Apeejay Stya University commemorates World Health Day 2022 

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes. Climate change is one of the greatest threats to human health. Moreover, amid the ongoing  pandemic, a polluted planet is a critical risk factor for non-communicable diseases. To create awareness about the same, World Health Day is celebrated on April 7 every year to draw attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world.

Marking the same, the School of Education, National Service Scheme, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan and Rotaract Club of Apeejay Stya University (ASU) organised a poster making competition on the theme ‘Our Planet, Our Health’.  

Around 50 Apeejay students participated in the competition. 

Dashmeet Kaur Khanuja, 2nd-year student pursuing BBA in Financial Markets from School of Management Sciences secured the first position in the poster making competition. She said, “I drew a hand holding a globe that depicted two phases, in one phase everything was good; the environment was healthy and so were the people. The other part of the globe is polluted, impacting the health of people.”

Adding further to why she drew this concept, Dashmeet said, “I actually wanted to show that our health is dependent on the health of our planet. So, if we keep our environment healthy, we also will be healthy. And that we are responsible for little steps that we take like throwing the garbage in the bin or littering around. So, one can choose accordingly which phase one wants to live in.”

B.Design student Toshika Khurana, who secured the second position, said, “Good health is the foundation on which the success of our life is built. We can never move ahead in life if we stay sick. I drew a poster showing how the health of planet earth and human health are complimenting to each other. But without proper care and over-exploitation of resources and activities like deforestation and excessive industrialisation will deteriorate our planet’s health. This further disrupts the ecosystem. So if we care for our mother earth we will also get care and love in the form of good health and a happy life.”

Further, The World Bank in a report highlights that India’s 1.4 billion people are exposed to unhealthy levels of ambient PM 2.5 – the most harmful pollutant – emanating from multiple sources. Emphasising the need to live in a world where clean air, water and food are available to all, Vasudha Singhal, 1st year student said, “It’s a conscious effort that each one of us are supposed to make.”