YEAR 2008

Year 2008 is declared as:

International Year of the Potato
The year 2008 has been declared the International Year of the Potato by the United Nations, noting that the potato is a staple food in the diet of the world’s population, and affirming the need to focus world attention on the role that the potato can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty. Food and Agriculture Organization is invited to facilitate its implementation.

The corresponding resolution adopted on 25 November 2005 by the Food and Agriculture Organization, which is to facilitate the implementation of the year, affirmed "the need to revive public awareness of the relationship that exists between poverty, food security, malnutrition and the potential contribution of the potato to defeating hunger."

International Year of Sanitation
Proper sanitation: It’s a seemingly mundane thing that most people in the developed world take for granted. But at least 2.6 billion people – some 41 percent of the global population - do not have access to latrines or any sort of basic sanitation facilities. As a result millions suffer from a wide range of preventable illnesses, such as diarrhoea, which claim thousands of lives each day, primarily young children. Improving access to sanitation is a good investment because:

• Sanitation is vital for human health
• Sanitation generates economic benefits
• Sanitation contributes to dignity and social development
• Sanitation helps the environment
• Improving sanitation is achievable!

To put the spotlight on this issue the UN General Assembly declared the year 2008 the International Year of Sanitation. The goal is to raise awareness and to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015.

International Year of Planet Earth
The United Nations General Assembly, meeting in New York, has proclaimed the year 2008 to be the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth. The activities will span 2007-2009.
Thrust areas will be

• Reduce risks for society caused by natural and human-induced hazards
• Reduce health problems by improving understanding of the medical aspects of Earth science
• Discover new natural resources and make them available in a sustainable manner
• Build safer structures and expand urban areas, utilizing natural subsurface conditions
• Determine the non-human factor in climatic change
• Enhance understanding of the occurrence of natural resources so as to contribute to efforts to reduce political tension
• Detect deep and poorly accessible groundwater resources
• Improve understanding of the evolution of life
• Increase interest in the Earth sciences in society at large
• Encourage more young people to study Earth science in university

Year of the Frog
This year will also be observed as the Year of the Frog, in order to prevent 500 frog species from being extinct. “Largely our campaign is targeted at the zoo community,” said Kevin Zippel, program director for Amphibian Ark, the international conservation organisation behind this concept.

LONDON - Conservationists from around the world have declared 2008 the Year of the Frog to highlight their new campaign to save threatened amphibians from extinction.

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) said on Friday that up to half of amphibian species could be wiped out in coming years through habitat loss and climate change - the biggest mass extinction since dinosaurs disappeared.

"It's imperative that the world zoo and aquarium community plays an active role in working to save the planet's critically endangered amphibian species," said WAZA president Karen Sausman following the decision at a meeting in Budapest.

The year of the frog campaign is aiming to raise $60 million to try to save frogs. “We have pretty lofty goals,” said Zippel, adding that the year would be a success even if just one of those 500 species were saved.

Physically Challenged People

December 3 - International Day of Disabled People

How is disability defined?

Definition as stated in the Accessibility Act:

1. Any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device,
2. A condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability,
3. A learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language,
4. A mental disorder,
5. An injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997; (“handicap”)

The world has heard of the illustrious mathematician and physicist, Albert Einstein, whose name is indelibly etched in the ‘Theory of Relativity’. But did you know that Albert Einstein suffered a learning disability and could not speak till he turned three years old? Einstein also had a problem with Maths in school. And, if he could go on to become a world famous Mathematician, it is undoubtedly, the will to surmount odds as well as the support enabled by the environment to fight the battle, turning his disability into an advantage.

It is estimated that nearly 610 million people are existing with disabilities across the world. In India alone, nearly 60 million people suffer disabilities. 'International Day of Disabled Persons' is a yearly reminder of what each nation, community, group, and individual can offer to improve the conditions for the disabled as well as muster world-wide assistance and support, to champion the rights of people living with disabilities.

