The deal, which would be Facebook's largest acquisition, would give the social networking company a mapping service and allow it to better compete with Google Inc and Apple Inc.

Maps and navigation services have become a key asset for technology companies as consumers increasingly adopt smartphones and other mobile devices.

Waze uses satellite signals from members' smartphones to generate maps and traffic data, which it then shares with other users, offering real-time traffic info.

Due diligence between Waze and Facebook is underway after a term sheet was signed, Calcalist said, adding that talks began six months ago.

Officials at Waze and Facebook declined to comment on the report.

Facebook's largest deal to date is the September acquisition of photo-sharing app, Instagram. Facebook agreed to buy the company for $1 billion in cash and stock, though the actual price it paid was $715 million due to declines in Facebook's share price.

The four-year-old Waze, which has 47 million users, has raised $67 million in funding to date from firms including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Blue Run Ventures and semiconductor company Qualcomm Inc.

"A lot of these companies want to own mapping services as opposed to licensing. The advantage is that you could personalize it to your business," said Raymond James analyst Aaron Kessler.

For Facebook, which has shifted its focus to developing "mobile-first" products, having location-based services is important, said Kessler.

There had been media reports earlier this year that Apple was in talks to acquire Waze.

In September, Apple replaced the Google Maps app that once came pre-loaded on iPhones with a new maps service that Apple had created in-house. The Apple maps service contained embarrassing errors, drew fierce criticism from consumers and reviewers, and forced Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook to offer a public apology.

Waze and Facebook partnered in October 2012 when Waze released an updated version of its social mapping and traffic app that allows users to share their drive with their Facebook friends.

Waze has 11 of its 100 employees based in the United States, with the remaining staff in Israel.

This would be Facebook's third acquisition in Israel. It bought Snaptu in 2011 for $70 million and Face.com in 2012 for $60 million.

Shares of Facebook were up 1.1 percent, or 30 cents, at $27.42 in afternoon trading on Thursday.

(Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by David Cowell and Bernadette Baum)

The 31-year old right-hander said Saturday the operation likely will be performed by Dr. James Andrews, probably next week.

"After talking with the doctors here and going down to see Dr. Andrews, he confirmed what the doctors here thought," Hanrahan said in Boston's clubhouse. "I'm going to have to get surgery to repair my flexor tendon. It's something that, after hearing the doctors here, it's something I kind of prepared for. He just reaffirmed those. I'm going to get it done next week and start the process of getting healthy."

Hanrahan walked off the mound in the ninth inning of Monday's 6-5, 11-inning win over Minnesota after throwing a pitch.

Obtained from Pittsburgh in an offseason trade, the two-time All-Star is making $7.04 million this year and is eligible for free agency after the World Series. He is 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA in nine games and was on the disabled list from April 14 to May 7 with a strained right hamstring.

During his brief stint with the Red Sox, he conveted four of six save chances. Now, he's hoping that it's only the forearm that needs surgery and not a elbow ligament-replacement operation, as well.

"He'll look at that when he's in there. The MRI said it looked pretty good," Hanrahan said. "Nobody wants to just do Tommy John for fun. He's going to go in and look and see if that's something that needs to be done or not. As of now, it doesn't need to be. But once he gets his eyes on it, he'll have a better idea."

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Injuries from gasoline, lamp oil and similar chemicals have dropped considerably among small children in the last decade, according to a new study.

"It seems to decline right around 2000, 2001. That's when the Consumer Products Safety Commission mandated products be placed in child-resistant packaging," said Dr. Heath Jolliff, the study's lead author and associate medical director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.

Summertime, however, brings extra risk for exposure to these types of poisonings, especially among toddlers.

