WOMEN'S HEALTH

Despite obvious differences between women and men—biologically, psychologically, and socially—the concept of viewing the totality of women's health as different from men's health arose in Western medicine only in the last two decades of the twentieth century. As recently as the 1980s, students in most Western medical schools were taught that, except for issues related directly to reproductive anatomy and function, women were medically identical to men. According to this belief system, medical research could be carried out on men, and the results could simply be applied to women. As a result, only health care providers who specialized in areas related to reproduction were expected to be knowledgeable about issues particular to women.
In order to understand the modern definition of women's health, it is important to understand the history of how women's health care has been viewed by the medical and medical research establishments. Traditionally, the health of women has been seen as synonymous with maternal or reproductive health. Clearly, the Western medical profession's view of women's health as "maternal health" was concordant with societal mores that valued women mainly for their ability to bear children. However, until well into the twentieth century, the major causes of illness and death in women did, in fact, relate to reproductive issues. Childbirth and sexually transmitted diseases, including cervical cancer, have been the most important health issues for women in all ages and places—except in the West and certain other countries in the twentieth century. Prior to 1900, the majority of elderly persons in the United States were men, reflecting the toll that childbearing took on the health of women.
In 1970 the book Our Bodies, Ourselves became a touchstone of the women's health movement. Authored by a group of women participating in a course on health, sexuality, and childbearing, the book emphasizes the importance of women attaining knowledge about their health and being active participants in health care in both an individual and societal sense. Our Bodies, Ourselves also considers the social context of health, including effects of sexism, racism, and financial pressures on the health of women. Throughout the 1970s, major focuses of the women's health movement included reproductive freedom, understanding health in a broader social context, and a critical orientation toward the medical establishment.
In the 1980s, women's health advocates began to argue for a broader definition of women's health and increased participation of women in research studies. A major new focus became changing the medical establishment. The reasons for this change in orientation, particularly toward the participation by women in research studies, were complex. They included, but were not limited to, the growing number of women living beyond their reproductive years and the growing number of women reaching positions of influence within academic medicine.
In 1983 the United States Public Health Service commissioned a task force on women's health. This task force broadly defined women's health issues to include not only reproductive and social issues, but also biological differences between men and women. The modern field of women's health includes the study of illnesses and conditions that are unique to women, more common or serious in women, have distinct causes or manifestations in women, or have different outcomes or treatments in women. Since the 1980s, research on gender differences in health and disease has had important implications for the treatment and prevention of a variety of common serious illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, depression, colon cancer, and dementia. Research in all these areas is ongoing.
Integral to this new expanded view of women's health has been a change in how medical research has been viewed by the public. In the 1970s, the focus of women's health advocates in the United States was on "protecting" women from potential abuses by seeking to avoid their inclusion in medical research studies. It should be noted that women were excluded from medical research during this time because of a variety of factors, and not solely, or even mainly, because of popular advocacy. Medical research was conducted almost exclusively by male physicians, and because most research scientists believed that effects of the reproductive cycle of women might lead to unreliable research results, most supported the belief that research should be conducted on men and then applied to women. Even most medical research on rats during this period was conducted using male rats.
However, by the 1980s, women's health advocates had realized that because women were being excluded from research studies, knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of common diseases in women lagged far behind knowledge of diseases in men. A major focus of the women's health movement in the 1980s and 1990s was improving knowledge about disease in women by promoting the inclusion of women in research studies, mainly through mandating inclusion of women in federally funded research studies.
A greater understanding of the factors influencing women's health from a biological perspective has been paralleled by a greater understanding of the psychosocial and societal factors that affect women's health status. As an example, research published in the early 1990s showed that because women were more likely than men to require ongoing, rather than episodic, treatment for their health conditions, federally sponsored insurance in the United States (Medicare) actually covered less overall health costs for women than for men. Differences in employment patterns also result in fewer women being medically insured than men, strongly affecting access to health care and health status. Research on domestic violence, which disproportionately victimizes women, underlined the short-and long-term health effects of what had previously been considered either a nonissue or a law enforcement issue.
Some have suggested that the term "women's health" be replaced by the term "gender-based medicine," in part to reflect that medical research that promotes a greater understanding of the effect of gender on health benefits both women and men. However, others believe that the term "women's health" is most accurate, since it incorporates not only biomedical issues, but also the psychosocial and societal factors that ultimately influence the overall health status of women.
The field of women's health seeks to promote an understanding of the biological and psychosocial factor affecting women's health, and to integrate this understanding into public health initiatives, including training of health care providers. Recognition by the medical research establishment of the need to study health and disease in women as well as men has been essential to this new paradigm. Despite the strong influence of biological factors, psychosocial issues still remain the single most important determinant of health status for many women.
JANET P. PREGLER
Source: www.healthline.com

NGOs not profit makers

NGOs not to profit making organizations are doing yeoman service of helping poor and the needy all over the World. As the growth of Information Technology 8v IT enabled services have revolutionized the development of nations, its impact on catalyzing and influencing the process of development by the NGOs can also be seen.
In the area of globalization and liberalization, it is an open world, with open competitions in the global village, where in the NGOs are required to reorient their approaches, and convert their organizations as Professional Organizations.
One of. the very important ways of achieving the goal of converting NGOs as professional organizations is through the process of making the NGOs as "Knowledge Based Professional Organizations". Need less to say the functionaries of the NGOs in the "knowledge based professional organizations" are required to be moulded as knowledge workers, and acquiring knowledge being regular, continuous and endless the organizations are required to be learning organizations and live and organic organizations on the path of sustainable development.

