World Health Day 2021

Today is World Health Day! Celebrated on the 7th of April every year, the day aims to promote health awareness and is sponsored by the World Health Organisation. Each year has a different theme. Last years theme was to support Nurses and Midwives while this year is campaigning for a fairer and healthier world.

This year’s theme highlights the inequality between different communities and countries in terms of their access to quality health care. The effects of this inequality have become more prominent in the last 12 months as the world continues to fight against a global pandemic. People are able to live healthier lives based on where they are born, live and work.

Not only is this inequality not fair – it is also preventable. Leaders of the world are being called to come together to support poorer counties of the world and shrink the gap in health service access between developing and rich nations. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have dealt the hardest blow to communities that were already vulnerable.

Take a look at these facts and figures that highlight the issues being addressed today:

Facts and Figures:

• For the first time in 20 years, global poverty levels are predicted to rise and hinder the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals¹
• Up to 60% of people living in some countries of the Region lack coverage with essential health services²
• More than 1 billion people living in informal settlements or slums are facing increased challenges in preventing infection and transmission of the coronavirus³
• The Asia-Pacific region as a whole account for nearly 82.5 million or 32% of the world’s international migrants⁴
• 5.9 million children in the Asia-Pacific Region are at risk of not returning back to school due to the disruption to education and the economic impact of the pandemic⁴
• 52% of the Asia-Pacific population remains unconnected to the internet⁵

Source: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/post/events/detail/2021/04/07/western-pacific-events/world-health-day-2021

What can you do? Be a voice in our community pressuring our government to do more for surrounding countries that are not as well off as us. You can also donate to organisations like the Red Cross that support countries in crisis.