On August 1, government schools across Punjab began teaching a new drug prevention curriculum for students in grades 9 to 12. The program was launched to discourage drug use among teenagers and formed part of a broader strategy to curb both supply and demand.

Developed with guidance from Nobel laureate Prof Abhijit Banerjee, the course consisted of 15 sessions spread over 27 weeks. Each 35-minute class was held every two weeks and focused on helping students resist peer pressure, make thoughtful choices, and understand the risks of substance abuse. Lessons were supported with films, quizzes, posters, worksheets, and interactive activities.

Around 800,000 students in 3,658 government schools took part in the program. To make the rollout possible, over 6,500 teachers had been trained in advance to deliver the sessions.

Results from an earlier pilot in 78 schools in Amritsar and Tarn Taran had shown promising outcomes. Among 9,600 students, 90 percent recognised that even one experiment with drugs could lead to addiction. Belief in overcoming addiction through willpower alone fell sharply from 50 percent to 20 percent.

The initiative complemented the “War Against Drugs” campaign, which had been running since March 2025. In that time, more than 23,000 alleged traffickers were arrested, over 1,000 kilograms of heroin were seized, and properties linked to the trade were confiscated.

While enforcement continued, the government stressed that lasting impact required preventive measures. Officials noted that focusing on youth through schools might create a model for other states to adopt in the coming years.

Punjab’s Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh has announced an extensive mobilisation of medical personnel across the state to launch a Special Health Campaign in 2,303 villages hit by the recent floods. He instructed that every available resource, including government doctors, private volunteers, Ayurveda medical officers, and MBBS interns, be put to work starting Sunday.

Civil surgeons have been told to ensure that medical staff are stationed at health camps and deployed in door-to-door teams so that every village receives adequate care and preventive services.

“The special campaign is being implemented across all 2,303 villages adversely affected by the recent unprecedented floods, with the primary objective of preventing outbreaks of vector-borne, waterborne, and communicable diseases,” the minister said.

Explaining the structure, he noted, “The campaign is built on three core components, with the first being health and medical camps under which medical camps will be organised in all 2,303 villages. In 596 villages with existing health facilities like Aam Aadmi Clinics, the camps will be organised daily. In the remaining 1,707 villages, camps will be set up in public spaces like schools and community centres for a minimum of three days, extendable based on need.”

He further added, “The second component is door-to-door visits by ASHA workers under which a force of over 11,103 ASHA workers will conduct weekly house-to-house visits in these villages to distribute essential health kits containing mosquito repellent, ORS, paracetamol, chlorine tablets, soap, and other supplies. They will also screen people for illnesses and raise awareness about disease prevention.”

Detailing the last part of the drive, the minister said, “As part of the last component, a rigorous fumigation and vector-control exercise will be carried out every day for the next 21 days in all affected villages. Teams will conduct indoor and outdoor fogging, larvicidal spraying, and breeding checks in households, schools, markets, and other public places to prevent outbreaks of dengue and malaria.”

He also highlighted the logistical support being put in place. “The campaign will be supported by a robust fleet of over 550 ambulances, including 180 govt ambulances and 254 arranged through the Indian Medical Association, to strengthen health services and patient access,” he said.

Dr Balbir Singh concluded by noting, “The department has identified 85 essential drugs and 23 consumables for flood relief, which are in sufficient stock and will be made available at all health camps and facilities. Districts have also been empowered to procure any required items locally to avoid delays.”