07 May, 2009

Pakistan: Latest Technology Laboratory for VIP

Highly  latest technology lab  for visually impaired people  is now situated at  Lahore university of management science (lums) you can sea a complete Detaille

http://chand.lums.edu.pk/~atrrc

thanks

regards Hassan tareen

assistive technology specialist
Lahore university of management sciences(LUMS) opposite sector U DHA Lahore cant
+92425722670 ext 4135

Call for applicaitons: "Global Partners in Action: NGO Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development"

In recognition of the 15 yr. anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Global Partners in Action: NGO Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Development aims to strengthen NGOs working in partnership to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights for sustainable development in an uncertain and interdependent world. The Government of Germany and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are the co-hosts of this forum.
Global Partners in Action is led by NGOs and is for NGOs, with considerable emphasis placed on ensuring significant participation from the Global South and of young people. Global Partners in Action will be a highly interactive working meeting, where participants will be able to contribute to approximately 30 breakout sessions, as participants, facilitators, resource persons or rapporteurs. In addition, orientation sessions and regional meetings are being planned for the first day. Participants will furthermore have the opportunity to network and share their work and experiences in a marketplace and at a global café. Plenaries featuring high level speakers will also inspire Global Partners in Action. Finally, all participants will be welcome to assist in the drafting process for the Call to Action throughout the duration of the Forum and outcomes from discussions in various sessions will feed into the Call to Action and an NGO Action Plan.
There will be 400 participants at Global Partners in Action. Out of these, 225 will come from the Global South and will, as far as possible, be fully funded to attend. There are 100 spots for Northern NGOs, these will not generally be funded to attend. However, there will be no registration fee. The forum steering group aims to ensure diverse representation from as many countries, regions and NGO’s working in different fields of health and development as possible. Youth participation is also a priority and a commitment has been made to have at least 25% of participants under the age of 30. In recognition of the vital role that Regional Networks play in implementing and monitoring the ICPD Programme of Action, a commitment has been made to have at least 30 Regional Networks participate at the Forum.
Global Partners in Action is inviting applications from individuals representing NGO's around the world that:
Are committed to the principles of the ICPD Programme of Action;
Focus on activities that address key aspects of the ICPD Programme of Action (for example: sexual and reproductive health and rights, women's rights, HIV and AIDS, youth participation, gender equity, etc.);
Work at either a local, national, regional or international level;
Are interested and able to share best practices, lessons learned and areas for capacity building; Can commit to collaborative follow-up to Global Partners in Action, guided by the NGO Action Plan and Call to Action that will be produced during the Forum.
Can commit to collaborative follow-up to Global Partners in Action, guided by the NGO Action Plan and Call to Action that will be produced during the Forum.
Applications will be reviewed by an NGO-led Selection Committee, which has set up several measures to ensure a transparent and objective process. For example, an external consultant will remove all personal and organizational information from initial applications to make them anonymous. They will also be assigned a code that identifies their region, country and age group. The anonymous applications which fill all of the selection criteria will then be analyzed for content and relevance to the ICPD agenda and the objectives of the forum. Full details about the selection process will be available on the Global Partners in Action website.

Contact detail: application@globalngoforum.org or by fax to 1 (212) 297 4906.
Source: http://www.globalngoforum.org

Aging, Gender and Disability a report

A new study shows that women, though likely to live longer than men, are up to two and a half times more likely to suffer from disabilities than men as seniors.

Researchers at the Duke University Medical Center examined the records of 5,888 people 65 and over; they found that women are more likely than men to have disabling conditions such as arthritis and obesity. Those two conditions accounted for up to 48% of the gender gap in disability, the researchers say.

The findings were presented at the annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society.

"While women tend to live longer than men, this study shows that they are at greater risk of living with disability and much of the excess disability is attributable to higher rates of obesity and arthritis," says study researcher Heather Whitson, MD.

That's important, she adds, because the result of higher obesity and arthritis rates is a "loss of independence in their old age."

The researchers say the study is the first to isolate the impact of specific chronic health conditions on the disparity in disability rates between older men and women. The researchers say they are surprised to see the extent to which the chronic conditions explain the gender difference in disability.

"The reason for this discrepancy in disability has not been well understood, but we found that chronic health conditions that women experience in greater numbers than men may explain part of that gap," says Harvey Jay Cohen, MD, senior author of the study and director of Duke's Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development.

Weight and Disability

Women have a natural tendency to gain more weight than men over their life span, but they may be more motivated to work harder to maintain a healthy weight "if they realize that those extra pounds make it more likely that they will be disabled in later years, potentially becoming a burden to their children or requiring a nursing home," says Whitson.

The researchers extracted their data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, which asked people about their ability to perform common tasks of daily living, such as eating, grooming, dressing themselves, managing money, and upper and lower body movement, which included grasping, walking, climbing stairs, and reaching.

The researchers say the study draws attention to two health trends that could worsen the quality of life of women in the future.

As the nation's obesity rate continues to climb, so will the rates of disability in older adults, say the study authors. And because women are more likely than men to develop obesity, disability will plague them to a greater degree late in life, the study shows.

The researchers also found that women are less likely to have disabling conditions such as coronary heart diseaseheart failure, stroke, and emphysema.

If rates of cardiovascular disease and emphysema start to increase for women, then disability in elderly women will become an even bigger problem.

"We need to help women make better decisions early in life," Cohen says.

The researchers next plan to investigate whether older disabled women can regain function if they undergo treatment to help them control their weight and arthritis pain. A next step would then be to investigate ways to prevent obesity and arthritis in younger populations.

Source: http://women.webmd.com/news/20090505/disability-gender-gap-for-seniors

By the year 2030, the number of disabled Americans is expected to skyrocket 40 percent, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Utah Department of Health reported Monday that arthritis and rheumatism are the most common culprits with Americans who report being disabled, and more than one in five adults in Utah live with arthritis.

Nationally, one-third of Americans say arthritis limits their ability to work, but according to the UDOH release, research shows that engaging in joint-friendly activities like walking, swimming and strength training helps decrease disability. The Utah Arthritis Program promotes a variety of programs designed to keep people with arthritis healthy and active, and the most effective programs in Utah have been the Living Well with Chronic Conditions and the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, according to the UDOH.

“These two programs greatly benefit participants,” said Nicole Bissonette, Arthritis Program manager for the UDOH, in the release. “They teach appropriate exercises, proper medication use, healthy eating and how to communicate effectively with family, friends and their health care providers.”

For more information and schedules for the programs, visit  www.health.utah.gov/arthritis/CDSMP, or call (801) 538-9340.