"The kind of gasoline (used) with the lawnmowers, (fuel for) tiki torches and that sort of thing - because of the access, (children) get the exposure," said Dr. Jennifer Lowry, chief of Clinical Toxicology at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

Fuels such as lamp oil for tiki torches, kerosene for camping stoves and gasoline, as well as turpentine and some lubricants are all hydrocarbons - a category of dangerous liquids that is the third leading cause of children's poisoning deaths, Jolliff and his colleagues write in the journal Pediatrics.

"We had had a child in our hospital who had been exposed to a hydrocarbon and was very ill. And I said, 'let's look at this subcategory since they tend to be very dangerous,'" Jolliff told Reuters Health.

To get a sense of broader trends in injuries resulting from these chemicals, the researchers gathered information from two large databases spanning the 10 years from 2000 through 2009.

One database includes emergency department records from about 100 hospitals across the U.S. The other has phone calls made to 57 regional poison control centers.

The researchers narrowed down the records to only those involving hydrocarbons and children five years old and younger - which totaled more than 40,000 patients treated in an emergency room and more than 65,000 phone calls to poison control.

They found that emergency room visits dropped over the study period, from roughly 19 out of every 100,000 kids in 2000 to about 14 of every 100,000 in 2009.

Similarly, calls to poison control centers also fell, from 34 calls for every 100,000 kids in 2000 to about 21 of every 100,000 in 2009.

Injuries were most common among one- and two-year-olds, and kerosene, lamp oil and lighter fluids resulted in the most serious injuries and hospitalizations. Lamp oil was linked to the highest percentage of deaths.

Although the researchers could not determine why poisonings appeared to become less frequent over the 10-year study period, Lowry, who didn't participate in the research, thinks that child-resistant caps on poisonous containers likely helped.

In 2001, the Consumer Product Safety Commission required that all household products containing hydrocarbons be sealed with child-resistant packaging.

In addition, "there was a big educational push in the early 2000s on hydrocarbons and how dangerous they were," Lowry told Reuters Health.

Although injuries declined over time, summertime each year brought a slight bump in cases.

Nearly 32 percent of emergency room visits and poison control calls came during the summer months, compared with 19 percent of emergency room visits and 17 percent of poison control calls during the winter.

Gasoline was the most common hydrocarbon involved in an injury, Jolliff's team found.

Nearly 32 percent of emergency department visits and 27.6 percent of poison control center calls concerned gasoline.

When the researchers looked through the medical records at the hospitals, they found a surprising cause.

"The number one reason was parents allowing their kids outside the automobile at the gas station, and kids pulled the hose out of the car and got splashed with it," said Jolliff.

What happens then is that because the liquid becomes a gas so quickly, the children inhale it into their lungs.

"It's very unsafe for children five and under to be out there helping to pump gas," said Lowry.

Jolliff said that although child-resistant packaging helps keeps kids out of dangerous chemicals, there is no such thing as child-proof containers.

Another recent study found that prescription drug poisonings among children is on the rise (see Reuters Health story of September 16, 2011 here: http://reut.rs/qIUKP9).

"We have to do better education on placement. One of the poison center mottos is 'up and away.' Keep them out of reach of children," said Lowry.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/16d4isN Pediatrics, online May 6, 2013.

* According to the poll, 63 percent of Americans think that having North America free from importing oil from outside the continent is more important than reducing greenhouse gases. Thirty percent of respondents felt that reducing greenhouse gases was the priority of the two issues.

* In Canada, 55 percent selected freeing North America for imported oil as more important, while 38 percent chose addressing greenhouse gases.

* Seventy percent of Americans and 60 percent of Canadians are favorable to the idea of the Keystone pipeline, Nanos' poll revealed, with 74 and 68 percent respectively stating that they support or somewhat support proceeding with the project.

* Seventy-six percent of Americans and 66 percent of Canadians feel that a continental energy strategy should be pursued, and most of those polled from each country felt that there should be common environmental standards.

* When asked about the importance of reducing greenhouse gases separately from the issue of the Keystone XL pipeline, a majority of both Americans and Canadians felt that the issue was important.