'E-Accessibility', is the theme of the International Day of Disabled, 3rd December, 2006. People with disabilities often find it difficult to access information and communication technologies simply because information that is presently available is not designed to suit the needs of disabled people. Even the World Wide Web which should be universal is often difficult to navigate for the disabled. Inspite of access to information technology that has created new vistas for many, the disabled are simply at a loss to draw the benefits from these technological advances, because of inaccessible formats and design that hamper their active participation. Many of the websites are also inaccessible to the blind and the visually impaired.

On this day, several groups and initiatives around the world will seek to raise the awareness on the rights of persons suffering disabilities. The objective of this day will revolve around exploring better ways of accessing information and communication technologies that are as much a right to the disabled, as it is to the rest of the population. Significantly, it will be a day to help the disabled integrate into society by ironing out the impediments in their lives.

'Decent Work for Persons with Disabilities'
This is our theme for this year's International Day of Disabled People on 3 December 2007. In every society very few persons with disabilities are gainfully employed.

In fact, in most countries up to 80% of persons with disabilities of working age are unemployed. Most others are under-employed or will never have access to the labour market.

Everywhere there is a sizable gap between the working conditions and employment trends of persons with disabilities and those without a disability.

All too often persons with disabilities are dependent upon begging, handouts, and welfare for their livelihood, not through any meaningful employment.

'Knowledge is love and light and vision', said Helen Keller, who herself a severely disabled woman, deaf-mute and blind, yet fought against her disability to become a world famous speaker and author. Helen Keller championed the cause of the disabled and indeed it is only through knowledge that the disabled will be able to overcome their handicap to fulfill the purpose of their lives.

AIDS

December 1 - World Aids Day

What are STDs?
STD stands for Sexually Transmitted Disease (sometimes called Sexually Transmitted Infection). This is an infection which can be caught by having sexual contact with someone who is infected.

What is HIV?
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. People can become infected with HIV and they can pass it on to other people. A person infected with HIV is infected for life. People infected with HIV can look and feel well for a long time.

What is AIDS?
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. A person is said to have AIDS if they are infected with HIV and in addition they have developed one of a number of particularly severe illnesses. There is currently no cure for AIDS and no vaccine to prevent it.

How can people become infected with HIV?
There are a number of ways you can become infected. These include:

• Having sexual intercourse with some who is infected.
• Injecting drugs using a needle or syringe which has already been used by an infected person.
• An infected pregnant woman can pass the virus on to her unborn baby either before or during birth. HIV can also be passed on during breastfeeding.
• Blood transfusions are a possible route of transmission, although most countries now screen the blood supply from HIV, meaning the risk is extremely small.
• Oral sex is a possible risk, although infection from oral sex (blowjobs) on its own seems to be quite rare.

You can't become infected by:

• Sharing a cup or cutlery with someone who is infected.
• Eating food prepared by someone who is infected.
• Touching, hugging, kissing or general contact with an infected person.
• Using the same toilet as someone with HIV.

What's the difference between HIV and AIDS?
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS is a serious condition in which the body's defences against some illnesses are broken down. This means that people with AIDS can get many different kinds of diseases which a healthy person's body would normally fight off quite easily.

How long does it take for HIV to cause AIDS?
The length of time between being infected with HIV and being diagnosed with AIDS depends on lots of different things. These days, there are many drugs that can be used to help people with HIV, and most doctors believe that a lot of people can be treated for a long time. Many people do not know exactly when they were infected with HIV, and the length of time between this happening and them being diagnosed with AIDS can be very variable.

So how can i protect myself?
Using condoms during sex will help to protect you. However, some STDs can be transmitted in other ways, such as kissing. You shouldn't have sexual contact with anyone who has visible sores or genital rashes.

What is safe sex?
Safe sex means sexual activities which you can do even if one person is infected with an STD that won't pass it on to the other person. Loads of activities are completely safe. You can kiss, cuddle, massage and rub each other's bodies. Nothing you do on your own can cause you to get an STD - you can't for example infect yourself by masturbation.

What is safer sex?
Safer sexual activities are things that aren't always completely safe, but mean you've taken precautions to reduce the risks. An example of this is using condoms. Using a condom is not absolutely safe as condoms can break, but they are generally very effective if they are used correctly.