A Ozon Day was celebrated at village Basarke Gillan Distt Taran Taran on dated 17/9/2007. in this occasion 50 plants was planted in the village Mr Ranjit Singh of SAWEA gave lacture on bad effect of Choloflro Carbon (CFC) Gases and effect on depletion of Ozon Layer Mr Rajinder Singh of SAWERA , Savita Rani was also present there.

Report

It is pleasure to write annual Report for the year 2007-08 this year full of activities done by SAWERA activists. We are also thankful to our financial supporters who help to SAWERA with finance
1. The cultural programme was organized on 5/5/2007 at Gangan Joyti School Kot Khalsa Amritsar with the collaboration of Nehru Yuva Kander Sagthan (NYKS) Ministry of sports and youth affairs GOI. This programme was in memory of freedom movement 1857.
2. A Seminar was on organized at village Preet Lari Block chogwan distt Amritsar on the subject of female feticide on 16/8/2007 with the collaboration of Nehru Yuva Kander Sagthan (NYKS) Ministry of sports and youth affairs GOI in this programme Mr T.S. Raja Youth Coorinator (NYKS) Distt Amritsar and Deputy Commisioner Amritsar inaugurate the function.
3. A Ozon Day was celebrated at village Basarke Gillan Distt Taran Taran on dated 17/9/2007. in this occasion 50 plants was planted in the village Mr Ranjit Singh of SAWERA gave lacture on bad effect of Choloflro Carbon (CFC) Gases and effect on depletion of Ozon Layer Mr Rajinder Singh of SAWERA , Savita Rani was also present there.
4. In this year 1415 patients get benefited from National charitable clinical laboratory Run SAWERA

NGOs in implementation of Govt programmes:

NGOs in implementation of Govt programmes

• Integrated child development scheme
  
  Integrated child development scheme (an integrated programme is looking at health, nutrition and education of children under six. Pregnant women, lactating women and adolescent girls are also covered in this programme): prescribed minimum norms for food to be given daily to children, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women. Also directed that there should be an anganwadi (a childcare centre) in each settlement and all existing centers should be made fully functional immediately.
• Antyodaya Anna Yojana
  
  Antyodaya Anna Yojana (a scheme of highly subsidized grain for the poorest of poor): Eligible beneficiaries should be identified and supply of grains should be started immediately.
• Midday meal scheme
  
  Midday meal scheme (school meal programme for children in government and aided primary schools): all children in all government and government aided primary schools should be provided fresh cooked meals on all working days and for at least 200 days in a year.
• Annapurna
  Annapurna (scheme for provision of 10 kg of free grain to aged destitute who are not getting a pension): eligible beneficiaries should be identified and provision of grains should be started without delay.
• Targeted public distribution scheme
  
  Targeted public distribution scheme is (a scheme for moderately subsidized grain for poor people): Eligible beneficiaries should be identified, ration cards provided and supply of grains should be started without delay.
• National family benefit scheme
  
  National family benefit scheme is a compensation of Rs 10, 000 should be provided to the family in case of death of the primary breadwinner. Compensation should be provided no later than four weeks after the death.
• National old age pension scheme
  National old age pension scheme (social security pension for aged destitute) is meant to all eligible beneficiaries should be identified and social security pensions should be provided monthly no later than seventh of each month.
• National maternity benefit scheme
  
  National maternity benefit scheme is targeted at all poor women (BPL) should be provided Rs 500 by their twelfth week of pregnancy up to their first two live births.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

NGO schemes for Women Development

NGO schemes for Women Development
· Balika Samriddhi yojana
· Indira MahilaYojana (IMY)
· Indira Mahila Yojana (IMY)
· National Policy for the Empowerment of Women
· National Resource Centre for Women (NRCW)
· Employment and Income Generation-cum-Production Units(NORAD)
· Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP)
· Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK)
· Hostels for working women
· Short Stay Homes for Women and Girls
· Education work for prevention of atrocities against women
· Eradication of Child Prostitution
· National Commission for Women
· Eradication of commercial sexual exploitation of women & children
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· Monitoring of Women Beneficiary Oriented Schemes
· SWASHAKTI PROJECT
· Reviews & Amendment of the Legislation Relating to Women
· Women‘s Component Plan and Gender Focal Point
· Rehabilitation of Marginalized Women of Vrindavan
· National Plan of Action for SAARC Decade of the GIRL CHILD, 1991 2000AD
· Sixth Meeting of Commonwealth Ministers Responsible WOMEN’S AFFAIRS Beijing Plus Five Reviews
· The UN Conventional on the elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) HARYANA Integrated women’s Empowerment and Development Project
· Training for Women’s Empowerment Project in Maharashtra
· Gender Sensitization and awareness Generation
· Implementation of the guidelines contained in supreme court order in the case of sexual
harassment of women at the work place and other institutions