* Eighty-eight percent of Americans feel that ensuring a stable energy supply is important, but that number drops to 60 percent in Canada.

* Eleven percent of Americans and 14 percent of Canadians expressed that reducing greenhouse gases is unimportant.

* The survey, which was conducted randomly on 1,007 Americans and 1,013 Canadians in late March and early April, is in sharp contrast to reports of thousands of Americansagainst the Keystone pipeline.

* According to the Houston Chronicle, 60,000 people have stated that they will risk arrest to fight the pipeline.

* Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agencyto the U.S. State Department, urging the department to do a more thorough analysis of the risks of oil spills and alternative pipeline routes, in addition to a study of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the pipeline.

* A State Department draft report of the $7 billion pipeline project in March indicated that it will not create environmental impacts, the Associated Press reported.

He had reason to be cheerless. The National Front coalition's victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections despite losing the popular vote has not only exposed the entrenched racial divide in the country but also a new schism between the rural poor who preferred the status quo and the urban middle-class who wanted change.

Healing the divisions will be a big challenge for Najib, who took the oath of office Monday to begin his second five-year term after surviving the fiercest challenge to the National Front's 56-year rule. If left untended, the racial and social divisions could undermine the stability of Southeast Asia's third-largest economy.

On the face of it, the National Front appears to have done well. It won 133 seats in the 222-member Parliament down a fraction from the 135 it held before the elections. The opposition People's Alliance coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim won 89 seats. But look deeper and the numbers carry a grim story for Najib:

The National Front polled 5.24 million votes to the opposition's 5.62 million votes, according to the Election Commission.

The National Front banked heavily on three states with large rural populations Sarawak, Sabah and Johor where many people from indigenous groups and the ethnic Malay majority are beholden to the government for handouts traditionally given to them. The three states alone, out of Malaysia's 13, accounted for more than half of the 133 seats won.

People in many urban areas especially Chinese who are Malaysia's second largest ethnic group voted overwhelmingly for the opposition, reflecting the huge disenchantment with the government's affirmative action policies that favor Malays.

Speaking at the news conference, Najib blamed a "Chinese tsunami" for the coalition's performance.

"On the whole, the people's decision this time shows a trend of voting polarization," Najib said. "This worries the government, because if it's not handled well, it could spark tension."

Many opposition supporters also believe the coalition resorted to fraud to win, including using migrants from Bangladesh as illegal voters. The government and electoral authorities deny it.

Despite losing the popular vote, the National Front benefited from gerrymandering of constituencies.

In Sarawak, on Borneo island, nearly all of the six constituencies won by the opposition had between 26,000 and 40,000 voters each. In contrast, only two of the National Front's 25 parliamentary seats in Sarawak had that many people vote Sunday.

"What we are seeing here is a regime that has used the trappings of power to stay in power," said Bridget Welsh, a political science professor at the Singapore Management University. "The reality is that many people will see this election as an election bought and stolen. There will be a huge trust deficit for the National Front."

The results also reflect the complexities of modern-day Malaysia, which evolved from a 1950s backwater of rice paddies and tin mines into a country where cities like Kuala Lumpur and its famous Petronas Twin Towers are only an hour's drive from rural rubber and palm oil plantations.

In recent years, the rural-urban divide has created groups whose political perspectives lie far apart. Traditional National Front loyalists comprise villagers who receive valuable cash handouts from the government ahead of elections and rely on government-linked TV stations and newspapers for information.Many among the rural Malays also fear the opposition will scrap affirmative action programs that provide scholarships, loans and other benefits for Malays.

In the cities, the opposition has made gains among middle-class voters who read and spread news about the government's failings including corruption scandals on independent news websites and blogs.

During campaign rallies this past month, the ruling coalition handed out sacks of rice to crowds who came to listen to speeches. Opposition candidates passed around empty bags seeking donations.

