World Health Day aims to make city life healthier

VARANASI: Be a part of the global movement to make cities healthier, is this year's theme for the World Health Day (April 7). It is being organised under the sponsorship of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
While different activities were organised across the world to mark the day, in Varanasi health officials attended a blood donation camp in Harahua on Wednesday.The health authorities said the department had no specific programme to celebrate the day.
The theme of World Health Day 2010 focuses on urbanisation and health for addressing health issues of the rapidly increasing urban population. According to WHO report, over half of the world's population lives in cities. By 2050, seven out of every 10 persons will be city dwellers. India is a part of this global trend. Nearly 28 per cent of India's population lives in cities and this is expected to increase to 41 per cent by the year 2020. The rapid increase in urban population worldwide is among the important global health issues of the 21st century. The health outcomes are determined by many issues like water and sanitation, quality of air, living and working conditions, access to services and resources, communicable diseases and unplanned urbanisation. One in three urban dwellers live in slums, or a total of one billion people worldwide.
In Varanasi too, according to the report of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the total population in slums is about 4,53,222, which is about 37.69 per cent of the city population.
There are 227 slums spread all over the city. The population in the slums varies from 200 to almost 9,000 people with varied densities. Majority of slums have very poor water supply and sanitation facilities, most are either un-sewered or partially sewered, with disposal of household wastewater and solid waste taking place directly into open nullah. The poor environmental conditions within slum areas have adversely affected the health of the residents.
According to a study conducted by District Urban Development Agency (DUDA), nearly 59.5 per cent of the population in these slums is of SC category. Nearly 65 per cent of the slums have been provided with a sewerline and individual toilets, while water supply is present in 192 slums. The community toilets are present only in 45 slums. DUDA is the primary agency responsible for provision of community toilets in Varanasi. Though community toilets have been constructed at various slums, they are not sufficient and the gap results in open defecation by slum dwellers. People living in slums have been living in unhygienic conditions with inadequate infrastructural facilities for a long time and thus immediate attention needs to be given to uplift their quality of life.
In such a situation, how will Varanasi be a part of the global movement to make cities healthier? "We have proposed for the new health posts in the city under urban reproduction and child health (URCH) scheme," additional chief medical officer SC Kannaujiya told TOI on Wednesday. "Six new health posts have been sanctioned for the city," he said. But, the health officials admit that the existing healthcare infrastructure is not sufficient to address the health needs of all and make the city healthier.
On the other hand, the integrated low-cost sanitation (ILCS) scheme is yet to be started in the city. The Centrally-sponsored ILCS for liberation of scavengers started from 1980-81. The main objective of the scheme is to construct low-cost sanitation units through sanitary two-pit pour flush latrines with superstructures and appropriate variations to suit local conditions.
"The ILCS scheme has not been started in Varanasi because the city does not have scavengers carrying human excreta on head," the DUDA project officer told TOI. According to him, the ILCS scheme, adopted in the state in 1994, in its first phase aims to eliminate the tradition of transporting human excreta on head by scavengers. Since there is no such system in Varanasi, there is no need of the first phase on ILCS in the city. The first phase is likely to be completed by June 30 in the state. In the second phase of ILCS, the discharge of human excreta in drains would be checked while toilets would be constructed in the third phase. The city would be covered under the scheme in second and third phases, he said. "As far as the delivery of health facilities in urban slums is concerned, it is the responsibility of the health department. We can only assist them in delivering their responsibilities," said Das.