Category: Awareness

International Day of Person with Disabilities, December 3, 2022

Posted on by City Today News (City today.media)

Thalassemia a blood disorder considered as a disability, can be treated with a Stem Cell Transplant

DKMS-BMST brings hope to Thalassemia patients by helping them in finding a matching stem cell donor

Bengaluru, 2nd December 2022:  Thalassemia is a blood disorder, which happens due to a genetic defect in the protein hemoglobin, reducing the transport capacity for oxygen in the blood. In India, every year more than 10,000 children are born with this condition. Thalassemia is a disabling condition because it leads to chronic anemia, requiring regular blood transfusions.  It is also associated with other disabling co-morbidities like organ damage, bone damage, and cardiac complications, leaving the patient struggling to lead a normal life. Thalassemia can be treated with a stem cell transplant from a human leukocyte antigens (HLA) matched blood stem cells from a related or an unrelated donor. 

Dr Govind Eriat, Consultant Hematology, Hemato-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant BGS Global Gleneagles Hospital, Bengaluru said “India being the thalassemia capital of the world, has a huge burden of the disease and records over 10,000 new cases every year. People with thalassemia may need lifelong blood transfusions and other therapies (like iron removal medications) which has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of the patient. Regular blood transfusion, checkups, diet and other restrictions reduces the quality of life and at the same time, being prone to various other health conditions has a debilitating effect on the physical and mental health of the thalassemia patient, leaving them disabled from leading a normal life. Some thalassemia patients need transplant, that gives them freedom from recurrent blood transfusions.” 

In 2016, Government of India recognized Thalassemia and other rare blood disorders as a disability under The Rights of People with Disability Bill passed by the Parliament of India in December 2016. 

Patrick Paul, CEO DKMS BMST Foundation India “DKMS-BMST has been at the forefront of organizing support to thalassemia patients by helping them find matching donors from within the patient’s family or unrelated donors through the global database of potential donors. To support the cause DKMS has initiated DKMS-BMST thalassemia programme. Under this programme, DKMS-BMST collaborates with NGOs and transplantation clinics to organize thalassemia camps.  During the camps, pediatric thalassemia patients and their family members give buccal swab samples for HLA typing. The swab samples are then sent to DKMS laboratory in Germany and clinical matching reports are provided. DKMS also helps where there are no matching stem cell donors for the patients in their family, by finding unrelated donor in the international stem cell donor data base. Till now DKMS-BMST has tied up with 18 partners, which include 11 Transplant centers, 1 donor registry and 6 NGOs in India.”

In 2022, DKMS-BMST and its Thalassemia partners conducted Thalassemia camps in Karnataka, Bihar, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Goa and Delhi & Neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and collected over four thousand swab samples from patients and their families and their efforts has benefited 1288 thalassemia patients.”

“Matching of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) between the patient and donor is required for a successful blood stem cell transplant. But in India, only 30% of the patients are able to find a matching donor within their own family and rest 70% are depended on an unrelated donor. However, Indians only account for 0.04% of total listed unrelated donors globally due to lack of awareness and prevailing myths around the stem cell donation process,” added Patrick. 

December 3rd is designated by UN as the International Day of persons with disabilities and aims to raise awareness and understanding of various disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. Thalassemia as a disability, can be cured with a stem cell transplant, but there is only 1 in a million chance that someone comes up as a match for a patient, and Indian patients mainly require an Indian tissue match. Blood stem cell donation is a completely safe process and more and more young Indians need to come forward and to register as potential donors.To register as a potential blood stem cell donor please visit: www.dkms-bmst.org/register

City Today News – 9341997936

OCD Clinic, NIMHANS Commemorates its Silver Jubilee

Posted on by City Today News (City today.media)

The Speciality OCD clinic at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru is organizing its Silver Jubilee Symposium on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related disorders at the Convention Centre, NIMHANS on 11-13th November, 2022.

The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) clinic is a specialized clinic for the assessment and treatment of OCD patients. This is the largest out-patient clinic facility for the treatment of OCD patients in India. OCD is a form of severe mental illness which is characterized obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions manifests as repetitive thoughts or images that most patients experience as senseless or excessive. The distress is so excessive that those who suffer often have to resort to compulsions to controls their distress. Compulsions are repetitive acts that an individual is driven to carry out in response to obsessions.

OCD symptoms can be widely varying. Amongst the most commonly reported are of people who spend many hours cleaning themselves or their belongings and report experiencing repetitive thoughts of being contaminated or unclean. Other common obsessions are excessive doubts, excessive fears of harming self or others, need for things to be in particular order etc. People experiencing this resort to repeated checking, seeking numerous reassurances, excessive praying, arranging and rearranging, etc. OCD is relatively common; however, most people are not aware that their symptoms or suffer from shame because of their symptoms and fail to seek treatment.

Alongside the clinic also provides treatment to disorders related to OCD, like Body Dysmorphic Disorder (excessive pre-occupation with appearance), Trichotillomania (repetitive hair pulling), repetitive skin picking, and Hoarding disorder (excessively collecting and not being able to discard unwanted items ).

