QUOTES FOR LIFE

Hambanthota High Court Has Imposed A Capital Punishment On Three Accused Of A Murder Of An Individual Committed In 23 Years Ago

Hambanthota (In Southern Province)High Court has today (01) imposed a capital punishment on the three accused including a married couple over the murder of an individual committed in 1993.

The capital punishment was imposed on the accused when the case regarding the murder of Gahadure Jayasena who was killed in 1993 at Ruhuna Rideegama in Modarapiliwala area  was taken up for hearing before the Hambanthota High Court Judge Ajith Marasinghe this evening.

The three accused of the ages 66,61 snd 51 are residents of Ruhuna Rideegama area in Ambalanthota it has been reported.

MP Wimal Weerawansha's Brother Sarath Weerawansha Had Arrested And Remanded Over Misusing Of State Vehicles

The Police Financial Crimes Investigations Department has arrested Sarath Weerawansha the  brother of the National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and joint opposition MP Wimal Weerawansha today (01) over the allegation of misusing a state owned vehicles belonging to president's secretariat and state engineering corporation .

After being produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate Court this evening the suspect has been remanded until 07th of September by the Magistrate.

Sarath Weerawansha had arrested this morning by the FCID after recording a statement from him regarding the allegation.

Statement Of Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh - Regional Director, World Health Organization South-East Asia Region On Non Communicable Diseases

Making it Work: Combating noncommunicable diseases at the primary health care level

Why NCD care must be taken to the people.

Dr.Poonam

Noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, respiratory diseases, cancer and heart diseases are taking a severe toll on public health across the WHO South-East Asia Region. Approximately 8.5 million lives, many of them premature, are lost each year due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), making them the Region’s leading cause of death and a key source of public health expenditure.

With the NCD burden expected to rise in coming years, due largely to the Region’s rapid development and associated lifestyle changes, countries have taken steps to arrest the problem: multisectoral plans are being developed; health promotion campaigns are being carried out; exposure to NCD risk factors such as alcohol and tobacco are being curtailed; and NCD monitoring has been enhanced. But as countries strive to make a one-third reduction in premature deaths caused by NCDs by 2030, there is an important tool that remains underutilized: the primary health care system.

By bringing NCD care to the primary health care level, health authorities have the opportunity to ensure appropriate services are provided to the right people, at the right place and at the right time. While policies aimed at providing high-tech care at central hospitals can have results, their impact will always be limited and will almost always be reactive. Primary health facilities are not only better equipped to provide the holistic, patient-centered focus that preventing and managing an NCD requires, but they can also enhance equity and access to NCD care – an aim central to the Sustainable Development Goals.

There are several steps that health authorities can take to bring NCD care directly to the people and to roll-back their tragic and costly burden.

First, national health and development policies must be re calibrated. This means putting the primary health approach front and center of national NCD action plans, as well as drafting and implementing a range of supporting protocols, from clear policies outlining the spectrum of primary level NCD services to well-defined diagnostic and treatment guidelines. This will enhance the health system’s structural coherency, and will also allow patients and health workers to better navigate it.

Second, health care workers at the primary level must be given the knowledge and skills to provide NCD and associated risk factor care. This means providing comprehensive training for front line health workers in NCD screening and management strategies as well as enabling them to provide effective advice on NCD prevention, including healthy lifestyle messages. A team-based approach that harnesses a range of skillsets is required, and may include developing additional cadres of health counselors or social workers.

Third, the availability of generic essential medicines and basic technologies for NCD management must be guaranteed at the primary level. To do so, procurement policies must be reviewed and essential medicine lists updated. Every person suffering from diabetes, for example, must be able to access a blood glucose meter at their local health care provider, just as all persons suffering from a respiratory disease should be able to access the technologies and medicines that ensure they can breathe easy.

Finally, health authorities must put in place funding mechanisms to facilitate primary level NCD care. While shifting NCD care to the primary level will reduce health system expenditures overall (not to mention out-of-pocket costs borne by patients), making this possible nonetheless requires effective budget allocations and robust planning. At the same time, increased taxation of health-damaging commodities such as tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy foods and beverages should be considered, both as a means to diminish demand for these products as well as to increase revenue for NCD prevention and control.

