Health Organisations Class 10 ICSE — Selina Chapter 14
Health organisations class 10 ICSE biology teaches how India’s health problems are managed at three levels. This Selina chapter explains the five kinds of habitation in India, the disease groups that affect each, and the local, national and international bodies that fight them. Read on for a section-by-section walkthrough of chapter 14, with the disease tables, the memory aids, and the key dates CISCE asks about.
Download Health Organisations Class 10 ICSE Biology Chapter 14 PDF
Download the Health Organisations Class 10 ICSE Biology chapter PDF from the Selina Concise textbook to revise offline or print for practice. It is the full chapter as printed in the book — 4 pages, 7 sections, 15 questions.
What is inside Chapter 14
4 pages · 7 sections · 15 exercise questions
| Section | Title |
|---|---|
| 14.1 | COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS IN INDIA |
| 14.2 | CATEGORIES OF HEALTH ORGANISATIONS |
| 14.3 | LOCAL BODIES |
| 14.4 | NATIONAL BODIES |
| 14.5 | INTERNATIONAL BODIES |
| 14.5.1 | Red Cross |
| 14.5.2 | WHO (World Health Organisation) |
- PROGRESS CHECK: 15 questions
14.1 COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS IN INDIA
India’s population spreads across five kinds of habitation. Big cities face crowded transport, overloaded water and sewage systems, and heavy industry. Small towns are less crowded. Villages rely on agriculture, dairies and cottage industries. Remote areas hold tribal people who depend on forests, with no clean water or medical care. Slum dwellings on city outskirts suffer unhealthy, unhygienic conditions.
This ICSE chapter groups India’s common health problems into four categories. Food and water borne diseases include diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, typhoid and dysentery, often from contaminated water. Insect and air borne diseases spread through flies, mosquitoes and inhaled droplets. Lack of medical facilities, especially in rural areas, leads to avoidable deaths. Professional hazards affect child labourers in carpet, fireworks and glass bangle industries.
The table below shows which agent carries which disease. Students often mix these up in true or false questions.
| Disease | Agent |
|---|---|
| Dysentery, cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid | Houseflies |
| Malaria, dengue, filariasis | Mosquitoes |
| Plague | Rat flea |
| Tuberculosis, whooping cough, pneumonia | Air borne |
Why does this matter? Malaria spreads through a mosquito bite, so the agent is the mosquito, never a housefly. Tuberculosis is air borne, caught by inhaling droplets, so its agent is the air, not any insect. These are the mix ups students make in matching exercises.
Here is a model answer. If asked which disease a rat flea bite spreads, write: ‘Plague is transmitted through the bite of a rat flea.’ That is the pattern the exam expects.
14.2 CATEGORIES OF HEALTH ORGANISATIONS
Every country is concerned about the health and well being of its people. Several kinds of organisations work at different levels to achieve this goal. The chapter classifies them into three categories on the basis of the level at which they work.
- Local bodies: Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Town Area Committees.
- National organisations: agencies, institutes and research centres across India.
- International organisations: the Red Cross and the World Health Organisation.
Local bodies are the closest to the people. They manage sanitation, water and vaccination in cities and towns. National organisations operate across the whole country. They research diseases and run control programmes. International bodies work across many nations. Each level has its own duties and examples, which the sections below fill in.
Section 14.3 explains the four duties of local bodies. Section 14.4 covers the national research centres and the Pulse Polio programme. Section 14.5 introduces the two international bodies. Detail on the Red Cross and WHO follows in 14.5.1 and 14.5.2.
Here is a comparison table for the three levels. It helps when the exam asks you to match an organisation to its level.
| Level | Examples | Main work |
|---|---|---|
| Local bodies | Municipal Corporations, Municipalities, Town Area Committees | Sanitation, water supply, vaccination, records |
| National bodies | NICD Delhi, research centres | Disease surveys, control steps, Pulse Polio |
| International bodies | Red Cross, WHO | Relief, blood supply, global disease control |
The Class 10 books hub lists every chapter in this collection.
14.3 LOCAL BODIES
Local bodies in cities, towns and larger villages look after people’s health and sanitation. They include Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Town Area Committees. Each has regular staff and equipment for its duties.
Their four duties are:
- Sanitation: removing and disposing garbage, sewage and other wastes. This also means eliminating the breeding places of flies and mosquitoes.
- Supply of safe drinking water.
- Vaccination: immunising infants and others against infectious diseases. The list includes tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis and measles.
- Keeping statistical records: compulsory registration of births and deaths, plus regular health information for the area.
Remember these four with the memory aid SSVV: Sanitation, Safe water, Vaccination, Vital statistics. The four S’s anchor the duties.
Vaccination builds resistance to disease. Programmes intensify when an epidemic threatens. The chapter lists the diseases covered: tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis and measles.
Here is a model answer. If asked to name one municipal responsibility in your own words, write: ‘The municipality must remove garbage and sewage and destroy the breeding places of flies and mosquitoes.’ That is duty one, stated plainly.
14.4 NATIONAL BODIES
Several Indian agencies, institutes and research centres study the country’s health problems. They focus on five diseases: malaria, dengue, tuberculosis, leprosy and cholera.
