Mazingira最新文献

Contraception is freely available in Sri Lanka, yet the number of illegal abortions is increasing. In Colombo alone over 500 abortions are performed daily, according to the minister of health, Dr. Ranjit Attapattu, who added in a recent statement that thix figure is "only the tip of the iceberg". The high abortion rate can be explained partly by the fact that although 99% of Sri Lanka's 7.5 million women know about family planning, only just over 1/2 of them practice any form of birth control. A government survey in 1982 showed that as many as 94% of women wanted to limit their families, and 80% of their husbands approved of birth control; most women wanted only 2 or 3 children. Abortions are illegal, except where the life of the mother is in danger, and they pose not only moral, cultural, and religious problems, but an economic problem as well. According to hospital records, in the past decade 259,085 pregnancies have been terminated illegally. In 1981 alone there were 30,552 illegal abortions. For Sri Lanka's hospital system, which provides treatment free of charge, the economic implications are serious. Doctors say that large numbers of gynecological beds have to be provided for these patients, with their treatment costing a minimum of US$35. Religious opinion, both Buddhist and Christian, is strongly opposed to any relaxation of the abortion laws, but government statements seem to indicate a loosening of attitudes. The Ministry of Plan Implementation, which is in charge of all matters relating to population control, had this to say in a recent report: "In the context of persisting social inequalities, to consider abortion from the moral point of view only seems unwarranted. Those who do so fail to consider the real social and economic factors involved. There is a need to formulate a startegy", the report continues, "which will safeguard the dominant values of Sri Lanka society, while giving the woman the choice to decide when she wantsa chhild. Abortion is a social problem to be acted upon rather than a condition which must be confronted with legal restrictions."

Ricewater has been proved to be an effective treatment of diarrhea by investigators at the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), who have shown that cereal-based solutions are even more effective than the much publicized mixtures of water, sugar, and salts. Diarrhea kills 8 or 9 children under the age of 5 every minute, often simply by draining out of them the water and salts the body needs to keep functioning. Only a few years ago, the conventional treatment for severe cases was a drip of saline fluid into the patients arm through a needle. But this requires hospital treatment, and few 3rd world children ever see the inside of a hospital. Recently, "oral rehydration therapy" (ORT)--giving children a carefully measured mix of water, sugar (or pure glucose), and sodium chloride and potassium salts--has gained world recognition as a simple, cheap, and effective treatment. A village mother can give it in her home, either from a prepackaged powder mixed with water or from solution she mixes herself. Sugar, or the glucose into which the body converts sugar, continues to be absorbed across the intestinal walls during diarrhea--when the body is absorbing little else. This process aids the absorption of the all-important salts. The standard ORT formula for a liter of water calls for 20 g of glucose or 40 g of household sugar. The newer cereal-based ORT replaces the sugar with rice powder. Tests have shown that 80-86% of the rice powder is converted into glucose and absorbed. According to Dr. A. Majid Molloa of ICDDR,B who pioneered the use of rice powder in ORT, 1 liter of rice powder solution is twice as effective as 2 liters of sugar solution. There are several advantages in using rice powder in ORT. Rice is the staple food of more than 1/2 the world's population, particularly so where diarrhea is a killer. It is grown and eaten throughout Asia, and in many parts of Latin America and Africa. Some rice is usually available in the poorest village homes, whereas sugar may not be. The rice solution is easy to prepare, and boiling prevents contamination. The next step is to extend cereal-based ORT to other countries, and to experiment with other cereals, such as wheat, maize, sorghum, and also with potato and casasva. Indonesia, India, China, and Kenya have already made a beginning in this direction.