Ban on Conversion Therapy for the LGBTQIA+ Community

• In a letter to all State Medical Councils, the National Medical Commission (NMC) forbade conversion therapy for the LGBTQIA+ community and referred to it as "professional misconduct."
• The Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquettes and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, which the NMC used in its declaration that conversion treatment is unethical, were issued by the Madras High Court.
• The NMC also granted the State entities the authority to discipline medical practitioners who disobey the rule.

The Madras High Court ruling

• The Madras High Court's decision outlawed any attempt to use medicine to "cure" or "transform" a person's sexual orientation. This includes those who identify as LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or of any other orientation).
• It pleaded with the government to punish practitioners who engage in conversion therapy in any way.
• In a court judgment, the National Medical Commission was told to "provide necessary formal notification by enlisting 'Conversion Therapy' as a professional misconduct."
• According to the court, the District Legal Services Authority should work with law enforcement agencies to provide legal assistance to the community.
• The court urged organizations to adhere to the letter and spirit of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020 and demanded that agencies hold sensitization programs in order to fully comprehend the community's requirements.

What is conversion therapy?

• An intervention to alter a person's sexual orientation or gender identity is known as conversion therapy or reparative therapy.
• Exorcism, medications, psychological treatment, and even physical assault are all used in an effort to turn the victim into a heterosexual person.
• The conversion treatment umbrella also covers initiatives to alter a child's fundamental identity if that gender identity conflicts with their sexual anatomy.

Conversion treatment risks

• Targeting young people: "Reparative" or "conversion" therapy is a risky method that aims to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ youth.
• Conversion therapy is ineffective at altering a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, and it typically results in considerable, long-term psychological harm for those who undertake it, according to the scientific community.
• The therapies used in conversion therapy, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), are given under the incorrect assumption that homosexuality and different gender identities are unhealthy.
• "They are not; the lack of pathology means that conversion or any other similar intervention is not required."
• Health risks: Additionally, conversion therapy runs the danger of developing or exacerbating mental health disorders like anxiety, stress, and drug use, which can occasionally result in suicide, according to the AACAP and other health professionals.

Challenges faced by Transgender Community

• Discrimination and ostracism: These people experience discrimination at work, in educational institutions, and in their own homes, which has a negative impact on their general well-being.
• Identity crisis: Despite the government approving the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which grants the community the right to self-perceived gender identity, individuals are frequently forced to identify with a gender with which they are not connected at work.
• Social stigma: They frequently encounter obstacles while trying to adopt a child or inherit property. They are forced into sex work or menial occupations despite having strong credentials since they are socially rejected.
• Unemployment: Due to the associated societal stigma, the community has few employment options and experiences severe discrimination at work.

Initiatives in India for Transgender People:

• The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 was passed by Parliament with the goal of eradicating discrimination against transgender people in the areas of access to healthcare, work, and education. It also recognizes the right to one's own self-perceived gender identity.
• Rules for the 2020 protection of rights of transgender persons:

The government drafted it to give effect to the 2019 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act's provisions.

• Transgender National Council:

The National Council for Transgender Persons has been established in accordance with the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 to provide advice to the Central Government on the formulation and assessment of policies, programs, legislation, and projects for the welfare of the transgender community.

• Reservations for the transgender community would be made under the OBC category of employment, according to the Union government.

Government of the NCT of Delhi v. Naz Foundation (2009)

• The Delhi High Court repealed Section 377, making it legal for adults to engage in consenting gay activity.
• In the Suresh Kumar Koushal Case (2013), the Supreme Court overruled the Delhi High Court's earlier decision, stating that the "plight of sexual minorities" could not be used as justification for determining whether a statute is constitutional.

