India has defended a state-run programme that offers poor women cash incentives to get sterilised after the deaths of 13 women triggered international condemnation.
Sterilisation Using Rusty Surgical Equipment Kills 13 Women in Central India
Rusty surgical equipment and contaminated medication are thought to have caused the deaths of at least 13 women who underwent sterilisation operations in central India.
Rusty surgical equipment and contaminated medication are thought to have caused the deaths of at least 13 women who underwent sterilisation operations in central India.
Indian authorities have come under criticism from rights groups and the United Nations after a mass sterilisation camp in central Chhattisgarh state led to the deaths of 12 women. Another woman died after a second session, held on Monday.
Dozens more are still in hospital after Saturday's camp, when a single surgeon operated on 83 women in just five hours -- spending an average of less than four minutes on each patient.
Survey Says Male Sterilisation Not Preferred Method of Family Planning
Male sterilisation remains the least preferred method of family planning, reports survey.
Male sterilisation remains the least preferred method of family planning, reports survey.
Human Rights Watch has said health workers in India are coercing women into getting sterilised, under pressure to meet informal targets.
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HIV-Affected Namibian Women Seek Court's Help Over Forced Sterilisations
In the throes of labour, a Namibian woman was approached by a nurse who handed her a document to sign, saying the form would authorise a Caesarean section.
In the throes of labour, a Namibian woman was approached by a nurse who handed her a document to sign, saying the form would authorise a Caesarean section.
The United Nations has called for all those responsible for the deaths to be held accountable and said that contraceptive choices should be made "without any forms of incentives".
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Namibian HIV-Positive Women Won't Take Forced Sterilisations Lying Down
A HIV-positive woman told Namibia's top court Wednesday that doctors had removed her uterus without her consent, as three women launched a lawsuit against the state for alleged forced sterilisations.
A HIV-positive woman told Namibia's top court Wednesday that doctors had removed her uterus without her consent, as three women launched a lawsuit against the state for alleged forced sterilisations.
Drugs Seized
Chhattisgarh's chief minister has sacked the surgeon who conducted the operations and the chief medical officer who supervised them.
The state has launched a judicial enquiry, and is also testing the drugs that the women were given after the surgery.
"The seized drugs have been sent for examination," Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said.
"If there is anything wrong with the drugs, we will act against the companies, manufacturer, purchaser and the medical team," he added.
The state government has banned five drugs used at the camp pending investigations, including an anaesthetic and a pain killer.
The victims had suffered vomiting and a dramatic fall in blood pressure on Monday after undergoing laparoscopic sterilisation, a process in which the fallopian tubes are tied.
Although no cause of death has officially been given, authorities speculated that the women had died of septic shock. However, R. K. Gupta, the surgeon who performed the sterilisations, has blamed the drugs.
The operations were carried out at a decommissioned hospital on the outskirts of Bilaspur. The actual operating theatre was sealed off on Friday, guarded by about six police officers.
Sterilisation is one of the most popular methods of family planning in India, and many state governments organise mass camps where mainly poor, rural women can undergo the usually straightforward procedure.
In all 336 people have died as a result of sterilisations in India in the three years since 2010, according to national government figures.
Source-AFP
