World Health Day is celebrated every year on April 7th. It was first established in 1948 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness about important health issues and promote healthier lifestyles. Each year, the WHO selects a specific health-related theme for World Health Day, which serves as a call to action for governments, organizations, and individuals around the world to take steps towards improving health and well-being.
The theme for World Health Day 2021 is “Building a fairer, healthier world”.This year’s campaign aims to highlight the growing inequalities in health that exist both within and between countries, and to call for action to address these disparities. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that health is not just a personal matter but a shared responsibility. It has also exposed deep-rooted inequities in access to health services and in the social determinants of health, such as education, employment, housing, and environment.
World Health Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness about these issues and to call on governments, organizations, and individuals to take urgent action to reduce health inequities and promote health for all. Some of the key messages of this year’s campaign include:-
1)Everyone deserves access to healthcare and health services, regardless of their income, ethnicity, gender, or location.
2)Health equity is not only the right thing to do, but it also benefits everyone in society.- We need to address the social determinants of health by investing in education, employment, housing, and environmental policies that promote health, well-being, and equity.
3) We need to create fairer health systems that prioritize the most vulnerable and marginalized populations and ensure universal access to health services and vaccinations.
- 4)Everyone has a role to play in creating a fairer, healthier world, from individuals advocating for their rights to policymakers prioritizing public health in their decision-making.
