Diseases in India
Stacy Castillo
India, unfortunately, struggles with huge problems that affect most of their people and leaves many of them dead. Issues that India struggles with that affect their country include issues such as hunger, poverty, diseases, inequality, human trafficking, etc. Hunger is not the only major issue within India, disease is one of them too. Diseases affect the people of India just as much, if not more, than hunger does. Diseases are everywhere in India, but the diseases in the slums of India are the ones that are doing the worst damage. There are many causes for the spread of such terrible diseases in India but the major causes are clearly the environmental issues in India and the increasing poverty in the country.
The primary environmental issues in India that cause diseases are the various types of pollution in the country. India has the worst air pollution in the world, causing its citizens diseases like asthma and other respiratory problems. The air pollution in India can cause diseases such as heart disease and cancer and the causes are mainly from globalization. The causes of India's pollution, according to Ganapti Information Technology Services are specifically emissions from vehicles, thermal power plants, industries and refineries (Ganapati Information Technology Services). Water pollution can also cause many diseases because the people are not using or drinking clean water. Instead, they are using and drinking contaminated water that can cause numerous diseases. The horrible environmental issues they struggle with are a huge cause for the spread of diseases.
The increasing poverty in the country is also a huge cause because now there are more people living packed in the slums of India and there is less food for people. The more packed living environments, the faster diseases will spread because there is constant contact between people in these living environments. The lack of food in the slums causes the people to look for food and eat what they can find, which might sometimes be food off the ground or left-over food. Eating food off the ground or eating someone else's left-overs that were found in the garbage cause a huge increase in diseases because some food may even contain diseases (Cultural Intelligent Collaborators). The increasing poverty in the country is a major cause of the diseases in India because of the living environments and the lack of food there is for the people.
Work Cited
Cultural Intelligent Collaborators. "Food, Pollution and Money." Living Conditions in Indian Slums. Google, 2010. Web. 04 May 2012. <https://sites.google.com/site/livingconditionsinindianslums/introduction-to-sl/environment/food-pollution-and-money>.
Ganapati Information Technology Services. "Environmental Pollution in India." Welcome to Gits4u.com. Ganapati Information Technology Services. Web. 04 May 2012. <http://www.gits4u.com/envo/envo4.htm>.
Radhika
ReplyDeleteStacy, I agree that disease is also an issue that is neglected in rural India. It’s interesting to note that environmental issues are the main reason for the plethora of diseases present in India. A direct influence of globalization, India’s continual attempts to westernize has led its people to suffer health failures. The emissions from vehicles and thermal power plants demonstrate that the country is in constant pursuit of economic and commercial power, and neglects the health and well being of its own people. The slum conditions in India are also breeding grounds for disease, particularly communicable diseases. A report indicated that one of the leading causes of death in villages is circulatory diseases, which suggests a lack of hygienic clean water for villagers (Medical News Today). For villagers, who average an income of about 50 US dollars a month as agricultural laborers, “the death of the main income earner in a rural household, at a relatively young age, has direct consequences on the welfare of the family drawing them into a downward spiral of poverty” (Joshi). Without appropriate action by a political authority that is focused on the plight of villagers, not just economic progress, the diseases in india will continue to foster a cycle of poverty that is inescapable.
Works Cited:
"Number One Killer In Rural India: Chronic Diseases And Injuries." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 02 Oct. 2006. Web. 06 May 2012. .
Joshi, R. "Chronic Diseases." ProCor:. Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation, 30 Jan. 2007. Web. 06 May 2012. .
Stacy, you bring valid point on how disease is caused in India. Environmentally, current conditions are stemmed from Britain’s previous projects. Dam creation has brought consequences such as “outbreaks of malaria” (Saunders) and failure to “prevent large-scale famines” (Saunders). According to the Centre for Legislative Research and Advocacy “Three quarters of the poor live in rural areas and depend on agriculture” (Saxena 3). However, disease is not limited to the poor; it is caused by the government’s negligence. There is a lack of “government services such as immunization, access to medical care, and lack of priority to primary health care in government programs” (Saxena 2). This alone is the reason that diseases are still widespread in India. If there are no actions taken to end sickness, it will stay in society and continue to spread.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
Saxena, Dr. N.C. "Call to Action." Vinod Bhanu, Feb. 2009. Web. 05 May 2012. <." Http://www.clraindia.org/include/Hunger >.
Saunders, Gareth. "GG 2002 Regional Geography of South Asia and the Himalayas." Environmental Issues in India. Web. 06 May 2012. .
Michael
ReplyDeleteStacy, I agree with you on the problems with environment pollution. I am especially concerned about the amount of water pollution and unclean drinking water in India. Around 21% of all communicable diseases are water based (Denormandie), and the fact that so many people die in India due to these diseases. It demonstrates how much the government is ill-equipped to deal with water treatment and other environmental issues. The World Health Organization had to step to help the people of India.
Michael again
ReplyDeleteSorry I forgot Work Cited.
Work Cited
DeNormandie, Justin, and Janette Sunita. "Combating Diarrhoeal Disease in India through Safe Drinking Water." WHO. Nov. 2002. Web. 07 May 2012. .
Stacy
ReplyDeleteRadhika I see the point you're making about globalization and how it is the reason for the pollution in India. Globalization has been a huge cause for the pollution in India because of the new technology and factories that have emerged because of globalization.
Catherine you point out an interesting fact that I failed to acknowledge in my post. The government failing to provide immunization does increase the disease in India which applies to everyone not only the lower class.
Michael water pollution is a huge issue in India. As I pointed out in my previous blog and your further input just reemphasizes the horrible water pollution that India has.