Latest news with #PHC
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Court bans Thandiani, Taxila crushers
The Abbottabad Bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) has issued a landmark 31-page judgment, declaring the stone crushing plants on Thandiani Road and Taxila illegal and ordering their permanent closure. In its detailed verdict, PHC noted that the NOCs (No Objection Certificates) obtained by the stone crushing plant operators from various government officials held no legal validity. Previously, the Environmental Protection Tribunal, which holds monthly sessions at the Sessions Court Building in Abbottabad, had also ordered the closure of these stone crushing plants for damaging the environment and air quality. However, the plant owners managed to continue their operations by appeasing the police and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Challenging the Environmental Tribunal's decision, the stone crushing plant owners filed writ petitions at the Abbottabad Bench of PHC through their lawyers, including Nasir Aslam and Zafar Iqbal. PHC rejected these petitions and ordered the permanent closure of all stone crushing plants causing environmental harm near residential areas. This public-interest historic ruling was achieved largely through the efforts of young lawyer Hashim Iqbal Khan Jadoon, who was educated and trained in Canada.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Coimbatore man gets double life term, 16 years of RI for raping elderly Dalit woman in 2022
The Special Court for the trial of cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Coimbatore on Tuesday awarded 16 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and double life imprisonment to a 42-year-old man from Kinathukadavu in the district for raping an elderly Dalit woman in 2022. Judge K. Vivekananthan awarded the punishment to M. Velusamy, a daily wage labourer from a village near Kinathukadavu. Velusamy, who belongs to a dominant caste, was arrested for raping a 65-year-old Dalit woman from the village on June 26, 2022. He committed the crime when the woman went out in search of fodder for goats. As per the First Information Report (FIR), Velusamy also assaulted the woman when she resisted the rape attempt. While Velusamy escaped after the crime, the woman managed to walk to the nearest bus stop, where she fainted. After identifying the woman in unconscious state, a villager informed her grandson, who rushed her to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Kinathukadavu. Sensing the gravity of the crime and the health condition of the woman, the PHC authorities referred her to the District Headquarters Hospital in Pollachi. S. Amutha, the then inspector of the All Women Police Station (AWPS), Perur, reached the hospital after being alerted about the crime and recorded the woman's statement. The court found Velusamy guilty and awarded him seven years of rigorous imprisonment for offence under Section 325 (punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code. He was awarded another seven years of RI for offences under Section 325 IPC read with 3 (2) (Va) of SC/ST) of SC/ST Act. He was sentenced to undergo two years of RI for 506 (i) (criminal intimidation). The court awarded life imprisonment to the accused for offence under Section 376 (1) of IPC and another life term for offence under Section 376 (1) read with 3(2) (v) of SC/ST Act. The convict was ordered to undergo the two life terms concurrently, after undergoing the 16 years of rigorous imprisonment for other offences consecutively. He was slapped with a total fine of ₹32,000.
India Today
2 days ago
- Health
- India Today
Why it's drone war against dengue, malaria in Goa
The Goa government, in a new strategy against vector-borne diseases dengue and malaria, is planning to use drones to identify mosquito-breeding sites and take measures to control them. Two high-risk sites—one urban and one rural—will be identified in North Goa and South Goa for the research study, which is planned to be scaled up to cover the state, depending on the outcomes.'This will help us reach overhead tanks of buildings and roof gutters where there is water leakage and stagnation (leading to breeding of mosquitoes). There have been instances where we have reported cases but breeding sites have not been observed as we have been unable to reach them,' said Dr Kalpana Mahatme, state programme officer and deputy director of the National Vector Borne Diseases Control project is being undertaken with the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), Goa branch, and will cover two urban pockets and two primary health centres (PHCs) in rural areas, which are high-risk places due to incidences of will be used to identify breeding sites and spray insecticide. The procurement of four drones is in process. 'Once we get good results, we will scale it up all over Goa,' explained Mahatme. Goa is witnessing rapid urbanisation with a spurt in the development of highrises and residential complexes. It may be difficult to access some parts of these buildings where mosquitoes may breed. People also travel from remote areas to cities for work, and may end up being carriers of dengue and 2022, Goa reported 443 cases of dengue and one fatality. This rose to 512 cases and three deaths in 2023, and 567 cases and three deaths in said they were also planning an app-based research study with the NIMR for tracking the movement of migrant labour to prevent malaria. Under this, the contractors will have to install an app on the phones of labourers to help the department track their movements and enable the local PHC staff and those from the NIMR to conduct rapid tests and blood case of positive cases, it will help track the movements of these workers. According to the Goa Public Health Act, 1985, it is mandatory for all construction workers, especially migrant workers, to be screened for malaria and other diseases. They must also be given a health card issued by the public health department. Any violation by the contractors entails a fine of Rs 10, indigenous cases of malaria (those among the local population) have been nil for the past two years. Goa, however, has imported cases from other states due to the migrant population that flocks to the coastal state from Karnataka, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and 2022, Goa had two cases of malaria and no deaths. In 2023 and 2024, there were no positive cases and no fatalities. The state has not reported any malaria deaths since 2018. Goa is targeting the elimination of malaria by to India Today Magazine
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Iowa health care center ends gender-affirming care for adult transgender patients
