Housing For All Will Put A Check On India's Falling Health

Over the past few decades, life expectancy has been steadily rising while infant mortality rate has been falling. The improvement in housing standards is partly responsible for this emerging trend because we spend much of the time indoors. In the past, most early deaths happened because of diseases that spread in poor environment. Many health experts, for example, think that it may make more sense to divert the spending on medical aid to housing services and support to contain the spread of diseases.

Even in the past few decades, the improvement in housing standards has led less number of people falling sick, even in the most prosperous countries. In the United States, for example, lead-based paints were common in houses built before 1978. Even between 1998 and 2000, lead-based paints were found in nearly 25 per cent of the houses in the United States. So, it stands to reason that the situation would be worse in developing countries.

As India is a tropical country, the absence of air conditioning can lead to low body weight, poor health and tiredness. The late Harvard professor, David S Landes, for example, points out that the low body weight of Indian children is not solely, or even primarily because of a poor diet. The hot climate and the high cost of air conditioning play a much larger role than it is assumed. As biological activity is higher in tropical climates, improvement in housing standards protect many Indians from the infiltration of parasites.

Respiratory and cardiovascular diseases are usually caused by indoor pollution, the single biggest cause of deaths worldwide. Primitive forms of cooking and smoke from chimneys were, and still are a major cause of deaths in India. We have eliminated such deaths to a large extent by adopting modern technology and better construction methods. However, extreme cold is another factor that may cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. When indoor heating becomes common inside houses, this will decline to a large degree. Modern medicine has played a role in dealing with such diseases, but the effect of better housing were much greater, because it is only in the very recent past that medicine has made great advances. Moreover, in most such situations, medicine can at best cure an existing condition or disease. It is better housing standards that made prevention easier.

However, extreme cold is another factor that may cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. When indoor heating becomes common inside houses, this will decline to a large degree. Modern medicine has played a role in dealing with such diseases, but the effect of better housing was much greater, because it is only in the very recent past that medicine has made great advances. Moreover, in most such situations, medicine can at best cure an existing condition or disease. It is better housing standards that has made prevention easier.

Poor ventilation is another cause of diseases such as tuberculosis, and plays a crucial role in causing allergies and asthma. Over a century ago, many child deaths were reported from New York due to poor ventilation and the absence of windows. It is only when real estate developers built tall buildings that people were able to live in houses that were more spacious and well-ventilated.
Another reason is crowding, which causes tuberculosis and respiratory infections. In large Indian cities, it is impossible to avoid crowding without building skyscrapers and high-rises. Many global cities that are denser than large Indian cities are less crowded, because real estate development is relatively unhampered. So, few things are more important than the freedom to build.