Picture a society where everyone has access to clean air, water, and food.
Where economies focus on health and wellbeing.
Where people have control over their health and the health of the earth, and cities are livable.
How to achieve this? Our health and that of our world are intrinsically intertwined, and the need to focus on building a healthy society on a healthy planet is becoming increasingly obvious. On World Health Day 2022, WHO will focus worldwide attention on critical efforts needed to keep humans and the planet healthy, and build a movement to create societies centered on well-being, in the face of a pandemic, a polluted planet, and rising diseases including cancer, asthma, and heart disease. Every year since 7th April 1948, World Health Day is commemorated as the anniversary of the establishment of the World Health Organization (WHO)
Each year’s theme focused on a different health issue that people all around the world are concerned about.
The Theme of World Health Day 2022
The problems, the solutions, and we are all connected. The theme of World Health Day in 2022 is “Our planet, our health”, which focuses on the connection between the health of our planet and the health of humans, animals, plants, and all other living things. This year’s WHO/Europe campaign will promote messages and activities that highlight how individual choices and social behaviors impact our environment, in line with the One Health approach, which emphasizes the interdependence of animal, human, and environmental health. While unsustainable behavioral habits contribute to environmental degradation, we can and must also be part of the solution when it comes to solving humanity’s single greatest health issue — the climate crisis.
Climate change is affecting the lives of millions of people in the WHO European Region in a variety of ways, including rising temperatures, floods, and heavy rains. Other human-caused health hazards, such as air pollution, ecological degradation, and tobacco manufacturing and consumption, are further aggravating the damage to our world. According to the World Health Organization, more than 13 million people die each year due to preventable environmental causes around the world. This includes the climate problem, which is the world’s single greatest health concern. The climate catastrophe is also a public health emergency.
Climate and health crises are being fueled by our political, social, and commercial decisions. Over 90% of people inhale polluted air caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Mosquitoes are spreading diseases further and faster than ever before as the world warms. People are being displaced and their health is being harmed as a result of extreme weather occurrences, land degradation, and water scarcity. Pollution and plastics have made their way into our food chain and can be discovered at the bottom of our deepest oceans and tallest mountains. Systems that create highly processed, unhealthy foods and beverages are fueling an obesity epidemic, increasing cancer and heart disease, and accounting for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
While the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated Science’s ability to heal, it also revealed the world’s injustices. The pandemic exposed flaws in all aspects of society, emphasizing the importance of establishing sustainable well-being societies devoted to ensuring equal health for current and future generations while remaining within ecological boundaries. The current economic structure results in inequitable income, wealth, and power distribution, with far too many people still living in poverty and insecurity. Human well-being, justice, and ecological sustainability are the goals of a well-being economy. Long-term investments, well-being budgets, social protection, and legal and budgetary methods are all used to achieve these objectives. Breaking these destructive cycles for the earth and human health requires legislative action, business reform, and support and incentives for individuals to make healthy choices. This year, as we commemorate World Health Day, let’s picture a society where everyone lives a happy life in a clean and healthy society. Happy World Health Day!!
