Sangrur, July 22:
The Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (HBCH&RC), Punjab, has launched a district-wide ‘School Health Programme’ in Sangrur to create awareness among adolescents about cancer prevention, healthy lifestyle practices, and the harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol and substance abuse.
The programme will cover 145 senior secondary government and 150 private schools for students of Class VIII and above, making it the first district in the state wherein a comprehensive adolescent health awareness initiative has been rolled out.
The programme is a collaborative initiative of the HBCHRC’s Department of Preventive Oncology, and the Department of Education of the Government of Punjab. HBCHRC is a unit of Tata Memorial Centre, under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
Speaking about the initiative, HBCHRC Punjab Director, Dr Ashish Gulia, said, “The school health program aims to empower adolescents to make informed health choices and reduce the future burden of cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The programme will be implemented in a phased manner across all blocks of Sangrur district, including Moonak, Lehragaga, Cheema, Sherpur, Dhuri, Bhawanigarh, Sangrur and Sunam.”
“Each participating school will receive three structured educational sessions, with one visit dedicated to each module to ensure comprehensive health education. The sessions will focus on balanced diet and healthy nutrition, physical activity and fitness, reducing excessive screen time and sedentary behaviour, cancer awareness and early warning signs, prevention of lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension, tobacco and substance abuse prevention, and adoption of healthy lifestyle practices from adolescence”, Dr Gulia said, adding that this will eventually help us get a generational change towards healthy living and have a healthier, happier and more productive society.
It is pertinent to mention that the hospital has already been successfully implementing a similar initiative in Chandigarh, under the ‘Swasth Navyuva, Swasth Bharat’ programme, which was launched by the former Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit, in March 2024. The programme is being conducted by the HBCHRC Punjab and the Department of Education of Chandigarh Administration.
Director Dr. Gulia added, “Under the Chandigarh programme, six health awareness modules have been planned, covering tobacco prevention, alcohol awareness, drug misuse prevention, healthy lifestyle practices, balanced nutrition and menstrual hygiene. We have already covered 82 government schools, so far, reaching nearly 5,000 students through interactive sessions, presentations, pre- and post-assessments, discussions and student pledges against tobacco use. The awareness modules in Chandigarh continues as scheduled.”
