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By Rahul Mehra
As the haze thickens over Delhi once again, schools close, hospitals fill up and a few masks begin to reappear. The festive lights have faded, but the toxic air remains, reminding us that our children’s right to health is under siege. This year, as we move past Children’s Day, the conversation must shift from celebration to introspection: what are we truly teaching our children about living healthy in an increasingly polluted environment?
Air pollution is no longer an abstract environmental issue; it is an everyday health emergency. According to recent studies, polluted air shortens the average Indian’s life expectancy by nearly five years, by seven among lower-income families. For the crores of children attending schools, this is a silent crisis. Microscopic pollutants, called Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5, are thirty times smaller than the diameter of human hair. They penetrate deep into the young lungs and then into their bloodstream. It impairs mental performance and development. During Delhi’s smog-laden months, school absenteeism rises, physical activity declines, mental concentration weakens, all eroding the academic performance of our children and dimming their long-term potential. It triggers inflammation, causes asthma, lung and heart diseases, diabetes and even cancer. Eventually, it cuts short their lives.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisioned holistic learning that integrates physical health and mental well-being into school education. Five years on, while the intent remains laudable, the implementation still falls short. In a country where life expectancy is only about 70 years due to poor lifestyle health habits and air pollution, health education in schools cannot just be confined to a few topics in textbooks or a health seminar during assembly. Health must be a mandatory subject in all schools that covers topics on physical, mental and social health. The teaching methodology should transform health knowledge into health habits. It must be practiced daily by children, their teachers, families and the community.Healthy living includes environmental literacy. Children must first learn what pollution does to their bodies, and what practical steps they can take to prevent the damage. Wearing a cloth mask during high-pollution days will not protect them as the PM 2.5 particles go right through them. Only the N95 mask will block these particles. It is recommended that they wear a mask when AQI is above 100. They should also use air purifiers at home. If used properly, they are effective in cleaning a room of pollutants. Its cost depends upon the size of the room one is trying to purify.
The way these lessons are delivered in school matters significantly. Health must be taught not just as a theoretical subject, but as behavioral skills. Teachers must encourage students to ask questions regarding why they need to practice the desirable health behaviors, give them the opportunity to practice them, ensure they track their behavior and give praise when they their health behaviors are appropriate. When students link everyday health choices to their personal goals, they internalize the behavior and are more motivated to improve it. No poster campaign can achieve this.
Equally important are role models at home and in school. If parents are not wearing masks during the pollution season, it is not surprising that their children don’t wear one either. Breathing air when AQI is 300 is equivalent to smoking six cigarettes per day and 12 cigarettes per day when AQI is 400. In effect, the parents are allowing their children to smoke cigarettes. Is this what every parent wants? School teachers and principals also need to embody what they teach. They are the role models at school. It could be mask usage during pollution days or practicing good hygiene at school.
To protect the health of our population, we need a cultural shift. In Japan, mask-wearing is a cultural norm to prevent spreading germs or breathing them. It is called Omotenashi. In India, we must normalize wearing N95 masks during the pollution season. This is not alarmism; it is adaptation and healthy survival. During the Covid pandemic, collective awareness also made wearing masks universal.
We need to teach every child in India how to live healthy and prevent their lungs from turning grey. They must reclaim their right to breathe and thrive. Let’s make wearing a N95 mask a cultural norm by turning knowledge into a behavioral skill. Children’s Day may have passed, but our collective responsibility to them continues.
The author is National Representative of India, UNESCO Chair for Global Health & Education and Executive Chairman, Tarang Health Alliance.
(DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETHealthworld.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETHealthworld.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly)
