Over 10 per cent of school-going children suffer from asthma. Poorly controlled asthma can lead to the retardation of physical growth of a child. Owing to this and the increased air pollution, Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan launched asthma manual for schools in the national capital on Thursday. Translated in 11 different languages, the manual will be adopted by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for implementation in over 1 lakh schools through eco-clubs across India. It is a compilation of simple, easy to understand information to know about childhood asthma and best practices that schools can implement. "The asthma manual for schools will help all stakeholders in the school eco-system to understand the basics of asthma and offer reasonable and implementable solutions towards creating an environment where asthma is effectively managed and children with asthma can be healthy, happy and lead an active school life.'' said the Minister. The information and recommendations provided in the manual are evidence-based responses to the asthma-related needs of schools in India. Doctors say that most of the asthma-related problems are preventable and thus it is extremely important that school leadership and staff understand the presence and the magnitude of the problem and take proactive measures to nurture and maintain an asthma friendly environment and an emergency asthma management plan as part of their commitment to the safety, health, and well-being of their students. "With an increasing number of children with an asthmatic tendency in India, such information becomes all the more important. We released a short video on asthma management in schools on World Asthma Day and were overwhelmed by the response. When we further interacted with school teachers and management, they all shared their concern about this problem and the necessity for a standardized comprehensive material. This gave birth to the idea of asthma manual for schools," said Abhishek Kumar, Co-Founder, Lung Care Foundation. COMPILED

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