The speciality OCD clinic provides out-patient services every Tuesday. Severely ill and/or treatment resistant patients with OCD are routinely admitted in to the wards for intensive treatments. Medication and specialized counselling commonly cognitive behaviour therapy are commonly provided. Additionally, the unit provides brain stimulation techniques like deep transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation etc. The unit has received in-patient input.

expertise in providing neurosurgical interventions like deep brain stimulation for patients who are not improving with all other treatments. In the last 25 years, around 50000 patients are 2500 estimated to have been treated in the out-patients services, with around 7000 patients having

As a specialised training centre, mental health professionals in psychiatry, clinical psychology and psychiatric social work are trained systematically on various aspects of OCD and allied disorders, including pharmacological and psychotherapeutic management. The centre routinely receives external trainees, including from SAARC countries. A post-doctoral fellowship program has also been successfully ongoing for the last 10 years.

OCD clinic has a good consistent track record in research in various aspects of OCD. The research support is derived from various prestigious grants both nationally and internationally.

The Silver Jubilee symposium will have talks from leading International and Indian experts on various aspects of OCD and related disorders. Further, the academic extravaganza will also include workshops, poster presentations and quiz competitions.

An exhibition is also being organized in the Heritage Museum at NIMHANS on “Expressions of OCD” The exhibition represents selected entries of a Nationwide competition in painting, poetry, photography, and short-films which reflects creative thoughts, emotions and intuitions on obsessive compulsive disorders. The exhibition will be open through November, 2022.

City Today News

9341997936

Studio Palasa’s ‘The Garden Tea Party’ – An evening of garden talk, plant styling and plant swaps

Posted on by City Today News (City today.media)

Bangalore, October 2022: Situated in the heart of Bengaluru, Studio Palasa is a popular handcrafted planter brand helmed by brother-sister duo, Prinston Pereira & Preine Pereira. Studio Palasa celebrates the siblings’ passion for nature and design. The brand which started out with an idea of using design and plants to creatively enhance spaces, has grown into a full fledged commitment of using plants and planters both indoors and outdoors to enhance the overall well being of a person or a company. Besides their remarkable planters, the team at Studio Palasa offers garden and space makeovers with a promise to make them green and serene.

On 29th October, 2022, Studio Palasa put together a one-of-a-kind plant event at their store in Koramangala, Bangalore, where the plant & decor community came together under one roof for ‘A Garden Tea Party’.

The event witnessed a host of expert panelists from the plant community creating a dialogue, giving the guests a front-row view to the evolution and future of gardening in India. During the event, founder Preine Pereira, also highlighted ways to spruce up one’s space with planters for the festive season. City’s plant aficionados also participated in the ‘Plant Swap’ activity where they got to meet, exchange ideas and connect with like minded people while exchanging plants.

City Today News – 9341997936

Resilience and sustainability from honey and bee keeping, women take the lead in north Karnataka

Posted on by City Today News (City today.media)

By supporting beekeeping, with training, hives, and equipping women self-help group (SHG) and youth with life skills, DCB Bank hopes to create sustainably livelihood opportunities in the mangrove landscape.

DCB Bank, is collaborating with rural communities to promote coastal ecosystem-based livelihood project through beekeeping for women and youth residing near mangroves in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka.

The beekeeping project is ongoing across six villages of the district with the goal to create an alternate livelihood stream for the local communities. The life skill will provide long-term earning opportunities to women and youth. Women and particularly those in the rural landscape make a silent yet substantial contribution for the well being of their families and community.

The honeybee helps with pollination, this is in addition to the myriad biodiversity of flies, butterflies, birds, and other forms of pollination that keep fruit and food production thriving on earth. India’s domestic bee species are well suited to the dual role of enhancing fruit, agri productivity and provide honey, pollen, beeswax to the beekeepers. The beekeepers provide a safe space free from depredation to the bees. A symbiotic relationship that will have a positive impact on conservation and biodiversity in the region. Beekeeping will also significantly reduce the dependence of the local community on cutting mangroves, the depletion of which has been a cause for concern. Bees feed on mangrove flora or flowers. This is a means to try and achieve a balance in coexistence for humans and mangrove forests.

DCB Bank has arranged 200 bee boxes and healthy bee colonies in the first phase of the project. On the ground teams have worked to inform, educate, and mobilise the communities to volunteer for the training. The Bank is supporting 190 women from 15 self-help groups and 10 youths with bee boxes and bee colonies. They, along with 50 more youth, will receive training in beekeeping. Each bee box can produce up to 10 kilograms of honey a year, and if things go as planned the next year 2023, approximately 2,000 kilograms of honey will be available with the beneficiaries. The expectation for the price of honey is six hundred rupees a kilo. The beneficiary groups shall also receive three honey extractors for the hygienic extraction of superior grade honey.

The participants will be guided in selling their produce in the market. The project will directly benefit five hundred households comprising 75% women, enabling them to gain a manner of financial independence, contribute to the family income and play a key role to maintain the biodiversity in the area. This sustainable rural livelihood enterprise allows the beneficiaries to conduct beekeeping in the vicinity of their residence while they continue with the daily routine activities.

