Environment and Health: Closely Knit Entities

 Environment and Health: Closely Knit Entities 

Amidst the pandemic, the fact that a good health largely depends upon a good and healthy environment, has become more cognizant and coherent .

Since past few years Global Warming and Environmental Safety have been an important public health concern across the globe.

Untimely rainfall, winters,summers have all driven our attention towards Global Warming, its causes ,  repurcussions it holds on humanity, and raises a question in our mind that how safe our environment and surrounding is to us. 

As a matter of fact, during the pandemic, people have come more closer to environment,have become more keen  towards the rich biodiversity that surrounds us; including the flora, fauna and the significance they hold in maintaining a proper balance of our ecosystem.

Good health is multifactorial. Fresh air, healthy food and water, safe and hygienic surrounding are all important for a healthy body and mind . 

However, due to modern time concerns like urbanization, deforestation,industrialization,pollution, increasing  attraction towards artificial assets , the safety profile of environment is at stake. 

 The World Health Organization has defined Community Health as "environmental, social and economic resources to sustain emotional and physical well being among people in ways that advance their aspirations and satisfy their needs in their unique environment". 

Thus environment plays a pivotal role in achieving an optimal community (public) health.

Since past few years, governments and other organizations are working hard towards spreading healthy and clean surrounding by incorporating various health programs, involving social media ,electronic media and other means. 

At the same time, we are also bound to take equal efforts towards achieving and maintaining a healthy environment for the benefit of one and all.

Many social reforms and movements have been implemented in the past for preserving and conserving our  environment like- conservation movements eg Chipkoo movement, promoting eco tourism etc. 

Today there are many ways by which we can participate in the drive towards a safe surrounding and transforming it from local to a global move, for eg plantation of trees, segregation of waste and proper disposal of garbage, inculcating eco friendly means and using biodegradable articles. For instance, now the entire nation is celebrating the Ganpati festival, so opting for eco friendly  idol and effigies would be a wiser step, minimizing the pollution and optimal use of resources would be more commendable. 

Thus, health and environment can be said to be analogous to each other and a healthy version of it should be achieved by one and all. 

Pandemic with an unprecedented era

 Pandemic with an unprecedented era

During the tenure in our medical schools, we used to read and learn about the history of public health in which there was a mention about various epidemics/pandemics that have occured in the past with the dates and duration of their occurence. But, frankly we never thought how the circumstances would have been then, how people must have overcome such difficult times and how well the health system handled those events. It was then when the success over the calamities was achieved and therefore today we label them as  a history. 

Right from natural calamities like earthquakes, draughts, gas tragedy, nuclear explosions, communicable diseases like cholera, small pox, and recently ebola virus disease, H1N1 influenza , SARS-1 , MERS, Swine flu, Nipah virus disease , and many others have a documentation in the form of articles, documentaries, chapters in the textbooks. Out of these , few which need special flagging is small pox disease, which has been eradicated from the world ( with the help of mass vaccination against the disease) and others which have achieved a state of elimination  like guinea worm disease, neonatal tetanus, polio,anthrax   .

Today we understand the meaning of words like eradication,elimination,control and containment w.r.t a disease in even more better way . Today we realise how big achievement it is to declare a disease to be eradicated and eliminated from the world. 

There have always been lessons learnt and changes made in the lifestyles, and modalities for preventing , treating and curing diseases which have a known literature .

This pandemic of Covid-19 is one first of its kind . The new variant of SARS co-v virus (2)  has  further mutated versions reported.

This global disease has created an era which was never seen before, it has affected everyone's  life in a way that has created difference in the way things were in the  pre pandemic era.

There have been various means discovered, invented, innovated, and implemented to tackle the disease and get going .

On one hand, where thousands have faced economic brunt, loss of wages, loss of job opportunities and have witnessed emotional and physical disturbances , there have been  virtual platforms  introduced , newer ways have been identified to execute things like learning, online business , art,culture,travel( only when required) { beware of forge e-passes} , ways of reaching out to masses, and many others,  and also more awareness has been generated about the disease. (Still there are a handful of nuisance creators who are ignorant towards the dreadful disease). 

Various NGOs, voluntary organizations and individual volunteers are coming forward to give a helping aid in serving the humanity and providing support to people in the crisis time. 

There have been improvisations made in the care being taken , treatment modalities used for treating the patients ,essential primary care taken for the patients, and tracing, documenting and investigating the disease. 

Today when the health infrastructure is getting exhausted, there have been incidences of black marketing for essentials like oximeters,oxygen concentrators ,cannisters, medicines and injections required for treatment of disease. 

In such case , it becomes everyone's responsibilty to play their roles in the best possible ways like following covid appropriate behaviour, following and abiding by the regulations made , participating in  and promoting mass vaccination drives, creating awareness about black business and alerting the concerned authorities upon identifying such heinous crimes if occurring near by, and aid in combating the disease as a team.. 

There is also a section of society which is spreading negativity all around in these difficult times by misleading and misguiding the masses. It is time we neglect those and start taking steps at our individual levels by not criticizing the ones already giving their selves in the fight against covid-19, believing in  the health system , trusting the various agencies working as task forces , and providing helping hands as and when needed in the best possible ways .