Union of India v. Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (2017):

• As a result, the Fundamental Right to Privacy falls under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, according to the Supreme Court. "Sexual orientation is a crucial element of privacy," it was claimed.
• Many nations throughout the world already forbid conversion therapy on a national level.
• Brazil: Beginning in 1999, Brazil enacted the world's first conversion therapy prohibition, outlawing the practice in relation to sexual orientation.
• Ecuador and Malta: A number of nations have enacted legal sanctions against persons who use conversion therapy, including Ecuador in 2014 and Malta in 2016.
• Germany: In 2020, Germany outlawed conversion therapy for minors and protect adults who were forced, defrauded, or under pressure to undertake conversion therapy.
• USA: Since 2013, there have been bans of various kinds enacted in 20 states, two territories, and numerous local counties or municipalities throughout the country.

Way ahead

• For students to have a greater awareness of the community, schools and universities must make modifications to their curricula.
• Medical textbooks classified homosexuality and lesbianism as "perversions" as recently as 2018. People who identify as having a different sexual orientation or gender frequently recount horrifying stories of bullying, prejudice, stigma, and exclusion.
• Restrooms that are gender-neutral should be required at educational facilities and other locations.
• Parents should also be educated because teens who are coerced into choosing "conversion" therapy are frequently the first to experience miscommunication and abuse at home.
• Adults considering sex reassignment surgery need to receive proper counselling, such as pre & post-operative therapy, but the cost may be out of reach for the average person.

Also, Read - V. O. Chidambaram Pillai

V. O. Chidambaram Pillai

Recently, the Prime Minister paid tribute to V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, the legendary freedom fighter on his 151st birth anniversary on 5th September 2022.

• He was also known as Sekkizuththa Semmal and Kappalottiya Tamilan (The Tamil Helmsman) (scholarly gentry who suffered at the oil press).

About Chidambaram Pillai

• Birth: Vallinayagam Olaganathan Chidambaram Pillai (VOC) was born on September 5, 1872, in Ottapidaram, Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district, to renowned attorney Olaganathan Pillai and Paramyee Ammai.

• Early Years: Tuticorin's Caldwell College is where VOC earned his degree. He had a brief stint as a taluk office clerk before starting his legal education.
• In 1900, his dispute with the judge compelled him to move to Tuticorin in search of greener pastures.
• His professional and journalistic pursuits took up most of his time until 1905.
• VOC first entered politics in 1905, just after Bengal was divided.
• VOC visited Madras at the end of 1905 and became further involved with the Swadeshi Movement, which was started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai.
• As a result of being pulled to the Ramakrishna Mission, VOC met Subramania Bharati and the Mandayam family.
• The Swadeshi movement in the Tirunelveli district did not start to gain strength and momentum till the arrival of VOC at Tuticorin (current-day Thoothukudi).
• Participation in the Freedom Movement: By 1906, VOC had gained the support of businessmen and manufacturers in Tuticorin and Tirunelveli for its plan to form the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, a Swadeshi merchant shipping company (SSNCo).
• He founded a number of organizations, including the Desabimana Sangam, Dharmasanga Nesavu Salai, National Godown, and Swadeshi Prachar Sabha.
• A number of Tirunelveli-based attorneys who formed the Swadeshi Sangam organization supported VOC and Siva in their endeavours.
  The start of the Tuticorin Coral Mills strike gave the nationalist movement a supporting role (1908).
• VOC championed the interests of the working class in Tamil Nadu even before Gandhiji's Champaran Satyagraha (1917), making him a precursor to Gandhiji in this regard.
• On the morning of March 9, 1908, VOC and other leaders decided to organize a massive march to celebrate Bipin Chandra Pal's release from prison and to raise the Swaraj flag.
• Writings include the following: Meyyaram (1914), Meyyarivu (1915), Anthology (1915), Thirukural with Literary Notes by Manakudavar (1917), Tholkappiam with Literary Notes by Ilampooranar (1928), and Autobiography (1946).
• Death: On November 18, 1936, V.O.C. passed away in the Tuticorin office of the Indian National Congress.

Also, Read - Short-term TB treatments (BPaL)

World Social Protection Report 2020–22

An Asia and the Pacific-focused study from the International Labour Organization (ILO) was just published.

