Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has urged the school students and teachers to protect nature on the occasion of 'World Earth Day'. Dikshit, who celebrated the occasion with a group of school students and teachers at her New Delhi residence, highlighted the areas of concern such as climate change and natural disasters like the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last month, and the need to conserve natural resources for future use.

"We need to prepare ourselves to take care of our nature so that our lives in future becomes good. The way we are seeing nature right now may not remain the same in the future. We don't know what changes it would go through and how," she said.

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World Meningitis Day will be observed on April 24 - and the focus will be on understanding more about the disease and its treatment Pediatricians in the city have drawn the attention of parents to a little-known but dangerous disease on the occasion of the World Meningitis Day on April 24. The World Meningitis Day is sponsored by the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations which brings together associations from all over the world dedicated to raising awareness about the impact of meningitis and the benefits of vaccination in preventing avoidable deaths from this disease. Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the spinal cord and brain, caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Viral meningitis generally clears up without requiring specific treatment. Bacterial meningitis is a far more serious infection that can cause severe brain damage and, if untreated, can lead to death in half of all cases.

Even with prompt, appropriate treatment, the consequences of bacterial meningitis can be extremely severe. Those who survive often suffer from mental retardation, epilepsy and deafness. Meningitis can strike with little or no warning, but knowing the symptoms and acting fast can save lives. Symptoms of bacterial meningitis include sudden onset of fever, headache, stiff neck, dislike of bright light, nausea, vomiting and drowsiness. “Children are at the greatest risk,” says Dr Sharad Agharkhedkar, former president of the city unit of Indian Medical Association

In the early stages of meningitis, these symptoms can be mistaken for less severe diseases, thereby delaying diagnosis and treatment. The consequences of delayed treatment can be profound, increasing the risk of complications. Vaccines are available in India to protect those at risk against certain types of bacterial meningitis like 'Haemophilus influenza type b' (Hib). However, since the introduction of Hib vaccine, meningitis due to these bacteria is now uncommon in developed countries. 

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Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) will celebrate World Heritage Day at ancient Navdi Ovara (bank) of Tapi river here on April 18. Mayor Raju Desai will inaugurate a 'langar' and dedicate a book to the people to mark the occasion.

"An ancient pedal stale lungar (anchor) has been repaired and renovated. It will be inaugurated on Monday," said CY Bhatt, assistant commissioner, SMC. "At The Core - a book on Surat and Rander's heritage will be dedicated to the people. It has been published by Urban Management Centre and written by Manvita Baradi and Meghana Malhotra," he added. Surat Heritage Trust (SHT), which used to organize a number of programmes like heritage walk on earlier occasions, has given it a miss this time. SHT vice-chairman KO Shah said, "We are in the process of collecting historical data on Kantaraswar Temple located at Katargam."

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A Kolkata hospital organised a special hand hygiene programme on Thursday on the occasion of World Health Day with an aim of awaking people on health related issues. Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata organised “Hand Washing and Hand Hygiene Awareness Drive” programme on Thursday.

Rupali Basu, Chief Executive Officer of the hospital said, “The theme this year on the World Health Day is very important for a country like India where we do not follow hand hygiene habits. This single act (proper hand wash) alone can reduce 50 percent diarrhoeal disorders and can prevent many other infections.”“We dedicate one full month in a calendar year for this activity alone to educate our patients and visitors to help them to maintain proper hand hygiene,” she said.

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Perhaps the bow of my head, gives an impression I am beaten Perhaps my posture presents a picture of resignation Do you see my shaking hands or my halting movement as frailty? But I am not beaten, I am not resigned and I am not frail. - Judy Smolin

Shivering hands, a flexed walking position, slowness in movement and difficulty with walking and gait. These are the symptoms of Parkinson's disease - a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, wherein the cell in the brain starts degenerating, resulting in various complications. April 11 is observed as the World Parkinson's Day.

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Holding consistence and daily physical activities could reduce the risk of getting illnesses such as diabetes and coronary Heart disorder apart from reducing the body weight. By allocating 30 to 60 minutes for engaging in physical activity, one could control or reduce high blood pressure and control the level of cholesterol in the blood.

In conjunction with the World Physical Activity Day, the Ministry of Health this morning held an aerobic and walkathon. Participating in the session was the Minister of Health, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Adanan and the Permanent Secretary at the ministry, Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Salam. World Physical Activity Day is a day to enhance public awareness on the benefits and importancet of physical activities in daily life. The theme for this year's event is 'Be active, Be Happy' The walkathon began at the car park area of the Ministry of Health and ended at the Jalan Menteri Besar Recreation Park at Commonwealth Drive.

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Washing your hands properly can save you from several infections and diseases like diarrhoea. But many people in India do not follow this simple practice. On April 7 World Health Day a team from Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata, will provide tips on how to wash hands in a hygienic manner and make people aware of benefits of this healthy habit. The event is being organised by Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals in association with the Times Foundation.

Do not fail to land up at the Safari Park in Southern Avenue on World Health Day, for this is the venue where the Apollo Hospital team, comprising doctors, nurses and paramedics, along with other experts, will provide hand washing tips. And, that's not all. A complimentary smart health check-up has also been lined up for the participants. Make sure to reach the venue in time to reap the most out of the event. The special drive will start at 6 in the morning to go on till 8am.

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New York, Berlin and London were among the cities which celebrated International World Pillow Fight Day at the weekend.  People took to the streets around the world on Saturday to mark the fourth such event, which was founded by the Urban Playground Movement.

Speaking during one such pillow battle, organiser Tom Grund told ITN: "No-one was volunteering for Hong Kong so I made a Facebook event inviting 100 friends and put it on a few other websites. I guess friends told friends and it went a bit crazy!"

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Autism Hearts Foundation and the Philippine Consulate of San Francisco  join the United Nations and Autism Speaks along with the rest of the world  in recognizing April  2nd as WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY. On December 18, 2007 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 62/139 declaring World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) to be celebrated April 2, 2008 in perpetuity.

This UN Resolution is one of few official disorders specific to United Nations Days and will bring the world’s attention to autism, a pervasive disorder that affects tens of millions. The World Autism Awareness Day resolution encourages all Member States to take measures to raise awareness about autism throughout society and encourages early diagnosis and early intervention.  It further expresses deep concern at the prevalence and high rate of autism in children in all regions of the world and the consequent developmental challenges.

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On an average, some 2,000 persons have been diagnosed with tuberculosis in the state each year during the last four years. According to figures provided by the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) under the TB control programme, in 2010 alone some 2207 persons were diagnosed with TB, making it the highest figure in the past four years.

Statistics indicate that some 2,105 persons were diagnosed with the disease in 2007 while 2,007 persons were diagnosed in 2008 and some 1,966 persons in 2009. To commemorate World TB day on March 24, the DHS will organize a function at 10am at the Goa Chamber of Commerce hall, Panaji wherein the health minister will be the chief guest, A Sawant of the TB control programme said.

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