Importantly, the shift to a primary health approach to NCD care must occur alongside efforts to achieve universal health coverage. Primary health facilities are crucial to the goal of ensuring all people everywhere get the care they need without facing financial hardship, meaning gains in coverage will accelerate efforts to reverse the NCD burden. The pursuit of universal health coverage must be seen as an essential component of the wider campaign to tackle NCDs effectively.

To be sure, preventing and managing NCDs is one of the greatest challenges health authorities across the Region face. The NCD burden is already causing significant social and economic costs, with any increases certain to exacerbate negative outcomes and further stymie development. In turning the situation around and meeting global and regional NCD targets, shifting screening and management of diabetes, heart diseases, cancers and respiratory diseases to the primary level is of vital importance. A healthier, more prosperous South-East Asia Region will be the result.

HEALTH TIP

Cutting fat from your diet leads to more fat loss than reducing carbohydrates, a US health study shows.

Scientists intensely analysed people on controlled diets by inspecting every morsel of food, minute of exercise and breath taken.
Both diets, analysed by the National Institutes of Health, led to fat loss when calories were cut, but people lost more when they reduced fat intake.
Experts say the most effective diet is one people can stick to.
It has been argued that restricting carbs is the best way to get rid of a "spare tyre" as it alters the body's metabolism.

Chemical processes

The theory goes that fewer carbohydrates lead to lower levels of insulin, which in turn lead to fat being released from the body's stores.
"All of those things do happen with carb reduction and you do lose body fat, but not as much as when you cut out the fat," said lead researchers Dr Kevin Hall, from the US-based National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption Cutting down on carbohydrates might not be as effective after all, the study suggests

In the study, 19 obese people were initially given 2,700 calories a day.
Then, over a period of two weeks they tried diets which cut their calorie intake by a third, either by reducing carbohydrates or fat.
The team analysed the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide being breathed out and the amount of nitrogen in participants' urine to calculate precisely the chemical processes taking place inside the body.
The results published in Cell Metabolism showed that after six days on each diet, those reducing fat intake lost an average 463g of body fat - 80% more than those cutting down on carbs, whose average loss was 245g.
Dr Hall said there was no "metabolic" reason to chose a low-carb diet.
However, studies suggest that in the real world, where diets are less strictly controlled, people may lose more weight by reducing carbohydrate intake.
Dr Hall told the BBC News website: "If it's easier to stick to one diet than another, and to ideally do it permanently, then you should choose that diet.
"But if a low-fat diet is better for you, then you are not going to be at a metabolic disadvantage."
He is now analysing brain scans of the participants to see how the diets affect how rewarding food is.

Diet claims 'debunked'

Doctors Susan Roberts and Sai Das, from Tufts University, said in a commentary that the debate around diets was a source of "intense controversy".
They said the study had "debunked" many of the claims that low-carbohydrate diets were better, but the long-term impact was still unclear.
They added: "The most important message for now is probably that some carbohydrates are all right, especially the healthy whole-grain low-glycaemic-index variety."
Prof Susan Jebb, from the University of Oxford, said: "The investigators rightly conclude that the best diet for weight loss is the diet you can stick to.
"All diets 'work' if you stick to an eating plan that cuts calories, whether from fat or carbohydrate, but sticking to a diet is easier said than done, especially given the prolonged time it takes to lose weight."

Tobacco Chewing Among Males In Sri Lanka Is On The Increase

Around 26% of the Sri Lankan males and 5% of the females are addicted to chewing Tobacco according to the National Consultant on non communicable  diseases in World Health Organization(WHO) professor Nalika Gunawardena.

As the tobacco proved as a cancer agent ,steps should be taken to reduce the number of tobacco addicts in the country professor Gunawardena has stated during a  National Media Workshop On Non Communicable Diseases held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo yesterday (31).