The National Front has held power for 56 years through a unique system of race-based politics. The coalition is dominated by Najib's United Malays National Organization, a Malay Muslim party, and supported by smaller parties representing the other ethnic groups. Traditionally, the Malays, Chinese and Indians voted for these parties, ensuring the National Front won every election since independence from Britain in 1957, usually with a two-thirds majority.

But in the 2008 elections, Anwar's opposition alliance changed the face of Malaysian politics to bring it in line with democracies elsewhere. It created a non-racial opposition that capitalized on anger against corruption and the abuse of affirmative action policies. That struck a chord not only with the Chinese and Indians but also with a large section of urban Malays who feel the affirmative action often benefits a group of the rich and well-connected elite.

Anwar also played on the anger against the government for two sodomy trials he has had to face. His supporters are convinced they were government plots to destroy him politically.

Following the election result, Anwar sent out a two-word message to his Twitter followers: "Wear black."

"It is a sad day for Malaysia," said Renee Choong, a public relations consultant. "Corruption will continue. The Chinese will be even more sidelined from now on.I fear there will be no place in the country for ethnic minorities."

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's biggest city, Anwar's alliance won nine of 11 parliamentary seats, losing the other two by slim margins. Farther north, in the ethnic Chinese-majority state of Penang, known for its electronics factories and beach resorts, the National Front was trounced so badly that its state chief immediately resigned.

"The National Front is even more reliant on Malay votes now. It is more UMNO now than ever before," said Ibrahim Suffian, head of the Merdeka Center opinion research firm.

Najib pledged to soon reveal a "national reconciliation" plan to heal racial rifts. Khairy Jamaluddin, a ruling coalition youth chief, tweeted that the victory was merely a "reprieve" and warned the National Front would lose the next elections if it fails to deliver positive changes.

It must be clear to Najib that to woo the Chinese he would have to take more serious steps than participate in the kind of events the National Front's corporate allies held for two Chinese constituencies before the elections -- a performance by South Korean rapper PSY and a dinner with Bond actress Michelle Yeoh.

Federal investigators are searching various sites around Dartmouth, Mass., near where Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went to college as authorities continue to look for evidence related to the attack.

Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorneys office in Boston, confirmed the searches in an email amid local reports that law enforcement officials were spotted combing through a wooded area not far from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where Tsarnaev was a student.

The searches at various locations in Dartmouth, Mass., today are part of the ongoing investigation into the marathon bombing, she said. Residents should be advised that there is no threat to public safety.

The Standard-Times newspaper in nearby New Bedfordwho spied dozens of local police and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms searching a nature area with police dogs. A spokeswoman for the FBIs Boston office confirmed that FBI agents also were involved in the search.

The search came as theandquoted unnamed federal officials who said Tsarnaev told authorities he and his brother Tamerlan, who was killed during a gunbattle with police on April 19, originally had planned to carry out their attack on July 4. But the bombings allegedly were moved up because the brothers completed building their explosives ahead of time.

Federal officials still are trying to figure out where the suspects built the arsenal of explosives, which included pressure cooker bombs and several pipe bombs.

On Wednesday, three college friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaevs werewith obstruction of justice and lying to FBI agents. They allegedly admitted to removing a backpack and laptop from Tsarnaevs dorm room at U-Mass after they realized he was one of the suspects in the marathon bombings, which killed three people and injured more than 200.

Federal agents recovered the backpack from a local landfill last week and found it contained several fireworks that had been opened and emptied of powder. Officials later said they also had recovered Tsarnaevs laptop, though it was unclear where it was found.

Rick wants to bring his mother with us. It will be a tight fit in our car, but I don't have a problem with that. What bothers me is that Rick wants her to stay with us in our hotel room.

I am a very private person. I have a problem sharing such close quarters with her. There is no privacy in a hotel room!

I offered to get two rooms, but he feels I am being unreasonable. I feel three adults plus two children is a lot to pack into a small hotel room.

