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Memo to COP26 leaders: abandon your hubris, politics, and pride and see the future through young people’s eyes

BMJ 2021; 375 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n2607 (Published 28 October 2021)

Cite this as: BMJ 2021;375:n2607

Rapid Response:

Re: Memo to COP26 leaders: abandon your hubris, politics, and pride and see the future through young people’s eyes

Keep Climate Healthy

Climate change is having serious impacts on everything from the ecosystem, food, air, and water quality, all the way to having an impact on our health. Temperature increases and short and long time air pollution can have acute and long-term pathological consequences in the brain and increasing the risk of developing dementia, stroke, epilepsy, and migraines.

Furthermore, due to the changing environment, specific diseases such as malaria, dengue, and yellow fever are all also increasing in prevalence, and many of these have direct neurological consequences.

The current climate crisis is the single biggest health threat facing humanity

To avert catastrophic health impacts and prevent millions of climate related deaths, people must help in some way or other to reduce the earth and environmental warming.

This year, the COP26 climate change conference is going to be held in Glasgow, UK, from 1-12 November 2021.

Everyone should take a pledge and contribute with lifestyle changes to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5°C to restore nature and a world free of environmental related deaths.

Competing interests: No competing interests

29 October 2021

M.A. Aleem

Emeritus Professor of Neurology * Visiting Specialist in Neurology ** Consultant Neurologist ***

The Tamilnadu Dr.M.G.R. Medical University * Dhanalakshami Srinivasan Medical College ** ABC Hospital ***

Chennai 600032* Perambalure 621212** Trichy 620018*** Tamilnadu India

@drmaaleem

In the Trichy The Hindu on 21.10.2021

Traders do not enforce safety measures

C. Jaisankar

TIRUCHI, OCTOBER 21, 2021 00:00 IST

UPDATED: OCTOBER 21, 2021 04:24 IST

Shoppers too are complacent

Lackadaisical approach of traders in the city on enforcing COVID-19 safety protocol has raised concern among the people.

With the Deepavali festival round the corner, shoppers have been making a beeline to the major business streets such as NSB Road, Singarathope, Big Bazaar Street, Nandi Koil Street and Chinnakadai Street. The commercial centre attracts customers from Ariyalur, Perambalur and Pudukkottai too.

Though the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 on textile business is yet to be analysed, traders have filled up the racks with a hope by procuring dress materials from Mumbai, Surat, Ahmadabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and others. As expected the textile showrooms are teeming up with customers.

What is causing concern among the people is the lackadaisical approach on enforcing the COVID 19 safety measures prescribed by the government. Except one or two, most traders seem to have taken the COVID 19 safety protocol for granted.

Except applying hand sanitizer while allowing the customers inside their showrooms, traders do not enforce other safety measures such as wearing masks, limiting the number of customers, enforcing social distancing norms and screening the customers for temperature, it is alleged.

Business is as usual in most textile and garment showrooms and utensil stores. It seems that no one has restricted the customers. They allow as many people as possible. Shoppers too do not bother to wear masks.

Stating that the danger of COVID-19 is still omnipresent, doctors sound a warning. “We must not forget the sharp rise in fresh cases shortly after the Onam festival season in Kerala. We need to be extremely careful while shopping in congested places,” says M.A.Aleem, former Vice Principal, KAP. Viswanatham Government Medical College, Tiruchi.

While admitting the need for enforcing COVID-19 protocol, an employee of a textile showroom on NSB Road said that limiting customers was not practical. If limited, it would cause mayhem and confusion not only inside the showrooms but also on busy streets.

Customers, who abide by the safety measures, said that law enforcers should at least ensure all customers in showrooms wear masks. Otherwise, action should be taken against the customers and traders for failing to adhere to the safety norms.

Meanwhile, the Tiruchi Corporation’s Assistant Commissioner of K.Abishekapuram zone has announced that it is mandatory for all traders and the employees in their shops to have inoculated with both doses of COVID-19 vaccine. They should produce the certificates of vaccination to corporation workers during inspections, he said in a statement.

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Today is Kaviarasu kannadasan death Anniversary. Requesting our Tamilnadu CM to celebrate kaviarasu Kannadasan birthday day of 24th June as Tamilnadu Goverment Function every year - M.A.Aleem Neurologist #Trichy #Tamilnadu #India

Requesting our Tamilnadu CM to celebrate kaviarasu Kannadasan birthday day of 24th June as Tamilnadu Goverment Function every year.

Kannadasan ( 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) is an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Frequently called Kaviarasu, Kannadasan was most familiar for his song lyrics in Tamil films and contributed around 5000 film lyrics apart from 6000 poems and 232 books, including novels, epics, plays, essays, his most popular being the 10-part religious book on Hinduism, Arthamulla Indhu Matham (Meaningful Hindu Religion). So it is ideal to adopt kannadasan birthday as Government Function a request by M.A.Aleem Neurologist Trichy Tamilnadu India

Make Smart City Project conducive for mentally ill patients: social workers

TIRUCHI

10 OCTOBER 2021 22:39 IST

UPDATED: 10 OCTOBER 2021 22:39 IST

The theme for the World Mental Health Day 2021: 'mental health in an unequal world' is quite relevant in the local context wherein the shortcomings are quite glaring, according to social workers involved in running homes for the mentally ill.

While the number of people susceptible to mental illness has witnessed a rise during COVID-19 pandemic period, the services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders have been significantly disrupted, they point out.

Against the backdrop of commitments made by governments at the World Health Assembly in May 2021 to scale up quality mental health services at all levels, the local administration must ideally find ways to incorporate care for the mentally ill in the Smart City Project, T.K.S. Senthil Kumar, Founder of Anbalayam Home for Mentally Ill, said.

The support system for the mentally ill patients is far from adequate. Though there are many coming forward to meet the cost of food expenses for the mentally ill, there are no places where they could be given a bath. The problem is that 108 ambulances have limitations in admitting mentally ill patients with physical injuries to the hospital. The staff of 108 ambulance service insist on an attendant, which is impractical. Also there must be a special ward in government hospitals to provide psychatric care and attention for physical injuries simultaneously with police protection to ensure that the treatment course is completed. For, the mentally ill patients are prone to getting away, Mr. Senthil Kumar explained.

According to psychiatrists, there must be exclusive parks for mentally ill patients with facilities for food, shelter and clothing. Not all mentally ill patients could be sheltered in closed confines for long. The wandering nature of mentally ill patients must not be viewed as unusual. Such parks would be of immense utility for integrated care, in keeping with the theme of the World Mental Health Day, they say.

In a letter to the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and School Education Minister Ambil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Neurologist and former Vice-Principal of KAPV Government Medical College M.A. Aleem requested for inclusion of a chapter on Mental Health in the science books at higher secondary level. This is a way to prepare future generations to handle mentally ill patients with care, Dr. Aleem said.