Primary Health Care in Iowa has ended hormone replacement therapy for adult transgender patients, according to several sources. (Photo by Zach Sommers for Iowa Capital Dispatch) A federally funded health care center in central Iowa has terminated core care for its transgender patients for fear of losing federal funding, four sources have confirmed. In a letter sent to transgender patients receiving hormone replacement therapy, and obtained by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Primary Health Care stated in February it would no longer provide hormone replacement therapy care '(d)ue to a recent Executive Order restricting use of federal grant funds from being used for gender-affirming care.' PHC in the letter told patients that should the health center be 'out of compliance' with the order, it would risk losing 'critical' and 'significant' funding. A former PHC employee, who spoke with the Iowa Capital Dispatch on the condition of anonymity, said PHC's executive team told employees the health center risked 'losing millions of dollars in federal grant funding for the homeless support services' if it continued gender-affirming care. The Iowa Capital Dispatch granted anonymity because the former employee feared potential repercussions from PHC. A transgender advocate and another person with knowledge of the change, both of whom spoke to Iowa Capital Dispatch on the condition they not be identified, also confirmed that PHC had ended gender-affirming care. Primary Health Care is a federally qualified health center, which means it receives funding from the federal government through the Health Resources and Services Administration under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. FQHCs were created in the early 1990s to serve as safety net providers. They care for underserved populations. PHC is one of 14 in the state. Representatives of Primary Health Care and Iowa Primary Care Association, which provides broad support for Iowa's FQHCs, did not respond to repeated questions that were posed to executives, board members, and physicians during multiple weeks of outreach. The former employee said staff at PHC were 'begging' the executive team to figure out different funding methods for the clinic in order to keep providing gender-affirming care. 'The basis of Primary Health Care and the Project is the queer community … and how could we possibly continue to be that if we're telling part of that population that (they) don't belong (at PHC)?' the former employee said. Only one other federally qualified health center in Iowa responded when asked whether other care centers were following PHC's lead in terminating care for transgender patients. Chad Wolbers, chief executive officer at Crescent Community Health Center in Dubuque, said that's not happening at his health centers. When asked if Crescent Community currently has transgender patients, Wolbers said, 'Yes we do. We take care of all that present to us in need of care.' A principal with FQHC Associates, a consulting firm for FQHCs nationally, acknowledged the confusion over federally funded health care centers' ability to provide gender-affirming care to patients. Steve Weinman pointed to two executive orders President Donald Trump signed in the early days of his administration. One executive order deals with stopping transition care for children and teenagers through 18 years of age. The other executive order, which Trump signed the day he took office, is meant to 'defend women's rights' and 'recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.' In doing so, the Trump administration takes aim at gender ideology and the 'false claim' of being able to change one's sex. Through that lens, the executive order directs agencies to 'end the Federal funding of gender ideology' and that 'Federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology.' The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told the Iowa Capital Dispatch that less than two weeks after the signing of that executive order, the Health Resources and Services Administration sent an email to its federal funds recipients that they must stop their programs related to 'gender ideology' for 'people aged 19 and younger.' Five days later, HRSA sent another email to tell recipients its previous 'notification had been rescinded.' HHS told the Iowa Capital Dispatch that 'Health centers continue to provide care to Americans who face challenges in accessing quality healthcare.' When asked why PHC still moved to stop gender-affirming care when the federal agency told FQHCs to ignore its previous mandate, the former employee at PHC said that's 'the big question, and that's what staff wanted to know. Why? Nothing is law…The only thing that we were being told is that they were scared to lose the federal funding that they had. Which, the amount of federal funding that they get for homeless support is a huge chunk.' State Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, a Democrat of Hiawatha and the first transgender legislator elected to Iowa's Legislature, said PHC's decision to terminate hormone replacement therapy care is 'deeply disappointing.' She said 'an executive order is not law. It is not force of law. And what the Trump administration is doing, withholding federal funds, is a violation of both the law and funds that Congress has appropriated. 'If the federal pressure has been removed, then they should immediately restore services and health care to trans patients. There is no justification for cutting off access to health care,' Wichtendahl said. One patient who said she received hormone replacement therapy care at PHC's University Avenue location said she felt 'like all hell was breaking loose' when she learned about PHC's decision. 'It felt like the sanctuary that I had was kind of just crumbling beneath me. It was quite heart wrenching because I do love going to my doctor.' The patient requested to remain anonymous. She said her provider at PHC was also emotional about the decision to terminate hormone replacement care. The former employee echoed that and said, 'everyone seemed to be pretty emotional about the decision that had been made.' Not only was PHC stopping gender-affirming care, but the former employee claimed staff also had to remove or cross-out pronouns on their ID badges and business cards. The messaging around PHC's decision to end gender-affirming care was carefully managed, according to the former employee. The executive team at PHC handed staff a script with suggested responses to likely questions that patients or people wanting to establish care may ask. There were at least six potential questions and corresponding answers, according to a staff handout the Iowa Capital Dispatch reviewed. PHC's decision, made at the same time as Republican legislative efforts to roll back gender identity protections in the Iowa Civil Rights Act weighed heavily on both the former employee and the patient. 'It's such a common thing for trans people to not get ample HRT care, as well as HIV care. Not having good resources for that, it just really sucks,' said the patient. Wichtendahl said now is the time for the transgender community to make its voices heard 'and say you're not taking away our health care.' 'We will make that demand that they restore those services,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Meet Mangayarkarasi, the ‘Florence Nightingale' from TN's Virudhunagar
VIRUDHUNAGAR: Friday (May 30) marked the culmination of the journey which K Alamelu Mangayarkarasi of Virudhunagar embarked on 17 years ago as a nurse in a PHC in Arattavadi, a remote village in Tiruvannamalai that was infamous for its high number of home deliveries. Mangayarkarasi, who is now serving in the government hospital in Srivilliputhur, has been honoured with the prestigious Florence Nightingale Award by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in recognition of her exemplary contribution in several areas including obstetrics and family welfare. Speaking to TNIE, the 40-year-old recalled how her path to nursing began. 'I wanted to become a teacher but didn't get enough marks. So, I pursued diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery. During college, my mother Philomina would write letters urging me to see the value of this noble profession. Her words still motivate me,' she said.