One of the beekeeping activities also involves setting up bee colonies. Ensuring hygienic bee colonies is important for the success of the sustainable enterprise, the project will include procuring and placing disease-free colonies of Apis cerana indica, a subspecies of the Asiatic honeybee known for its highly social behaviour.

In addition to the participating women and youth, an estimated 260 more individuals, who are a part of farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and will be involved in the making of bee boxes and marketing of honey, will also directly benefit from the project.

DCB Bank Gaurav Mehta, Head PR, Marketing & CSR had this to say, “DCB Bank focusses on rural communities and their wellbeing. This project has a threefold objective – rural entrepreneurship, sustainable livelihood and build climate change resilience. DCB Bank corporate social responsibility initiatives partner with local communities to protect sources of groundwater, enhance biodiversity, and support sustainable livelihood.
By harnessing bees as a nature based solution – bees as pollinators and income generator, mangroves as bee flora, brings about awareness on the impact of climate change on the coastal communities. Uttara Kannada has the potential to create a unique space with mangrove honey in the country and give the women a chance to supplement their income and improve their quality of life. DCB Bank is confident that the initiative will protect biodiversity, enhance crop production, and promote forest regeneration, which is in line with our community development approach and outreach programmes.”

The crucial role of women in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods & overall wellbeing has never been in doubt. Women account for a substantial proportion of the agricultural labour force, including informal work and perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work within households. They make significant contribution to agricultural production, food security and nutrition, land, and natural resource management, and building climate resilience.

City Today News

9341997936

Himalaya brings back “Ek Nayi Muskaan” – a flagship initiative aimed at spreading awareness on cleft lip and palate in children

Posted on by City Today News (City today.media)

Bengaluru, October 8, 2022: Himalaya Wellness Company, one of India’s leading wellness brands, announced the launch of its 7th edition of “Ek Nayi Muskaan” in Bengaluru today. Muskaan is the flagship social impact initiative that aims to create awareness on the condition of cleft lips and palates in children. This initiative has been co-created and implemented in partnership with Smile Train, the world largest cleft-focused NGO dedicated to spreading awareness on cleft deformities and supporting this facial birth difference and supporting 100% free cleft surgeries and comprehensive cleft care for the underprivileged. To commemorate the launch this year, Himalaya, organized an event to address the societal stigma that children face due to cleft and bring about a change in society to recognize that children with clefts can live full and healthy lives. The event saw many engaging activities such as gaming zones, art workshops, and interactive installations for children. They also got an opportunity to engage and interact with various Instagram influencers such as Neha Chatlani, Namrata Kumari, Swati Gandhi, Diksha, and Palak Bhandari at the event.

The event saw speakers who shared their success stories with children, helping them get inspired from some incredible narratives on cleft.

Through this initiative, Himalaya Wellness Company and Smile Train India are working to spread awareness about the birth condition that affects one in 700 births in India, but still faces a shocking lack of awareness among much of the population. This initiative also seeks to support families by providing free cleft treatment for children in need across the country.

Himalaya Wellness Company has persisted on its aim to bring happiness to children across India in tandem with its mission to spread “Wellness in every Home and Happiness in every Heart.” Himalaya, along with Smile Train, has been on the mission to spread the joy of smiles since the start of this initiative in 2016. Together, they have enabled nearly 1,100 cleft repair surgeries so far and helped in bringing smiles to the faces of these children who deserve a healthy and happy smile.

“Muskaan is an initiative that is very close to our hearts. Through the years, we have seen hundreds of children get their chance at a healthier and happier life because of the cleft repair surgeries. Our hope and objective, therefore, is to continue to see many such happy faces in the future. As a company, we have always believed in Happiness through Wellness to be the core of our operation and function. This initiative by Himalaya Lip Care helps us take the mission on-ground and create that impact we want to see in the world. With Muskaan, we intend to partner in the journey of these brave children towards achieving their dreams and living a happy and healthy life.” said Mr. Sushil Goswami, General Manager – Consumer Products Division, Himalaya Wellness Company.

Last year, due to the pandemic, the Muskaan event was conducted on an online platform and was still able to transform the lives of more than 130 children in need of a cleft repair surgery. This year intends to be no exception. On the purchase of every premium lip balm, Himalaya Wellness Company will donate a dedicated amount towards the initiative.

Emphasizing the initiative, Ms. Anjali Katoch, Senior Director Communication and Development, Smile Train India, explained, “Children with untreated clefts face difficulties in eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking, with increased susceptibility to ENT infections. This can greatly affect their mental health and social lives as well. A cleft surgery is life transforming; however, hundreds of thousands of children in India still await treatment due to poverty and lack of awareness. Through Muskaan and our partnership with Himalaya Wellness Company, we continue to aim to increase awareness about clefts and make free cleft surgeries and comprehensive cleft care easily accessible to more and more children across India.”

City Today News

9341997936