No data to establish correlation of disease due to air pollution: Govt

Air pollution is one of the aggravating factors for respiratory diseases, however, there is no conclusive data available in the country to establish a direct correlation between any disease caused exclusively by air pollution, MoS for Health Prataprao Jadhav told the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The health effects of air pollution are synergistic manifestations of factors which include food habits, occupational habits, socioeconomic status, medical history, immunity and heredity etc. of the individuals, Jadhav said in a written reply.

Air pollution is one of the aggravating factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases, however, there is no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct correlation of disease exclusively due to air pollution, Jadhav said in the reply.

The Union Health Ministry provides technical and financial support to the states and union territories to strengthen the public healthcare system, based on the proposals received in the form of Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) under National Health Mission, he said.

This financial support is also provided for the implementation of the National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health for activities including an increase in general awareness among all the relevant stakeholders including people especially vulnerable communities, healthcare providers and policymakers regarding the impacts of climate change on human health and ways to address them.

Financial support is also provided for the observance of important days on environment and health, for training on climate change and health for Programme Officers, Medical Officers, Specialists, Community Health Workers, PRI members, Sentinel Site Nodal Officers and for strengthening the Surveillance System, Jadhav said.

The government of India has taken several steps to address air pollution issues across the country. These include the implementation of the National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) with the objective to create awareness, capacity building, health sector preparedness and response and partnerships-related activities on the climate-sensitive health issues in the country since 2019.

The NPCCHH, MoHFW has developed the Health Adaptation Plan for diseases due to air pollution, NPCCHH, MoHFW has also developed the State Action Plan on Climate Change and Human Health for all the states and UTs.

This state-specific action plan contains a dedicated chapter on air pollution which suggests interventions to reduce the impact.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issues public health advisories suggesting ways to reduce the impact of air pollution. Besides, nationwide public awareness campaigns are organised in coordination with the states annually for World Environment Day in June, International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies in September and National Pollution Control Day, he said.

Dedicated training modules have been developed for programme managers, medical officers and nurses, nodal officers at sentinel sites, frontline workers like ASHA, vulnerable groups like women and children and occupationally exposed groups like traffic police and municipal workers, Jadhav said.

The IEC materials have been developed targeting air pollution-related illnesses in both English, Hindi and also regional languages. The NPCCHH has also developed customised IEC materials targeting various vulnerable groups such as school children, women, occupational vulnerable groups like municipality workers, etc. NPCCHH also supported various State Level Trainings to build the capacity of district nodal officer on the domain areas of air pollution, Jadhav said.

A series of National Level Capacity Building workshops are conducted annually to prepare master trainers (state-level trainers) who can cascade down the training at the state or district level in the areas of air pollution-related illnesses and Surveillance.

Early warning systems or alerts for air pollution and air quality forecasts are disseminated from the Indian Meteorological Department to states and cities to prepare the health sector and community centres, Jadhav said.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). Swachh Bharat Mission to clean up streets, roads and infrastructure of India's cities, smaller towns, and rural areas. Swachh Hawa is an integral component of Swachh Bharat, Jadhav said in the written reply.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the National Clean Air Programme in 2019 as a national-level strategy to reduce air pollution levels across the country.