One in three Bhutanese overweight, finds study
The increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on health facilities demands greater multi-sectoral actions for the implementation of NCD prevention activities. NCDs are a major public
Kuensel (Bhutan)
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Serzhong's crisis
Situated at the foot of the hills that rise up to Zhemgang dzongkhag, Serzhong village is a fertile stretch of flat land perfectly suited for paddy cultivation. But only seven of the 63 households in this village, eight kilometres from Gelephu town, cultivate paddy. This is because monsoon torrents keep washing away irrigation channels and deposit sand and gravel into the fields making cultivation impossible. And so about 100 acres of paddy land in the village have become fallow land filled with shrubs.
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Jumbo menace unabated
- Bhutanese believe that the sight of this pachyderm, The Precious Elephant, one of the Seven Jewels, brings good luck and prosperity. Ironically, for farmers living in the southern dzongkhags, it is quite the opposite. The elephant also symbolizes strength and this aspect is more apt as herds of wild elephants running wild and destroying acres of crops have been a regular routine every summer. The most recent incident reported from Sarpang involved a herd of 12 elephants ravaging crops and destroying huts and semi-permanent houses on the night of July 12 in Singhe gewog.
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Saarc Communicable Disease Strategy
- SAARC members states have agreed to conduct a regional meeting to finalise the strategy and action plan to eliminate the threats and harmful impact of communicable diseases on health and socio economic development in the region. This was one of the recommendations made by the SAARC expert group during their two-day meeting in Paro from July 7-8 to develop the SAARC regional strategy on communicable diseases.
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Mother-child mortality rates in steady decline
Common cold, skin infections, diarrhoea and skin disorders were the main cause of health problems for children under five years old in Bhutan, according to the annual health bulletin 2008. Last year 54,781 cases of common cold, 22,472 cases of diarrhoea, and 23,817 cases of skin infections were recorded across the country. Of the 13,851 children born last year, 61 were stillbirths and foetal death, followed by 98 neonatal deaths. Ten children were born with STD.
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Mongar maize farmers receive some relief
Around 30 percent of the maize crop in two gewogs of Mongar dzongkhag, that was hit by windstorms on June 27, suffered considerable damage, according to the agriculture minister, Lyonpo (Dr) Pema Gyamtsho. The minister visited some of the affected areas on July 9 with a team of agriculture, dzongkhag and gewog officials. According to a preliminary report, more than 80 acres of maize crop belonging to 96 households of Chali and Mongar were flattened by the windstorm. Meanwhile, villagers have been trying their best to straighten their crops using sticks.
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Dakpai do-it-yourself afforestation
Torrential rain did not deter 75 people in Dakpai, Zhemgang, from planting tree saplings and live cuttings on a five-acre area above the Zhemgang
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Right to Information Act Power to the People
- The Right to Information Act, once passed, will allow ordinary Bhutanese to be informed and get a responsible, transparent and accountable government. Though the Act was drafted in 2007, the cabinet is yet to introduce it in the Assembly. "Information is absolutely critical for fighting corruption and the government should introduce the act and enforce it at the earliest date possible,' said the chairperson of the anti corruption commission (ACC), Neten Zangmo.
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Saving Bjemina
Villagers of Bjemina, approximately 25 km from Thimphu, are hoping their health and harvest will improve with the dzongkhag yargay tshogdu (DYT) having discussed the issue of air pollution and crop damage caused by the dust from stone crushing machines in the area.
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Zero CFC emission by 2010 Retrofitting workshop in Thimphu
Bhutan, in compliance with the Vienna convention for protection of ozone layer and the Montreal protocol, will have to cut chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) to zero percent by 2010. According to the national ozone officer of the national environment commission (NEC) secretariat, Peldon Tshering, Bhutan had already phased out 85 percent CFC of the baseline.
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BAFRA'S bird flu report card
Ninety-four live poultry birds, 94 dressed chicken pieces, a kilogramme of chicken sausage, 50 trays and 154 cartons of eggs, and 89 pieces of feather and feather dusters were seized by the Bhutan agriculture and food regulatory authority (BAFRA) between January and June 9 this year for contravening the existing ban on poultry and poultry related products.