The Medico Friend Circle
(MFC) is an all-India group of socially conscious individuals from
diverse backgrounds, who come together because of a common concern about the
health problems in the country. Members of MFC are medical, public
health and social science professionals including researchers and students
as well as community health and gender activists. MFC, a loosely knit and
informal national organisation, is over 25 years old. Annual meetings
usually on a theme have been a regular feature of its activities.
The Annual Meet-2002 to be held at Sewagram, Wardha
on January 24-26, 2002, will focus on Nutrition and Food Security.
India by all accounts appears to have attained
self-sufficiency in food production with overflowing food stocks and the ability
to avert large-scale famines. Yet, there is evidence that a large proportion of
children are malnourished and that there has been little improvement in the
nutritional status of vast sections of people. Persisting hunger and
starvation and starvation-related deaths continue to be reported . Policy
changes over the last decade -- liberalisation and WTO requirements including
measures such as removal of quota restrictions, changes in cropping patterns,
threaten social, and especially, food security, further aggravating the
situation of poverty and unemployment.. This raises many issues that impinge on
many disciplines, and need and demand debate that cuts across a range of sectors
and activities.
The meet will focus on the following
issues:
Status of nutrition/malnutrition in
India -- evidence from recent data; Health impact of under-nutrition and
inadequate nutrition; Review of nutrition interventions and related public
policy issues: PDS, ICDS, Mid-Day meal schemes, etc.; Review of nutrition
education in India; Wages and employment and issues in nutrition; Issues
in investigating and documenting under-nutrition, starvation and suspected
starvation-related deaths; Politics of food and food security including
impact of WTO, new technology, etc., on people; and Food security as a
rights issue and related PILs in courts.
The emphasis will be on
field level studies and empirical evidence from different parts of the country
as much as on issues emerging from more formal research studies. The object of
this meet as in other MFC meets will be to facilitate understanding which
participants can "take back" from the meet and apply in their immediate work.
We invite papers based on the above themes. The
last date for submission is October 31, 2001. All
relevant papers will be published in the Medico Friend Circle Bulletin and
tabled at the meet. For details about submission of papers and
participation in the meet, please contact:
Please note however that written papers/paper
presentation is not a prerequisite for participation at MFC
meets. All activists/scholars interested in the above issues
are invited to attend the meet.
MFC is not a funded organization neither does it
raise funds for conducting its meetings.