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At 8:52 am on 8 October 2005 a massive earthquake wracked northern Pakistan and Kashmir. Various teams were sent to Islamabad and the disaster region from the UK. We discuss the types of injury patterns seen and recommend that a central register of volunteers should be created to deal with similar situations in the future.

Objective: Various socio-cultural factors influence infant feeding practices and thus early childhood nutrition and child survival in India. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding, its promoters and barriers in urban slums of Bihar, India. Methods: We conducted a community based cross-sectional survey involving 297 mothers living in slum settlements in Bihar. Data were collected using structured questionnaire on exclusive breastfeeding practices, and the factors that could influence this. Descriptive analysis was done to estimate the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and regression model was performed to identify the predictors of exclusive breastfeeding. Results: Only 23% of mothers initiate breastfeeding within 1 hour of delivery and 27.6% mothers practise exclusive breastfeeding up to six months. Mother's education was found to be associated with duration of exclusive breastfeeding (OR 11, 95% CI 2-59). Term babies were more likely to be breastfed exclusively for six months than pre-term babies (OR 8.6, 95% CI 1.6-47.6). Antenatal care visits and completing immunization were significantly associated with duration of exclusive breastfeeding ( P < 0.001). The majority of mothers acquire exclusive breastfeeding knowledge through television/radio (OR 68, 95% CI 5.5-832.5) and newspaper advertisements (OR 14, 95% CI 2.6-76). Conclusion: Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months of age and early initiation of breastfeeding remains low in slums of Bihar. Exclusive breastfeeding and early initiation of breastfeeding rates could be improved by educating and counselling mothers during health facility contacts by primary care providers.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore barriers to accessing care, if any, among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in two districts of Bihar. We also aimed to assess attitudes towards PLHA among healthcare providers and community members.DesignThis qualitative study used an exploratory study design through thematic analysis of semistructured, in-depth interviews.SettingTwo districts were purposively selected for the study, namely the capital Patna and a peripheral district located approximately 100 km from Patna, in order to glean insights from a diverse sample of respondents.ParticipantsOur team purposively selected 71 participants, including 35 PLHA, 10 community members and 26 healthcare providers.ResultsThe overarching theme that evolved from these data through thematic coding identified that enacted stigma and discrimination interfere with each step in the HIV care continuum for PLHA in Bihar, India, especially outside urban areas. The five themes that contributed to these results include: perception of HIV as a dirty illness at the community level; non-consensual disclosure of HIV status; reliance on identifying PLHA to guide procedures and resistance to universal precautions; refusal to treat identified PLHA and referrals to other health centres for treatment; and inadequate knowledge and fear among health providers with respect to HIV transmission.ConclusionsThe continued presence of discriminatory and stigmatising attitudes towards PLHA negatively impacts both disclosure of HIV status as well as access to care and treatment. We recognise a pressing need to improve the knowledge of HIV transmission, and implement universal precautions across all health facilities in the state, not just to reduce stigma and discrimination but also to ensure proper infection control. In order to improve treatment adherence and encourage optimal utilisation of services, it is imperative that the health system invest more in stigma reduction in Bihar and move beyond more ineffective, punitive approaches.

BackgroundCo-infection with Visceral Leishmaniasis (commonly known as Kala Azar, KA) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is increasingly being diagnosed among patients in Bihar. This qualitative study is the first assessment of self-reported quality of life among patients coinfected with KA-HIV in the Asian context. MethodsWe conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews and adopted an inductive thematic analysis to generate evidence on the quality of life of patients co-infected with KA and HIV. Patients were purposively sampled until saturation was attained.should be integrated to ensure that appropriate and effective access to care is possible for this vulnerable population. A sustainable long-term strategy requires a people-centered approach wherein the perceptions and life circumstances of patients are taken into account in the medical decision making process.