Major Points

• The report's content includes a global review of the strides made in the last ten years in extending social protection and constructing rights-based social protection systems, including floors, as well as information on the COVID-19 pandemic's effects.
• The report thus makes a crucial contribution to the framework for monitoring the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Worldwide perspective

• Deep-seated disparities and large gaps in social protection coverage, comprehensiveness, and sufficiency have been made clear by the pandemic in every country.
• An unprecedented social protection policy response was sparked by COVID-19.
• Increased social protection spending will remain essential while the socioeconomic recovery is still in its early stages.
• With regard to the direction of their social protection systems, countries are at a turning point.

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Significant Findings

• Little Spending: The average global social protection expenditure is 12.9%.
• Different nations have different levels of social protection: in Mongolia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Australia, the percentage is 100%, whereas, in Myanmar and Cambodia, it is less than 10%.
• The majority is completely vulnerable: As of 2020, just 46.9% of the world's population have access to at least one social safety benefit, leaving 53.1%, or 4.1 billion people, completely unprotected.
• In South-Eastern Asia, 33.2 per cent of the population has access to at least one social protection measure, compared to 22.8 per cent in Southern Asia. Bangladesh and Pakistan, the latter's two most populated nations, barely account for 28.4% and 9.2%, respectively, of their respective populations.
• Working-age people are only partially protected: The vast majority of the world's working-age population, about 4 billion people, is only partially or not at all protected.
• No Protection in the Case of Illness or Injury: In the Asia Pacific region, three out of every four employees are not covered in the event of illness or injury at work.
• Low levels of work injury coverage are common in nations with lower GDP per capita, such as Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, where less than 5% of workers are covered.
• At 33.5 per cent, just a small portion of those with severe disabilities receive disability benefits globally.
• Gender Inequality: Due to the social protection system's intrinsic gender disparity, women's coverage is 8 percentage points lower than men's.
• To achieve universal or nearly universal adequate maternity coverage, certain nations have achieved notable progress. Even though helping pregnant women has significant developmental effects, only 44,9% of new mothers receive a monetary advantage worldwide.
• There is insufficient social protection for children: Only 26.4% of children worldwide receive social protection benefits, and the vast majority of youngsters are still not adequately covered by social security.
• In some areas, the effective coverage is especially low: 18% in Asia and the Pacific, 15.4% in the Arab States, and 12.6% in Africa.

Results for India

• Comparing India to the rest of Asia, only 24.4% of Indians receive social protection benefits, which is even lower than Bangladesh's (28.1%) rate.
• Less money is spent on social protection: India spends only 8.6% of its GDP on this, which is around 4% less than the average worldwide.
• Lower Coverage: In India, just 24.4% of the population has access to at least one form of social security.
• Benefits & Low Investment: The amounts transferred under non-contributory benefits are typically too low to offer adequate protection due to the comparatively low expenditure in social protection.
• India's social security payouts are less than five percent of GDP per capita since contributory schemes are mainly restricted to those working in the formal sector and non-contributory schemes are still primarily focused on the poorest.
• Combination of Schemes: Contributory and non-contributory schemes were used in India to accomplish social protection.
• Attempts to gradually expand coverage by fusing various tiers of social security.
• For instance, the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) provides up to 100 days of limited protection for workers in the unorganized sector.

Social Security

• In addition to providing additional support for families with children, social protection also includes access to health care and income security measures, particularly those related to old age, unemployment, sickness, disability, work injuries, maternity, and the loss of a family's primary breadwinner.
• It is a crucial tool that may aid nations at all stages of development in both the social and economic spheres.
• It can support greater equality, better health and education, more sustainable economic systems, better-managed migration, and adherence to fundamental rights.
• Importance: It assists people and families, particularly the poor and vulnerable, in coping with crises and shocks, locating employment, enhancing productivity, making investments in their children's health and education, and safeguarding the ageing population.
• It increases production and human capital, lessens inequality, fosters resilience, and breaks the cycle of poverty that passes down through generations.
• Offering people a chance to escape poverty and contribute to society, it also promotes equality of opportunity.

