Status of Health and Health Care of the Victims of Union Carbide in

Bhopal
Aziza Sultan, Diwakar Sinha, Nishant Ranjan, Pranay Sharma, Ramesh Mishra,
Ritesh Pal, Satinath Sarangi
AFFILIATION: Sambhavna Trust Clinic, 44, Sant Kanwar Ram Nagar,
Berasia Road, Bhopal 462018 India
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Satinath Sarangi, Tel: +91-755-2730914,
sambavna@sancharnet.in
ABSTRACT
The health consequences of the Union Carbide disaster on December 2-3, 1984 in Bhopal have
been documented through research by official and unofficial agencies. However much of the
official information remains unpublished and research by unofficial agencies are dated. Current
information on long term and late manifesting effects are scant if at all. The Sambhavna trust
Clinic in Bhopal has generated clinic based and community based data on the status of health of
the survivors of the gas disaster and the individuals exposed to toxic contamination of ground
water. Through the application of the methodology of Verbal Autopsy, the Clinic monitors
exposure related mortalities. Our research also includes a study of effect of exposure to toxic
fumes on the next generation of victims. The Sambhavna Clinic has generated information on the
status of health care in Bhopal, which includes a study of the drug market, the quality of health
care offered by the Bhopal Memorial Hospital Trust as well as the practices of the qualified and
unqualified medical practitioners. Our research in the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions
have demonstrated the usefulness of Yoga in conjunction with other measures the treatment of
respiratory, metabolic and hormonal disorders. While there is need to protest the absence of
official initiatives in generating and publishing information on the status of health and health
care of the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster, concerted efforts are required to accept and
address the challenge Bhopal poses as a medical and a public health disaster. We wish to thank
Professor D.R. Varma, McGill University for his advice on different aspects of the project.
KEY WORDS: Bhopal, Health, Sambhavna