Rahul Ramagude plays cricket from a wheelchair. Geeta Chauhan is a wheelchair racer with Olympic aspirations. Siddanth uses technology to enhance movement coordination of mentally challenged children. On the International Day of the Disabled, A Ganesh Nadar meets three youngsters making a difference.
The World Health Organisation on Saturday said there is "no threat" to the polio-free status of all Southeast Asian region countries, including India
Bihar has not reported a single case of polio in the last three years and has virtually remained polio free since August 2010, an official said on Monday.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation had removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries. If no fresh case is reported till 2014, the country will be declared polio free.
'In 2009 we had 741 new cases of polio. This was the highest in the world. We ran the most apolitical crusade ever. We had the support of every government. We were never short of funds. The central government gave us Rs 11,000 crore a year. In 2011 we had 42 new cases. From 42 to 0 was our most difficult phase,' Mission Director Anuradha Gupta tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar in an exclusive interview about India's monumental campaign to eradicate polio.
After a child died and six others fell ill on Saturday in Bihar's Vaishali district after allegedly being administered polio drops, a team of doctors from Patna rushed to Hajipur to inquire into it, official sources said.
India on Friday announced that a new rule whereby all travellers from Pakistan would have to be vaccinated against polio would be implemented from February 14.
Over 16,000 families in Pakistan refused to vaccinate their children against polio during the first two days of the latest round of polio campaign in the country, as community opposition and Taliban threats block efforts to eradicate the crippling disease from the country.
Impressed with India's successful effort in polio eradication, Pakistan is keen to emulate the model to achieve polio-free status even as it allayed fears of exporting the virus to the Indian side.
Taliban have banned polio vaccination at North Waziristan Agency following the incident of Dr Shakeel Afridi who with the help of fake polio vaccination campaign traced Osama Bin Ladin and his family. The Al Qaeda chief was later on killed by US marines in the garrison city of Abbottabad on May 2, 2011.
India, which has been polio-free for over a year now, was on Saturday taken off the list of polio endemic countries by the World Health Organisation. This announcement was made by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad at the polio summit 2012 in Delhi in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. There were only four countries in the WHO endemic list, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan.
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan is elated that his angry young man act for the polio campaign has led to a decrease in the number of polio cases this year.
India has said it will consider engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and provide material support to the country in the health sector. The announcement came after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held talks with the Taliban regime's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai.
Five female health workers administering polio vaccines to children, including a 14-year-old girl, were killed in attacks by unidentified gunmen in the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Peshawar on Tuesday prompting authorities to suspend their anti-polio campaign.
A cleric in Pakistan's Punjab province has warned that a jihad would be launched against polio vaccination teams at a time when the World Health Organisation has expressed concern at the emergence of new cases of the disease across the country.
Maternity coverage is a specific feature in health insurance policies that covers the medical expenses associated with childbirth and complications associated, if any.
Out of the 12 fresh cases, 10 are from Uttar Pradesh, which has so far reported 301 polio cases. The Health ministry has confirmed one polio case in the capital.
Bhavina is a gold medallist in the 2022 Para Commonwealth Games and a bronze medallist at the 2022 Para Asian Games.
Following the Taliban ban on Polio vaccination in tribal areas of Pakistan, the United Nations has selected international cricketer Shahid Afridi to boost the anti-polio campaign
The deceased include 12 policemen, one paramilitary and two civilians, a police official said.
The study appearing in the November 17 issue of the journal Science said that vaccination was the key to eradicating polio from countries like India, where the poor sanitation and overcrowding was letting the virus rage unhindered.
Saudi Arabia has made it mandatory for Indians visiting the country to have polio vaccination and the immediate impact of the sudden decision would be on Haj pilgrims going for their annual pilgrimage.
Devendra Fadnavis, who is set to become the chief minister of Maharashtra for a third time, was a sensitive, polite and helpful student who never boasted about his family's political background, recalls one of his school teachers. Savitri Subramanium, who was Fadnavis' teacher in Saraswati Vidyalaya from Class 8 to 10, says he was an average student but studied well. She remembers him as a polite and simple student who never boasted about his family's political background even though his father Gangadharrao Fadnavis was an MLC at the time. Subramanium said she never thought that Fadnavis would become a good orator as he never came on stage or performed on stage during the school days. She added that he may have inculcated these qualities during his participation in Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) as a student activist.
'I like to sell a dream. I like to tell stories. I'm a very good storyteller. I can convert the most boring topic into a riveting tale.'
A tribal jirga in the restive North Waziristan region of Pakistan has endorsed a Taliban ban on polio vaccinations, linking the lifting of the ban to the ending of US drone strikes in the area, according to a media report on Thursday.
In a statement, the non-governmental organisation underscored the challenges Saibaba faced during his incarceration and the toll it took on his health.
Gunmen staged fresh attacks on UN-backed polio vaccination teams in Pakistan, killing two more polio workers and wounding six in the country's northwest on Wednesday, a day after six health workers were gunned down in Karachi and Peshawar.
Almost one million Pakistani children were left uncovered in the latest anti-polio campaign conducted this week, with nearly 79,000 missing the vaccine in Karachi, according to official figures.
IMA is against such a move because it will further complicate the drive against polio.
Suspected militants targeted a polio vaccination team in Pakistan's restive northwest on Tuesday, killing a policeman who was protecting the vaccinators, officials said.
In a welcome move, several prominent Islamic clerics have joined hands to educate Muslims on the necessity for vaccination against polio that has been on the rise particularly among children belonging to the community.
Swaroop Unhalkar finished 14th in the men's 10m air rifle standing (SH1) qualification round to miss the final at the Paralympic Games.
A polio worker from Bihar has been honoured with a prestigious United Nations Foundation award for her work in protecting children from the disease.
The Gates Foundation is awarding a $255 million challenge grant to Rotary, which the latter will match with an additional $100 million raised by its members over the next three years. At the same time, the United Kingdom is giving an additional $150 million and Germany $130 million both to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Polio patients Imtiyaz and Ulfat, and Priya, suffering from nervous disorder, have all the reasons to thank the army
