World Health Day 2022: Know history, significance, this year's theme

The World Health Day is observed every year on April 7. The World Health Day campaign was initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) way back in 1948 during its First Health Assembly. It was brought it into effect in 1950, aimed at promoting awareness about physical and mental health and ensuring the needed support. The objective of observing the day is to make the world realise the importance of universal health coverage.

The World Health Day also marks the founding of the WHO. The organisation strives each year to spark conversations and draw attention to a subject of major importance to global health through the day’s theme.

The theme for World Health Day 2022 is ‘Our planet, our health’. The WHO states, “In the midst of a pandemic, a polluted planet, increasing diseases like cancer, asthma, heart disease, on World Health Day 2022, WHO will focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being.”  

The global health body estimates that over 13 million deaths around the world each year happen due to avoidable environmental causes.  “This includes the climate crisis which is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The climate crisis is also a health crisis,” it states.

“Well-being societies are healthy societies,” says WHO.

“Over 90% of people breathe unhealthy air resulting from burning of fossil fuels. A heating world is seeing mosquitos spread diseases farther and faster than ever before. Extreme weather events, land degradation and water scarcity are displacing people and affecting their health. Pollution and plastics are found at the bottom of our deepest oceans, the highest mountains, and have made their way into our food chain. Systems that produce highly processed, unhealthy foods and beverages are driving a wave of obesity, increasing cancer and heart disease while generating a third of global greenhouse gas emissions,” the message on the WHO website read.

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Goals of a well-being society

As per the WHO, well-being economy has three goals - human well-being, equity and ecological sustainability.

“These goals are translated into long-term investments, well-being budgets, social protection and legal and fiscal strategies. Breaking these cycles of destruction for the planet and human health requires legislative action, corporate reform and individuals to be supported and incentivized to make healthy choices,” it adds.