On 2 July 2026, HRIDAY, together with the Healthy India Alliance (HIA/India NCD Alliance) and the PACE Centre for Global Health at Pace University, USA, organised two community street plays in Tigri and Dakshinpuri, New Delhi, as part of an ongoing initiative to prioritise chronic respiratory diseases in India.

Street theatre was used to reach a cross-section of the community - children, young people, adults and older persons - with accessible messaging on recognising the signs and symptoms of asthma and COPD; the effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution and tobacco use on lung health and overall wellbeing; the importance of timely care-seeking and access to health services; community-led action for clean air and tobacco-free norms; and the role young people can play as advocates for lung health in their own neighbourhoods.

The strong participation reinforced that creative, community-based approaches make health information more relatable, equitable and actionable, and that lasting change depends on informed communities, meaningful participation, and youth and lived experience leadership alongside policy and health system reform.