World Health Day - 7 April 2010

World Health Day is celebrated every year on 7 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO).

In 1948, the World Health Organization held the First World Health Assembly. The Assembly decided to celebrate 7 April of each year as World Health Day, with effect from 1950. World Health Day is celebrated to create "awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern". Activities related to that particular theme continue beyond 7 April, that is, the designated day for celebrating the World Health Day.

About this year's theme: What is it all about?
This year, World Health Day 2010 will focus on urbanisation and health.  The WHO is focusing on worldwide events calling on cities to open up streets for health activities.  Stories of urban health champions will be gathered to illustrate what people are doing to improve health in their cities.

Urbanisation: a challenge for public health
Virtually all population growth over the next 30 years will be in urban areas, signaling that urbanisation is here to stay. It is associated with many health challenges related to water, environment, violence and injury, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors like tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol as well as the risks associated with disease outbreaks. Urbanisation is a challenge for several reasons:

• The urban poor suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and other health problems, including an increased risk for violence, chronic disease, and some communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
• The major drivers, or social determinants, of health in urban settings are beyond the health sector, including physical infrastructure, access to social and health services, local governance, and the distribution of income and educational opportunities.

Solutions exist to tackle the root causes of urban health challenges

Urban planning can promote healthy behaviours and safety through investment in active transport, designing areas to promote physical activity and passing regulatory controls on tobacco and food safety. Improving urban living conditions in the areas of housing, water and sanitation will go a long way to mitigating health risks. Building inclusive cities that are accessible and age-friendly will benefit all urban residents.

Such actions do not necessarily require additional funding, but commitment to redirect resources to priority interventions, thereby achieving greater efficiency.

[source: www.who.int/world-health-day/2010]