Savlon Swasth India Mission Launches the Doc's Pod, Spotlighting the Growing Impact of Climate Change on Immunity

Dr Bhaskar Shenoy and Faye D?Souza discuss the impact of Climate Change on children?s health in Doc?s Pod, an educative podcast series by Savlon Swasth India Mission

Business Wire India

Parenting today comes with new challenges. Children are today forced to choose between spending more time indoors and fighting pollution when they are outdoors during certain periods. They are also growing up in an environment that is very different from the one their parents knew. 

As climate change makes the weather unpredictable, doctors are observing subtle shifts in how children experience common illnesses - symptoms appearing beyond typical seasons and recovery sometimes taking longer than expected. These changes don’t point to weaker immunity, but to young immune systems learning to adapt to a changing environment.

It is with this evolving context that Savlon Swasth India Mission has launched a Podcast series – Doc’s Pod, to highlight the significance of preventive hygiene and disinfection with the evolving changes in climate, health and overall environment. The first episode focuses on Climate playing a key role in shaping the health of today’s children. Featuring Faye D Souza in conversation with Dr Bhaskar Shenoy, Consultant Pediatrician at Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru, the podcast focuses on a reassuring insight: simple, consistent hygiene habits remain one of the most effective ways parents can support children’s immunity today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TjHEp2tNdo

Children’s immune systems take time - nearly 7-8 years - to fully mature. During these early years, reducing everyday exposure to germs becomes especially helpful, particularly as environmental changes increase contact-based transmission. “A child’s immune system is still learning what to fight and what to ignore. When daily exposure to germs increases because of heat, humidity, or damp environments, immunity gets distracted, responding to repeated low-level threats instead of building long-term strength,” says Dr Bhaskar.

The podcast highlights how small, repeatable actions at home can make a meaningful difference, easing the load on young immune systems and supporting healthier growth. Rather than reacting to illness, Savlon Swasth India Mission encourages families to build prevention into daily routines-turning hygiene from an occasional reminder into a quiet, dependable habit.

Sameer Satpathy, Divisional Chief Executive, Personal Care Products Business, ITC Limited, said, “For nearly a decade, Savlon Swasth India Mission has worked to strengthen hygiene habits among children. As climate change intensifies, and can potentially impact children’s health, it becomes imperative for parents to practice and teach disinfection and prevention. By building simple habits like regular handwashing, using masks and disinfecting surfaces, every child can protect their immune system and strengthen resistance. This initiative reinforces preventive hygiene as a child’s most reliable defence against climate-induced diseases. By combining science, practical guidance and consistent action, we aim to empower families to build healthier homes and a more resilient future.”

The preventive approach discussed in the podcast is strongly backed by evidence. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 80% of childhood infections spread through touch, underlining the importance of hygiene-led prevention. Research further shows that consistent hygiene practices can reduce diarrhoeal illnesses by up to 40% and respiratory infections by 21%, validating hygiene as one of the most effective everyday actions families can take.

Adding her thoughts as a mother herself, Faye D’Souza said, “As a parent, it’s unsettling to see children fall sick in seasons that never used to be a problem, with illnesses lingering longer than expected. This conversation, through the Savlon Swasth India Mission podcast, helped put things into perspective—that our children’s immunity isn’t weaker, but under constant environmental pressure. What’s reassuring is realising that simple, everyday hygiene habits, when done consistently, still give parents meaningful control in protecting their families. In a time of so much uncertainty, that sense of control really matters.”

Dr Bhaskar Shenoy, Consultant Paediatrician at Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru, added, “Children aren’t falling sick more often because their immunity is failing, but because the environment around them is changing faster than their immune systems can adapt. Constant exposure to pollution, humidity and erratic weather keeps immunity under sustained stress. The good news is that preventive hygiene habits at home can significantly reduce this burden and give children’s immune systems the breathing space they need to respond better to everyday infections.”

Climate may be unpredictable, but our defense doesn’t have to be. By instilling these expert-backed habits today, we’re giving our children the resilience they need to thrive tomorrow.

The Doc's Pod by Savlon Swasth India Mission

About Savlon Swasth India Mission

Savlon Swasth India Mission champions early habit-building to ensure a healthier, brighter future for the next generation.

Since 2016, ITC's Savlon Swasth India Mission has touched the lives of over 14 million children with its innovative outreach and is one of the largest hand hygiene education programs run globally. This ongoing initiative has effectively instilled hand hygiene practices among primary school students, demonstrating tangible results leading to habit change.

As per the Kantar impact report in March 2024 commissioned to assess impact for the Savlon Swasth India Mission in select centers, it was observed that there is an increase in overall handwashing occasions by children who have attended the programme. Mothers also perceived their child’s health to have gotten better post the campaign which points to the initiative’s role in increasing awareness about handwashing. The study also reports on higher compliance to handwashing occasions by children who had been a part of the program. The school initiative has also generated conversations where children are discussing about the initiative and mothers are discussing about the improvements in their child’s handwashing habits and the program benefits.

With a focus on innovation in design and communication, the mission has introduced various initiatives such as Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks, Savlon ID Guard, and the recent Hand Ambassador and Handwashing Legend campaigns, all aimed at fostering education and promoting good hygiene habits.