Am I being unreasonable? Or should I just accept it and deal with being miserable? -- FRUSTRATED IN THE SOUTH

DEAR FRUSTRATED: Although there may be exceptions, as a general rule, adults need their privacy. Frankly, I am surprised your mother-in-law would be willing to go along with such an arrangement. This is a vacation, and you should not be miserable when you're supposed to be enjoying it.

A better solution would be to get two rooms, and the children should bunk with their grandmother. That way you and your husband could enjoy some private time together.

DEAR ABBY: I have been with my boyfriend for seven years. We have no children together, but he has two young children from a previous relationship whom I have been raising as my own. They call me "Mom," but they know I'm not their biological mother. Their mother has not contacted them -- or cared to -- since the younger one was just months old.

My fear is now that the kids are getting older, they may want to form a relationship with her later on. I don't want to seem selfish, but they are my kids. Any girl can have a baby, but it takes a real woman to be a mom. How should I handle this when that time comes? -- DREADING THE FUTURE IN ARIZONA

DEAR DREADING THE FUTURE: It is natural for children to want to know who their biological parents are; that's the reason adoption records are no longer sealed. You appear to fear that your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend will want to swoop in and steal your maternal spotlight. From all indications, it's not the case; you are the only mother they know.

If the children want information about their birth mother, the truth should not be kept from them. Meeting her does not guarantee they will love you any less. Worrying about it is self-defeating.

DEAR ABBY: What is the protocol for in-person conversations vs. phone interruptions (either via text or call)? When talking with someone, I feel it's rude for the other individual to respond to voice or text messages. Can't people take a break long enough to actually have a real live conversation? How do other readers handle this? Do they walk away? Patiently wait? Or speak up? -- TECHNOLOGICALLY OVERLOADED IN VIRGINIA

DEAR OVERLOADED: The best approach is the direct approach. Tell the person, "I wish you wouldn't do that."

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in "What Every Teen Should Know." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

I'm scared other kids will make fun of me for being different. I have already gotten laughed at. What should I do? -- EMBARRASSED TEEN

DEAR EMBARRASSED TEEN: When people laugh at a person who has a disability, it is usually out of ignorance. Because this happened at school or another place where there is adult supervision, you and your parents should talk to the principal or person in authority so that person can speak privately with the guilty parties and explain why your hearing aids and the microphone are necessary. Your parents should also have a meeting with the principal of your high school before you go so the problem can be avoided.

When I was in grammar school, a classmate of mine had severe hearing loss. Because the students understood what her problem was, she was never ridiculed.

P.S. Making fun of a child who has a disability is a form of bullying, and should be treated as such.

DEAR ABBY: I'm 25 and have been with my husband for nine years, married for four. I cheated on him twice. He caught me both times.

Even though I strayed, he decided to stay. But now he treats me like I'm a child and a prisoner. He took away my phone, my Internet and I can't go anywhere. He says this is my punishment for what I did. Do I really deserve that? I know we're both wrong, but is he more wrong? -- BROKEN WIFE

DEAR BROKEN WIFE: From where I sit, you are equally wrong. How long ago did the cheating incidents occur? If they are recent, you two should be in marriage counseling. If they were long ago, then you must decide if you want to live the rest of your life being treated as a child and a prisoner.

Your husband doesn't trust you because you haven't been trustworthy. But taking away your phone and Internet and keeping you under lock and key will not help you to rebuild it.

You two need more help than anyone can give you in a letter, and I hope you will seek it. If he won't go for counseling, you should go without him because I don't think the status quo can last.

DEAR ABBY: My sister and brother-in-law passed away two years ago. I am the only living relative of their 28-year-old son, "Louis." He is a loner, spoiled and a poor houseguest. I invite Louis over only because I don't want him to be alone at holiday times. My husband, teenage daughter and I have nothing in common with him, and frankly, he spoils our holidays.

