Health ministry to release declaration on mitigating impacts of air pollution

The Times of India , Thursday, November 03, 2016
Correspondent : Jayashree Nandi
NEW DELHI: The union health ministry will soon be releasing a "New Delhi declaration on mitigating effects of air pollution" which will give time bound action points to other ministries to address various sources of air pollution related to their ministry.

The health ministry recently held a meeting with the steering committee on air pollution which had released a report on air pollution and health impacts in August last year. The health ministry has also decided to include chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), a health condition closely associated with exposure to severe air pollution, under the non-communicable diseases (NCD) programme.

All states have been asked to include COPD under NCD. "COPD will also be discussed with all BRICS nations in our meeting on NCD on November 17 and 18 because all these nations are affected," said Dr DamodarBachani, deputy commissioner (non-communicable diseases) at the health ministry.

The steering committee meeting attended by representatives of all ministries agreed to release the declaration which will focus on preventing air pollution related health impacts. "Over 6 lakh deaths and about 18 million disability adjusted life years are attributable to air pollution in India...the fundamental message emerging out of the newly available data is that premature death and disease can be prevented through healthier environments," a concept note by the health ministry read.

"Most ministries participated and agreed on the action points put forth by the steering committee. Now these points have to be cleared by the secretary, health before we release the declaration.We may release it this week since air pollution levels are very high already," said a senior official.

The steering committee on air pollution was formed in 2014 and is chaired by Dr K Srinath Reddy, President of Public Health Foundation of India, AmbujSagar, IIT Delhi professor and Kirk Smith, professor of Global Environment Health, University of California, Berkeley. The committee's work is being coordinated by Dr DamodarBachani, deputy commissioner (non-communicable diseases) at the health ministry.

"The declaration will have several points. But the top three are to target and curb every source of air pollution, supply of cleaner fuels to urban slums and rural areas that are dependent on biomass burning, reducing exposure of vulnerable persons by avoiding early morning and evening hours when air quality is very poor," added the official.

The steering committee's 2015 report also focused on reducing exposure to air pollution. It collated evidence on health impacts from outdoor and indoor air pollution and suggested measures for each source of pollution like—vehicles, biomass burning, diesel generator sets, road and construction dust, brick kilns, industries and power plants.

Since the committee's mandate is health, it also stresses on monitoring exposure of individuals rather than depending on the ambient air quality data. The recommendations of the steering committee were accepted by the health ministry last year following which the report was circulated to rest of ministries and their comments were sought.

"We have received comments from most ministries. This is the first time that air pollution is being dealt with through health policy," explained the official.

Recommendations that will be immediately rolled out are to campaign against certain kinds of Diwali crackers, LPG supply to slums, reliable power supply to slums, an health advisory for the vulnerable population (pregnant women, children below five years, elders above 60 and those who are sick).

"If FM radio can tell you which roads to avoid due to traffic, it can also tell you the air quality in different parts of the city. We are urging that data dissemination is more transparent so that people can reduce their exposure to toxic air. We are also considering developing an health advisory," the official added.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/Health-ministry-to-release-declaration-on-mitigating-impacts-of-air-pollution/articleshow/55204331.cms
 


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