World Social Protection Report 2020-22

• The International Labor Organization is the publisher (ILO).
• It analyses the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and provides a global overview of current advancements in social protection systems, including social protection floors.
• It provides a wide range of global, regional, and national data on social protection coverage, benefits, and public expenditures based on new data.
• In addition to outlining important policy recommendations, the paper identifies protection gaps and discusses how they relate to the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Way Forward

• Universal social protection: The foundation of a human-centred strategy for achieving social justice is the establishment of universal social protection and the realization of the human right to social security for all.
• Increased Investment for Enhanced Coverage: Low-income countries would need to invest an additional US$77.9 billion annually, lower-middle-income countries an additional US$362.9 billion annually, and upper-middle-income countries an additional US$750.8 billion annually to ensure at least basic social protection coverage. That amounts to 15.9, 5.1, and 3.1% of their respective GDPs, respectively.
• Social justice and building a sustainable, resilient future go hand in hand, and the global community must understand this. Effective, all-encompassing social protection is crucial for both social justice and good employment.

Also, Read - Ban on Conversion Therapy for the LGBTQIA+ Community

Short-term TB treatments (BPaL)

A six-month tuberculosis treatment plan known as BPaL that was recently chosen over the customary 18-month protocols by scientists was successful in improving the health of 84% to 94% of the sickest TB patients, according to studies conducted in several different nations.

About BPaL

• Bedaquiline, pretomanid, and linezolid are three more recent antibiotics that are combined to form BPaL.
• The three-antibiotic regimen is still undergoing clinical trials in India, where it may be incorporated into the country's TB treatment.
• (3) dosages Pretomanid and bedaquiline, two of the components, are brand-new medications created by TB Alliance and Johnson & Johnson. Linezolid is an ancient generic medication.
• The three medications are authorized in India.
• The BPaL is administered orally.
• WHO: For all types of drug-resistant TB, pretomanid-containing regimens have been approved by the WHO.

Facts

• India has the largest TB burden in the world with 2.6 million active cases and about 450,000 annual TB-related deaths.
• Mumbai is frequently referred to as the centre for drug-resistant TB patients.
• There are more TB patients there than anywhere else in India who are using the more recent, injection-less BPaL short.
• The non-profit organisation TB Alliance is situated in New York and develops and distributes pharmaceuticals to treat tuberculosis (TB).
• XDR-TB: A uncommon form of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis called extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) occurs when many of the most potent and essential anti-TB medications are unable to stop the microbiological activity.

Problem with BPaL

• Adverse effects: The proper dosage of these three medications is a major concern because some individuals have experienced side effects from BPaL that have affected their nervous systems and vision.

Relevance of BPaL

• Despite the fact that the majority of BPaL study participants had advanced disease, there has been no fatality.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the BPaL regimen approval for the treatment of people with treatment-intolerant or non-responsive pulmonary extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
• Treatment by mouth: Patients no longer have to endure months of agonising daily injections.

About Tuberculosis

Cause:

• It is brought on by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis and typically affects the lungs.

Transmission:

• People with lung TB cough, sneeze, or spit, which causes TB to spread via the air.
• Just a few bacteria must be inhaled for someone to become ill.
• A person who contracts TB infection contracts TB bacteria that are dormant in the body. They risk developing TB disease if their immune system deteriorates from this infection.

Symptoms:

• a persistent cough, fever, weariness, weakness, or chest pain.
• Frequently, these symptoms will be moderate for several months, which causes delays in seeking treatment and raises the risk of infecting others.

