Investigating the association between floods and low birth weight in India: Using the geospatial approach.

BACKGROUND: Frequent natural disasters like floods pose a major threat to India, with significant implications for public health. Low birth weight (LBW) is a critical global health concern, contributing to neonatal mortality. However, the association between floods and LBW remains underexplored. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the association between flood hazards and LBW in India using a geospatial approach. By analyzing data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) and flood zonation maps, the study aims to uncover the spatial dynamics of this association, offering insights into the implications of floods on birth weight across diverse geographical regions. METHODS: The study used the fifth round of NFHS data, 2019-21, which involved 202,194 children selected through a multi-stage stratified sampling technique. The Vulnerability Atlas of India 2019 maps were also utilized to classify areas as flood or non-flood zones. Birth weight data from the NFHS-5 were categorized into three groups: very low, low, and normal birth weight (VLBW, LBW and NBW). Control variables including flood exposure, socio-demographic attributes, and geographic region were considered. Bivariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression were employed for statistical analysis. The spatial analysis involved Moran's I statistics and Geographically Weighted Regression to explore spatial dynamics of the association between floods and birth weight in India. RESULTS: Floods predominantly affect India's lower Himalayan belts and western coastal regions. Flood-affected areas show higher proportions of VLBW and LBW infants. Groundwater usage and unimproved sanitation are associated with higher risk of VLBW and LBW. Sex, wealth, maternal education, residence type, and geographic region significantly influence birth weights. Multinomial logistic regression reveals 8 % and 27 % higher risks for LBW and VLBW in flood-affected regions. LISA cluster maps identify high-risk areas for both LBW and floods. Geographically Weighted Regression highlights 52 % of the variability in LBW occurrences can be attributed to the influence of flood hazards. Families hailing from the poorest wealth background and exposed to flood hazards bear a 5 % heightened likelihood of delivering LBW infants, in stark contrast to their counterparts from the same economic background yet unaffected by floods. CONCLUSIONS: The significant association between floods and LBW underscores the importance of robust disaster preparedness and public health strategies. By unraveling the spatial intricacies of flood-induced LBW disparities, this research provides valuable insights for promoting healthier birth outcomes and reducing child mortality rates, particularly in flood-prone regions. These findings emphasize the importance of holistic policies that address both environmental challenges and socioeconomic inequalities to safeguard maternal and infant health across the nation.

India's achievement towards sustainable Development Goal 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) in the 2030 Agenda.

BACKGROUND: Clean water and sanitation are global public health issues. Safe drinking water and sanitation are essential, especially for children, to prevent acute and chronic illness death and sustain a healthy life. The UN General Assembly announced the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets for the 2030 Agenda on 25 September 2015. SDG 6 is very important because it affects other SDG (1, 2,3,5,11,14 and 15). The present study deals with the national and state-wise analysis of the current status and to access deficiency of India's achievement towards SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation for all) for the 2030 agenda based on targets 6.1, 6.2,6.4,6.6 from 2012 to 2020. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data of different indicators of SDG 6 are collected from different secondary sources-NSS 69th (2012) and 76th (2018) round; CGWB annual report 2016-2017 and 2018-2019; NARSS (2019-2020); SBM-Grameen (2020). To understand overall achievement towards SDG 6 in the 2030 agenda, the goal score (arithmetic mean of normalised value) has been calculated. MAJOR FINDINGS: According to NSS data, 88.7% of Indian households had enough drinking water from primary drinking water sources throughout the year, while 79.8% of households had access to toilet facilities in 2018. As per the 2019-2021 goal score for States and UTs in rural India based on SDG 6 indicator, SDG 6 achiever States and UTs (100%) are Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. CONCLUSION: Drinking water and sanitation for all ensure a healthy life. It is a matter of concern for the government, policymakers, and people to improve the condition where the goal score and indicator value of SDG 6 are low.

A review of resource management and self-reliance for sustainable development of India under COVID-19 scenario.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 pandemic has caused a severe disorder in the global economy. The sudden imposition of lockdown is expected to largely impact the global as well as Indian economy. To overcome serious economic fallouts, the honorable Prime Minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi in his address to the nation called for "Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan" or "Self-reliant India" as self-reliance would help in making pragmatic developments of the economy. According to WHO, COVID-19 is a new strain found among humans that are caused by SARS-CoV-2, mainly a respiratory tract infection. As a consequence, the COVID-19 pandemic gives India a unique situation to face this period of crisis boldly for optimum utilization of the available resources, and shift towards a more resilient and sustainable economy. Attainment of self-reliance and sustainable resource management will also help the nation to overcome various global challenges. The present study mainly focuses on two objectives: Firstly, to understand the different possibilities which will secure India to become self-reliant; and secondly, to know the prospects of self-reliant of India in the post-COVID-19 scenario. It has to be kept in mind that Covid-19 may not be the last viral infection that the world might see. Therefore, Novel Coronavirus sets a distinctive chance for India and the countries alike to utilize the available resources strategically and transform its dreams of "local" India into "Glocal" India for a better and brighter future of her people.

Data article on soil site suitability analysis using geostatistical and visualization techniques for selected winter crops in Sagar island, India.

We assessed soil site suitability for selected winter crops in the coastal saline agro-ecological environment of Sagar Island, India by integrating land limitation and crop suitability evaluation framework of FAO. Grid based (1 km by 1 km) soil sampling and estimation of important soil quality attributes were measured in the laboratory following standard procedures. Geo-statistical and visualization methods were applied to match the soil suitability for selected crops. The weights of crop specific soil parameters have been assigned through PCA analysis. The inverse distance weighting interpolation and reclassification methods were adopted for generation of spatial layers of those soil attributes. Nearly 61% area (14,618 ha GA) of the Island is under agricultural landuse (AL), mostly dominated (>75% of AL) by lowland rice-fallow mono-cropping. Soils are highly suitable (S1) for growing sunflower while moderately suitable (S2) for growing chilli, mustard and potato crops. The grid-wise georeferenced soil data information generated in this study will help in periodic monitoring of soil quality in spatio-temporal dimensions for devising location specific soil health managements in the Island. The methodology used in estimating soil quality index and crop specific soil suitability analysis in spatial format will help in replicating such studies in other such coastal Islands of Indian Sub-continent.