India leads the way: A health-centered strategy for air pollution
Sagar AD, Balakrishnan K, Chowdhury A, Guttikunda S, Smith KR, 2016, India leads the way: A health-centered strategy for air pollution, Environ Health Perspect 124(7): A116-117.
The Government of India has recently initiated unprecedented efforts to address the substantial national health burden attributable to ambient and household air pollution. The key first step was the constitution by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHFW) of an expert committee on air pollution and health. This committee put together a landmark report (MHFW 2015) released earlier this year that outlined targeted actions aimed at providing the largest exposure reductions (and consequent health benefits), instead of traditional approaches to air quality management. India’s health ministry is perhaps the first among low and middle income countries to initiate steps that directly address air pollution as a national health concern.