For each disease, these centres take regular steps. They survey the affected areas. They identify the transmitting agent and its breeding places. They arrange prophylactic immunisation. They take any other steps needed to fight the disease.
The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in Delhi, earlier known as the Malaria Institute, researches infectious diseases. The Pulse Polio programme is a national effort to eradicate poliomyelitis completely.
The word ‘prophylactic’ means preventive. Prophylactic immunisation is vaccination given to prevent a disease before exposure, not to cure it after infection.
Here is a model answer. If asked how a national centre responds to an outbreak, write: ‘The centre surveys the area, identifies the transmitting agent and its breeding grounds, and arranges prophylactic immunisation for the population at risk.’ That pattern uses all the steps the book lists.
14.5 INTERNATIONAL BODIES
Two international bodies are concerned with people’s health. They are the Red Cross and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Each works across many nations. Detail on their founding, activities and key dates sits in the two sections below. The Red Cross is covered in 14.5.1, and WHO in 14.5.2.
14.5.1 Red Cross
The Red Cross is both a national and an international agency. Its main function is to prevent or remove human suffering in peace time and at war. It was formally founded in 1864. Its emblem is a red cross painted on a white background.
Red Cross workers may go to battlefields and care for wounded soldiers, whether friends or enemies. The society’s major activities are:
- Relief to victims of calamities such as flood, fire, famine and earthquakes.
- Procuring and supplying blood for war victims and other casualties.
- First aid in any accident.
- Educating people in accident prevention.
- Ambulance service in all emergencies.
- Looking after maternal and child welfare centres.
- Training midwives, done by the Indian Red Cross Society.
Red Cross Day falls on 8 May.
Here is an edge case that appears in exams. Hospitals, ambulances, doctors and nurses often display the Red Cross emblem for quick identification. Legally that use is wrong. Only Red Cross Society units may use the emblem.
Here is a model answer. If asked which organisation trains midwives, write: ‘The Indian Red Cross Society trains midwives as part of its maternal and child welfare work.’
14.5.2 WHO (World Health Organisation)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) was established in 1948. It is a specialised agency of the United Nations Organisation (UNO).
Why was WHO formed? Member countries of the UNO saw the need for an international body to look after world health. Combined research on the causes and cures of diseases would give better and faster results. Poor and developing countries would benefit quickly.
WHO has six regional offices, including one in Delhi. Each regional office works for its member countries. The headquarters are in Geneva. Member states must report information about internationally notifiable diseases under the International Sanitary Regulations. Malaria and smallpox are two such diseases.
WHO’s main activities are:
- Collecting and supplying information about epidemic diseases such as cholera, plague, typhus, yellow fever and smallpox.
- Promoting and supporting research projects on diseases.
- Supplying information on vaccines, cancer research, nutrition, drug addiction control and nuclear radiation hazards.
- Suggesting quarantine measures to isolate patients and prevent spread.
- Laying pharmaceutical standards for important drugs to ensure purity and dose size.
- Organising campaigns against epidemic and endemic diseases. Simple goitre from iodine deficiency is an example of an endemic disease.
Dates and headquarters to revise: WHO established 1948; headquarters Geneva; six regional offices including Delhi; Red Cross founded 1864; Red Cross Day 8 May.
Here is a model answer. If asked to state two functions of WHO, write: ‘WHO collects and supplies information about epidemic diseases, and it lays pharmaceutical standards for important drugs.’
What to practise from Health Organisations Class 10 ICSE
The chapter’s practice block is the PROGRESS CHECK.
- PROGRESS CHECK: 15 questions
Attempt it after revising each section. It tests your recall of the disease to agent table and the true or false matching skill from section 14.1.
In timed revision, aim to finish the progress check in about five minutes. Treat every wrong match as a signal to re-read section 14.1.
For other chapters in this book, browse the Class 10 Biology hub. You can also verify the official syllabus and examination format on the CISCE website.
Health Organisations Class 10 ICSE frequently asked questions
What are health organisations in class 10 ICSE biology?
They are the bodies that look after people’s health at three levels. Local bodies manage sanitation, water and vaccination in cities and towns. National bodies research diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. International bodies like the Red Cross and WHO work across countries.
Which year was WHO established and where is its headquarters?
WHO was established in 1948 as a specialised agency of the United Nations Organisation. Its headquarters are in Geneva, and it has six regional offices including one in Delhi.
Which diseases are spread by houseflies and mosquitoes?
Houseflies spread dysentery, cholera, diarrhoea and typhoid by contaminating food. Mosquitoes spread malaria, dengue fever and filariasis through their bite. The rat flea spreads plague.
What is the difference between Red Cross and WHO?
The Red Cross is a voluntary society founded in 1864. It gives relief in calamities, supplies blood, provides first aid and runs ambulance services. WHO is a UNO specialised agency established in 1948. It collects epidemic information, promotes research and lays pharmaceutical standards.
Why is the Red Cross emblem not allowed on hospitals and ambulances?
The chapter says hospitals, ambulances, doctors and nurses often use the Red Cross emblem for quick identification, but legally it is wrong. Only Red Cross Society units may use the emblem.
Reference: ICSE Class 10 Biology textbook material, chapter 14: Health Organisations — CISCE-aligned.