How can I stop inviting my nephew without feeling guilty? Or is there another solution? I hate to make waves. -- HOLIDAY HATER IN CANADA

DEAR HOLIDAY HATER: If you invite your nephew for fewer holidays you will be able to ease your conscience, enjoy more holidays and allow the young man a chance to become more proactive in planning entertainment for himself.

DEAR ABBY: I may be wrong, but isn't it presumptuous for someone to open the message card on a flower delivery before you get home when the flowers are for you? -- KIMBERLY IN MARYLAND

DEAR KIMBERLY: You're not wrong. The person opening the cards isn't being helpful, but nosy. And it wouldn't be out-of-line to tell the person not to do it again.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: "Abby's Favorite Recipes" and "More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $14 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

Two drops of life, she immediately recalls at her tiny apartment in a housing colony within M-Ward, s poorest and least developed collection of government resettlement buildings and slums. Khatoon says the pharmacist she found directed her to a nearby clinic run by a local nongovernmental organization, . There, her infant became the first in their family to get vaccinations, and Khatoon herself got access to regular medical check-ups, information about nutrition, and if she wanted it, birth control.

Advertisements such as those that prompted Khatoon to seek help are part of an unprecedented campaign by the central government inand Indias state governments to eradicate and keep wild poliovirus out of India. This January marked the second year that India, long considered a major exporter of poliovirus, did not record a new case of the infection leaving , , andthe last countries still battling the disease.

Now, as India looks set to be considered officially "polio free" by the end of this year, health officials are considering the successful combination of advertising and government buy-in a promising model to apply to other health initiatives in the country.

ON THE VERGE OF POLIO-FREE

In the 1940s and 1950s, polio was considered a global epidemic, with thousands of new cases arising each day throughout the world.Families in thesuch as parks and swimming pools, worried they would catch the disease. Between , doctors say some 22,000 US citizens were paralyzed by the virus. In 1952, the same year scientists developed an effective polio vaccine, almost 58,000 children were reported to be infected , leaving 3,300 dead and thousands paralyzed.

In India, the journey toward eradicating the disease has been a long one. By 1988, when the(WHO) passed a resolution to eradicate polio, 1,000 people a day worldwide were still being stricken by the virus. India accounted for around half that, with 450 children infected with polio every day, says Deepak Kapur, chairman of s India PolioPlus Committee.

In 1994, when the health minister in New Delhi agreed to conduct a pilot mass vaccination program there, Indian officials finally garnered the political will necessary to spread the vaccination drive to the rest of the country, according to Mr. Kapur.The success of thevaccination campaign convinced central officials that it would be worth the money, resources, and massive labor force necessary for Indias state governments to drive the program forward on the ground.

They thought this could not be done, he says. But the campaign was successful.

Collaborating with organizations such as Rotary International, , and the World Health Organization, the Indian government has waged a targeted battle against the disease, teaming up with local religious leaders, medical providers, universities, teachers and even Bollywood film stars, to advertise and administer polio vaccine nationwide.

Between 1988 and 2009, as the number of polio-endemic countries fell from 125 to just fourreducing the global number of cases from 365,000 to about 1,500India still harbored half the worlds polio infections. In 2010, the number dropped to just 42, and India reported its last new case of poliovirus in 2011, says Kapur. If no new cases are recorded by the end of this year, India will be officially considered polio-free.

'HEALTH CANNOT BE SEEN IN ISOLATION'

Still, medical professionals say that weak health infrastructure, endemic under-nutrition, and inadequate water supply and sanitation remain serious public health challenges. India also faces the special task of tracking massive internal migration, as labor workers and their families move back and forth across state lines searching for work.

More than 1,300 children under age 5 die every day in India from pneumonia and diarrhea, conditions that can easily be avoided, according to Ajay Khera, deputy commissioner for child health and immunization at Indias Health Ministry.

Health can not be seen in isolation, he says. Water supply, sanitation, the environment: Everything plays a role.

