WORLD HEALTH DAY 2018

WORLD HEALTH DAY 2018

This article is dedicated to World Health Day which is celebrated every 7th April with different themes, accompanied with their strong movements that never fail to amaze and move our hearts. 

What is world health day?

The World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on 7 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization(WHO), as well as other related organisations.

In 1948, the WHO held the First World Health Assembly. The Assembly decided to celebrate 7 April of each year, with effect from 1950, as the World Health Day. The World Health Day is held to mark WHO's founding, and is seen as an opportunity by the organization to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year. The WHO organizes international, regional and local events on the Day related to a particular theme. World Health Day is acknowledged by various governments and non-governmental organizations with interests in public health issues, who also organize activities and highlight their support in media reports, such as the Global Health Council.

World Health Day is one of eight official global health campaigns marked by WHO, along with World Tuberculosis Day, World Immunisation Week, World Malaria Day, World No Tobacco Day, World AIDS Day, World Blood Donor Day, and World Hepatitis Day.

What were their previous themes? 

2012: Ageing and Health

World Health Day 2012 was marked with the slogan "Good health adds life to years". Life expectancy is going up in most countries, meaning more and more people live longer and enter an age when they may need health care. Meanwhile, birth rates are generally falling. Countries and health care systems need to find innovative and sustainable ways to cope with the demographic shift. As stated by John Beard, director of the WHO Department of Ageing and Life Course, "With the rapid ageing of populations, finding the right model for long-term care becomes more and more urgent."

Different activities were organized by WHO as well as non-governmental and community organizations around the world to mark World Health Day 2012. For example, Yogathon (an Art of Living Initiative) – a marathon of Surya Namaskar – happened in 100+ cities across the globe. Millions of people participated in that event to make awareness of Yoga as a part of healthy living. The event focused on prevention and not just medical treatment of chronic diseases, which remain unaffordable to many people.

2013: Healthy Blood Pressure

The theme of World Health Day 2013, marked on 7 April 2013, was the need to control raised blood pressure (hypertension) as a "silent killer, global public health crisis". The slogan for the campaign was "Healthy Heart Beat, Healthy Blood Pressure”. The WHO reports hypertension – which is both preventable and treatable – contributes to the burden of heart disease, strokeand kidney failure, and is an important cause of premature death and disability. The organization estimates one in 3 adults has raised blood pressure.

Specific objectives of the World Health Day 2013 campaign were to:

·       raise awareness of the causes and consequences of high blood pressure;

·       provide information on how to prevent high blood pressure and related complications;

·       encourage adults to check their blood pressure and follow the advice of healthcare professionals;

·       encourage self care to prevent high blood pressure;

·       to make blood pressure measurement affordable to all;

·       to incite national and local authorities to create enabling environments for healthy behaviours.

Author : Josephine Andrea