Author: City Today News (City today.media)

Samarthanam Trust announces Covid-19 relief measures to the disabled

Plans to disburse INR 25 lakh monetary and ration kits; 2.5 lakh meals cooked!

While several state governments announced financial assistance to various sections of society impacted by Covid-19 related nationwide lockdown, the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled has set an example by announcing monetary relief, ration kits, daily meals and other initiatives to assist the disabled community across the country.

Soon after the lockdown was announced, the Trust started identifying disabled people in dire need of support and chalked out an action plan to implement the relief work. As many as 14 cities are being covered under the relief work; 2.5 lakh meals were cooked and supplied while dry ration kits are being given to 11,000 people.

Commenting on the initiative, Mahantesh G.K. Founder Managing Trustee, Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, said, “Often, the disabled community loses representation during such relief work simply because the awareness level is poor or they are not prioritised. Instead of highlighting this lapse, we decided to help ourselves by raising funds from philanthropists and charity organisations. In extremely difficult times like these, putting cash in the hands of the deprived people is the greatest need of the hour.”

“More than 400 disabled people in various categories of differently abled community have been selected to receive monetary assistance. The funds (INR 25 lakhs) were released by GiveIndia, the largest and most trusted online donation platform in the country. Samarthanam Trust is in the process of disbursing the amount by crediting the amount directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries,” he added.

Identification of the beneficiaries and direct transfer of amount is being made possible as Samarthanam Trust has data on differently abled community. A beneficiary in rural area will receive INR 5,000 while a beneficiary in an urban area will receive INR 7,000 as monetary assistance.

In addition, 11,000 dry ration kits are being distributed to many other beneficiaries. In response to COVID-19 crisis, the Trust is distributing 8,000 PPE (personal protection equipment) and health kits to doctors and health workers in 10 hospitals. About 100,000 masks are also being distributed.

This is just the first step by the Trust, as Covid-19 changes the world landscape. Samarthanam Trust, the most trusted partner in this caring of the differently abled, plans to expand its activities in phases.

Several beneficiaries of Samarthanam’s initiatives expressed their gratitude on the occasion. Santhosh Kumar M (20), Praveena D (21) and Sharath K (22), all men with low vision from urban areas and visually impaired Mohan Kumar S (26) from rural area thanked Samarthanam for helping them when they needed it most. Likewise, physically challenged Ningaraju (20), Dyamangowda (20) and girls Kavitha (21) and Nandini (22), all from rural Karnataka appreciated Samarthanam’s well-thought relief measures.

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Bangalore June 2020:, With a view to channelize International knowledge, the Gut Microbiota and Probiotic Science Foundation (India) today shared latest insights on the strong relation between Probiotics and immunity during the Covid-19 Pandemic.  These insights were shared by Prof. N.K. Ganguly, President, Gut Microbiota and Probiotic Science Foundation (India) and Former Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research and Dr. Neerja Hajela, Secretary, Gut Microbiota and Probiotic Science Foundation (India).

As we navigate through the most difficult times of our lives, we must remember that behind every cloud there is a silver lining. While the dreaded COVID -19 disease continues to threaten us, the good news is that it does not affect everyone and some people are actually asymptomatic while others recover very quickly.

So why do people respond differently. An interesting study published recently in Nature Medicine by researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute in Australia showed that the secret lies in your very own natural immunity. A strong immune system can actually fight the virus and divert the course of the disease.

We have heard of various ways of boosting immunity – in fact it is the buzzword today especially with no defined treatment or vaccine available to fight the disease. We all know that the gold standard for a strong immune system remains a healthy well – balanced diet with immune boosting nutrients, regular physical activity, adequate hydration and good quality sleep for a well- rested mind.

More recently, However, scientific data suggests that improving intestinal health with probiotics could be another effective way of building immunity. The rationale is simple – about 70% of the body’s immunity is found in the intestine which in turn depends on bacteria to shape the immunity. Although this may sound like stuff that Science fiction is made of, our intestine is home to 100 trillion bacteria of 1000 different types which work together to build our immunity. The beneficial ones which are also called probiotics train the immune system, reduce inflammation  and ward off harmful disease – causing bacteria and viruses. They also prevent metabolic disorders like obesity by producing metabolites like short chain fatty acids especially butyrate.  They also protect the intestinal lining and prevent harmful pathogens and their toxins from entering the blood.

Probiotics are particularly useful in preventing respiratory infections because of their ability to increase activity of Natural Killer cells and levels of antibodies like secretory IgA in the mucosal linings, which are our first line of defence against viral infections.

Given that probiotics shape our immunity, is there enough scientific data that suggests their value in the current COVID – 19 pandemic?

A Cochrane review of 12 studies that included 3720 children, adults and elderly suggested that probiotic use may be associated with fewer people suffering from upper respiratory tract infections and lower incidence of the infection.   Dr. Irene Lenoir-Wijnkoop, at Utrecht University in Netherlands observed that probiotic use could save health care costs and lost productivity due to acute respiratory tract infections.

The link between the intestine and COVID 19 becomes apparent from the fact that some patients who suffered the infection in China showed symptoms of poor intestinal health and suffered from loss of taste and diarrhoea. This prompted China’s National Health Commission to use probiotics along with conventional treatment in patients with COVID-19 infection for improving the balance of the intestinal flora and preventing secondary bacterial infections.

However, probiotic benefits are strain-specific, and it is important to identify the strain of bacteria that is scientifically proven for the benefit. Some strains of Lactobacillus gasseri, Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota have shown to boost immunity and reduce the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections or common cold and flu.

Although we are at a stage where we are still not sure of a clear benefit of probiotics in COVID- 19 patients but given the fact that most of our immunity resides in the intestine which is determined by the kind of bacteria present there,  it may be worthwhile to ensure a balanced intestinal flora with more beneficial probiotic microbes and a stronger immune system that could help in the fight against COVID -19.

City Today News

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