TheHousing and Areas Development Authority slum resettlement in Govandi, where Khatoon lives, represents a microcosm of longstanding health challenges that remain. Water runs for about half an hour a day and electricity lasts three hours. So, while residents have to haul buckets of manually pumped water up and down several flights of stairs each day, theyre easily able to keep televisions and rechargeable electronic items such as cellphones.

Families live in tightly packed studio apartments or slum shanties with little air circulation, with most homes lacking toilets and running water. Because there is no trash collection and no proper drainage system, alleyways are lined with shallow pools of trash and sewage.

Less than a mile from Ms. Khatoon's government-built apartment lies the illegal shanty-town of Baba Nagar, where more than 50,000 people live amongst the mountains of waste in Mumbais landfills. During monsoon season from June to September, when Mumbai gets pounded by torrents of rain, living conditions become even worse. Medical professionals say its no surprise then that the area's slums and resettlement apartments boast the highest infant mortality rate in all of Mumbai, with 65 out of every 1,000 babies born dying within a month of their birth.

In 2013, if we are still talking about malnutrition in this country, it is because the fundamentals have not been tackled, says Kalpana Sharma, a veteran reporter of health issues in India. The government schemes that are there are simply not enough to meet the need that we have.

INDIA AS A MODEL

Health officials say they will apply the lessons learned during Indias journey toward polio eradication to other health initiatives. A valuable byproduct of the countrys massive vaccination and monitoring effort has been the information network developed by Indiasand the WHO.

The surveillance system that oversees the millions of children vaccinated against polio each year is strictly monitored and provides real-time data for every case. Today, the number of children missed by vaccinators during the countrys annual national polio immunization drives is .

During Indias last national "Polio Sunday" vaccination drive in February, some 2.5 million vaccinators were deployed across India to vaccinate 172 million children, with teams stationed first at booths and then traveling for five days around the country, administering vaccines door-to-door throughout city slums, housing projects, and rural villages. They even administered vaccines at bus stops, train stations, and cultural festivals, with intensified efforts inand Bihar, which record some of the countrys highest birth rates and experience some of the highest rates of migration, according to data provided by Lokesh Gupta, Rotarys PolioPlus Manager in India.

When you have political commitment and government commitment: That spells success, says Armida Fernandez of the , which works with residents in Dharavi, Mumbais largest slum. The planning was excellent. Every single household, whether in registered slums or unregistered [illegal] slums was counted.

India will repeat the vaccination plan next year, with two nation-wide "Polio Sunday" campaigns planned for January and February of 2014 and three additional immunization drives in high risk states during the rest of the year, the WHOs India Office said in a statement to The Christian Science Monitor.

GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP

Indias victory against polio has been contingent on strong political backing and the willingness of all players whether central policymakers in New Delhi or private actors such as Rotary International to monitor and push states forward as they implement the vaccination effort on the ground.

Strong government ownership and accountability at all levels is crucial, the WHOs India Office tells The Monitor. There has been a very high level of political involvement at the central level [with] regular feedback provided to state governments.

Systematized surveillance and state accountability will remain key, not only for maintaining health initiatives such as polio vaccination, but also for efforts to improve the countrys overburdened medical infrastructure as a whole.

Health is essentially a state issue, said , director of the s reproductive health program, at awith some of Indias top medical practitioners earlier this month.While federal investments in health may be around 1.2 percent of GDP, states spend their money the way they want to.

Indias 28 states and seven union territories each have a diverse range of health priorities. Facilitating communication and resolving disputes between policymakers at the central, state, and district levels will be key to administrating India's nationwide health plans, including polio vaccination.

State governments used to be at constant loggerheads with the central government. A state can turn around and say look, this isnt my program: Its a central [government] program', says Kapur of Rotary International. This is still a constant challenge."

* Roshanak Taghavi wrote this article as part of a fellowship with 's . Follow Roshanak onat .

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