Diagnosis:

• A sputum sample is taken in order to test for TB bacteria in cases of suspected lung TB illness.
• Samples of the affected body fluids and tissue can be evaluated for non-lung TB illness.
• Rapid molecular diagnostic tests are advised by the WHO as the first testing for anyone exhibiting TB symptoms.
• Chest X-rays and sputum smear microscopy are two more diagnostic methods.

Treatment

• Antibiotics can be used to treat both TB infection and illness.
• The typical 6-month course of four antibiotics is used to treat it. Isoniazid and rifampicin are typical medications.
• The TB bacteria do not respond to the common medications in drug-resistant TB. It takes more time and effort to treat it. Bedaquiline is used to treat it.
• To avoid the onset of disease in cases of infection (when the patient is infected with TB bacteria but is not unwell), TB preventive medication can be administered. A shorter duration of the same medications is used in this treatment.

The Efforts Made:

Global Action

• WHO's Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB, 1+1 initiative, and Global Tuberculosis Program and Report.

• According to UN SDG objective 3.3, the TB epidemic will be eradicated by 2030.
• The 2017 Moscow Declaration to End TB.

Indian Attempts

• By 2025, the government hopes to have rid India of tuberculosis, five years before the worldwide goal of 2030.
• The National Strategic Plan to End Tuberculosis (TB) by 2025 is based on the pillars of Detect-Treat-Prevent-Build (DTPB).
• Program for Universal Immunization.
• Under the National Health Mission, the National TB Control Program has been revised.
• The TB Sample Transport Network and the NIKSHAY site.
• Creating a national framework for a TB treatment strategy that considers gender.

Difficulties related to TB

• Insufficient staffing at TB facilities has resulted in lower quality and slower care due to the three COVID waves' diversion of human resources within the health system.
• According to studies, COVID may open up pathways that cause dormant TB bacilli to reactivate.
• In the past, social unrest (like war), food insecurity, poverty, and malnutrition have contributed to increases in the prevalence of TB.
• Therefore, it's possible that TB will spread more in the upcoming years.
• Some of the factors closely linked to TB are immunosuppressive diseases including diabetes, malnutrition, and poverty.

India-specific advice

• Not just for TB, but also for health, nutrition, and preventive programs, India needs investment.
• India has to make investments in cutting-edge technology, increase capacity, increase the size of its health personnel, and improve the quality of its primary care facilities.
• As significant components of health services, telemedicine, and remote support must also be taken into account.
• The most crucial step before beginning any of this is to create an open and collaborative platform where all parties, particularly affected communities and independent experts, take the initiative.
• COVID has served as a fantastic illustration of how quick investments and actions may change behaviour.

Also, Read - PM Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) Yojana

PM Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) Yojana

Image Source - pmmodiyojana

On National Teachers' Day, the Prime Minister unveiled a new program called PM SHRI Schools (PM ScHools for Rising India).

PM-SHRI Scheme

• It is a brand-new program that is sponsored by the government and will highlight the elements of the National Education Policy, 2020.
• A centrally sponsored scheme is one where the union government and the states/union territories are expected to split the implementation costs 60:40.
• The Center's contribution may reach 90% in Northeastern states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, and UTs without legislatures.
• For instance, the PM Awas Yojana or the PM Poshan midday food programme.
• As part of it, up to 14,500 schools in states and union territories would undergo renovations to reflect the major components of the NEP, 2020.
• The National Education Plan (NEP) envisions a curriculum structure and teaching method organized into foundational, preparatory, intermediate, and secondary levels.
• The schools run by PM SHRI will be an improvement on those currently operated by the Center, states, UTs, and local authorities. The PM SHRI schools may be KV, JNV, state government, or even municipal corporation-run establishments.

Significance

• The goal of these schools will be to produce holistic, well-rounded persons with essential 21st-century abilities as well as high-quality teaching, learning, and cognitive development.
• These schools will have cutting-edge facilities like labs, smart classrooms, and other contemporary talents.
• These schools will use pedagogy that is more experiential, holistic, integrated, play- and toy-based, and inquiry- and discovery-driven.

Also, Read - Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology