Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding continued deaths of children by Encephalitis in Eastern Uttar Pradesh from Manoj Singh, a local journalist working with a reputed Hindi newspaper. The toll has gone up frighteningly and now stands at 172 and counting. Sadly this is the state of affairs despite all the governmental assurances of last year when the area lost more than 550 children to the deadly but easily preventable disease.
The AHRC urges the authorities to come out of their slumber and save the children before the disease strikes them.
CASE NARRATIVE:
The AHRC has learnt that the killer disease Encephalitis has struck Eastern Uttar Pradesh yet again and has already killed 172 children, 10 of them in one single night. Sadly, the toll will only rise as the deadliest months for the disease are yet to come. The AHRC notes that this has happened after assurances from Uttar Pradesh Government to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) last year. The NCPCR has then rubbished the steps claimed to have been taken by the state government as ‘nothing more than claims’ and held its ‘casual approach’ being ‘solely responsible for the deaths of the children’.
Encephalitis killed 1256 children in 2012. Of the reported fatalities, 557 came from Uttar Pradesh and in fact more than 500 of these 557 died in one hospital. The reason behind this is simple, the Nehru Hospital affiliated to the Baba Raghav Das Medical College of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh is the only hospital quipped with facilities to treat Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis, commonly known as ‘brain fever’ that has, since 1978, been endemic to the region.
The criminal culpability of the authorities in these deaths is evidenced by the fact that the government is fully armed to track and fight the disease. It has 54 Sentinel and 12 Apex Referral Laboratories dedicated to maintain surveillance and preventing such deaths. With the annual toll mounting once again, what these facilities actually do seems to be anybody’s guess. The state government’s criminal negligence is further evidenced by the fact that the construction of a fully-functional pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) in BRD Medical College was not merely delayed but even the existing one was waterlogged when an AHRC staffer visited it in July this year. Needless is to say that a similar fate was meted out to the promise of completing a drive of the vaccinations of 30 lakh people by June.
Further, with the fact that Nehru Hospital is the only hospital equipped with capacities to deal with the diseases that affects 18 crore people of the region speaks volumes about the seriousness of the government. There is not one hospital capable of dealing with the disease in the neighbouring districts of Basti, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar and Maharajganj, all of them badly hit by the disease. This is what forces the parents to rush their children to Gorakhpur thus delaying treatment and decreasing their chances of survival.
This is why the authorities should be held criminally responsible for these deaths which are nothing less than homicides. This is what the NCPCR had done while holding the state government ‘solely responsible’ for the ‘death of the children’ which it said is caused by its extreme apathy and inaction. It is the government which failed in releasing funds for vaccinations and in building additional hospitals to tackle the disease head on. It has also failed to provide better sanitation to eradicate the very root of the problem.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities mentioned below demanding immediate intervention into the case and ensure that the deaths are immediately stopped.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ......................,
INDIA: Unprepared authorities let Encephalitis kill more than 177 children.
Name of the victims:
1. Vikki (04 years)
2. Rohit (11 years)
3. Palak (02 years)
4. Vishal (05 years)
(all from Gorkahpur)
5. Salim (05 years)
6. Salma (13 years)
7. Roshan (15 years)
8. Suraj (05 years)
9. Kapil (07 years)
(all from Kushinagar)
10. Kusuma (30 years)
(Bihar)
11. Md Shamim (8 years)
(Sant Kabirnagar)
12. Preeti (07 years)
(West Champaran)
And 165 other children
Alleged perpetrators: Government authorities
I am writing to you with concern over the recent deaths of children in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. I have learnt that the killer disease Encephalitis has struck the area yet again and has already killed 177 children, 10 of them in one single night. Sadly, the toll will only rise as the deadliest months for the disease are yet to come. The AHRC notes that this happens after Uttar Pradesh Government's assurances made to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) last year. The NCPCR has then rubbished the steps claimed to have been taken by the state government as 'nothing more than claims' and held its 'casual approach' being 'solely responsible for the death of the children'.
Encephalitis has killed 1256 children in 2012. Of the reported fatalities, 557 came from Uttar Pradesh and in fact more than 500 of these 557 died in one hospital. The reason behind this is simple, that the Nehru Hospital affiliated to the Baba Raghav Das Medical College of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh is the only hospital quipped with facilities to treat Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and the Japanese Encephalitis, commonly known as 'brain fever' that has, since 1978, been endemic to the region.
The criminal culpability of the authorities in these killings is evidenced by the fact that the government is fully armed to track and fight the disease. It has 54 Sentinel and 12 Apex Referral Laboratories dedicated to maintain surveillance and preventing such deaths. With the annual toll mounting once again, what these facilities do seems to be anybody's guess. Further, the state government's criminal negligence is further evidenced by the fact that the construction of a fully-functional pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) in BRD Medical College was not merely delayed but even the existing one was waterlogged when an AHRC staffer visited it in July this year. Needless is to say that a similar fate was meted out to the promise of completing a drive of the vaccinations of 30 lakh people by June.
Further, with the fact that Nehru Hospital is the only hospital equipped with capacities to deal with the diseases that affects 18 crore people of the region speaks volumes about the seriousness of the government. There is not one hospital capable to deal with the disease in neighbouring districts of Basti, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar and Maharajganj, all of them badly hit by the disease. This is what forces the parents to rush their children to Gorakhpur thus delaying treatment and decreasing chances of survival.
This is why the authorities should be held criminally responsible for these deaths which are nothing less than homicides. This is what the NCPCR had done while holding the state government 'solely responsible' for the 'deaths of the children' which it said is caused by its extreme apathy and inaction. It is the government which failed in releasing funds for vaccination and in building additional hospitals to take the disease head on. It has also failed to provide better sanitation to eradicate the very root of the problem.
I, therefore, urge you to ensure that,
1. All measures to tackle the deadly disease are taken,
2. State government recruits doctors to meet the shortage,
3. That there are enough number of ventilators to cater to the need,
4. Criminal culpability is fixed and the authorities whose dereliction of their duty causes deaths in such huge numbers are prosecuted,
5. That the state is prepared to take on the disease from now,
6. Due compensation is made to the families who have lost their children,
Sincerely,
.................
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Dr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minster
Government of India
Room No. 148 B, South block, New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: + 91 11 230116857; 23015603
E-mail: manmohan@sansad.nic.in
2. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi 110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2338 4863
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
3. Shri Akhilesh Yadav
Chief Minister
Mukhyamantri Niwas
Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
FAX: +91 522 2239234
EMAIL: cmup@up.nic.in
4. Shri Jawed Usmani,
Chief Secretary,
Government of Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow
India.
Fax: +91 +91 522 2239283
Email: cs-uttarpradesh@nic.in
5. Mrs. Shantha Sinha
Chairperson
National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
5th Floor, Chnadralok Building, Janpath,
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23731584
E-mail: ncpcr.india@gmail.com
6. Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad
Union Minister,
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
Nirman Bhawan, C-Wing
New Delhi,110001
Fax: +91 23062358
Email: hfm@alpha.nic.in
Thank you
Hunger Alerts Programme
Right to Food Programme (foodjustice@ahrc.asia)
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
