact that water issues run through all of the UN’s main focus areas. UN-Water’s role is to coordinate so that the UN family ‘delivers as one’ in response to water related challenges.
• Its Headquarters is situated at Geneva, Switzerland.
• Its members and partners inform about water and sanitation policies, monitor and report on progress, and coordinate two annual global campaigns on World Water Day and World Toilet Day.
• World Water Day is celebrated on 22 March its UN official day since 1993.
• UN-Water consolidated technical advice from UN entities and external organizations helped shape Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. As a result, SDG 6 and its various targets take the entire water and sanitation cycle into account.

Fear of Zika Virus Outbreak 

Jaipur has withnessed higher number of zika virus cases which has created fear of outbreak in Rajastan.

Zika Virus strain that causes microcephaly not found in Rajasthan.

Advanced molecular studies of Zika virus strains, carried out through Next Generation Sequencing suggest that the known mutations linked to fetal microcephaly and high transmissibility of Zika virus in Aedes mosquitoes are not present in the current Zika virus strain that has affected Rajasthan.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is in the forefront of advanced research in virology and the ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV)  is at par with leading scientific establishments across the world conducted studies.

Government has been maintaining high vigil of the possibility of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to Zika virus as the strain may mutate in future or some other unknown/host factors may play a role in microcephaly /other birth defects.

About Zika Virus

• Zika virus infection is caused by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus.
• Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae.
• It is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes which can breed in a pool of water as small as a bottle cap and usually bite during the day.
• Zika virus was named after Zika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947.
• Its first found in rhesus macaque monkey placed in a cage in the Ziika Forest of Uganda, near Lake Victoria,
• Zika virus disease is currently being reported by 86 countries worldwide.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of Zika virus disease are similar to other viral infections such as dengue, and include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, and headache.
• Concerns about disease are pregnant women who become infected with Zika virus can transmit the disease to their unborn babies, with potentially serious consequences.
• Microcephaly is a rare condition where a baby has an abnormally small head. It is due to abnormal brain development of the baby in the womb. Babies and children with microcephaly often have challenges with their brain development as they grow older.

Prevention

• There is currently no vaccine to prevent Zika and no medicine to treat it.
• The best protection is through preventing mosquito bites and avoiding regions with the virus. While Zika’s symptoms are generally mild, pregnant mothers and their unborn child have the greatest risk.

Since the 1950s, it has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia. From 2007 to 2016, the virus spread eastward, across the Pacific Ocean to the Americas, leading to the 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic.

In India, the first outbreak was reported in Ahmedabad in January/February 2017 and second outbreak in July,2017 from Krishnagiri District in Tamilnadu. Both these outbreaks were successfully contained through intensive surveillance and vector management.

The disease continues to be on disease surveillance radars of Union Health Ministry although it is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern vide WHO notification since 18th November, 2016

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