Since 1950, World Health Day has been held annually to draw the attention of people around the world to the major public health problems facing the international community. On this day, long-term health education programs are launched, which continue long after April 7.
World Health Day is accompanied by mass events, conferences and flash mobs. Medical institutions on this day offer free consultations of basic specialists. Here you can measure blood pressure, check blood sugar level, get important information about how to prevent the emergence and development of many diseases, about the need for an annual medical check-up to detect health problems early.
Every year, mobile medical centers, where one can also listen to useful information, undergo examinations, and get necessary recommendations, get more and more response3.
Every year a World Health Day theme is chosen that highlights one of WHO’s priority areas of work. The theme of World Health Day in 2022 is “Our Planet, Our Health”.
Against the background of the ongoing pandemic, the planetary environmental crisis, the onslaught of diseases such as cancer, asthma and heart disease, WHO intends to draw the world’s attention to the urgent action needed to protect human and planetary health, and to strengthen the movement for a human well-being-oriented society.
WHO estimates that preventable environmental causes kill 13 million people worldwide each year. This includes the climate crisis, the greatest threat to human health.
WHO estimates that over the past 50 years, human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels, has accumulated carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the lower atmosphere in amounts sufficient to trap excess heat and affect the global climate. Over the past 130 years, global temperatures have increased by about 0.85°C.
Although there may be some local benefits to global warming, such as fewer deaths in temperate areas and increased food production in certain areas, the overall health effects of climate change are likely to be overwhelmingly negative. Climate change impacts the social and environmental health factors of clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food, and reliable shelter.
Extremely high temperatures lead directly to death from cardiovascular and respiratory disease, especially among the elderly.
In addition, high temperatures increase levels of ozone and other pollutants in the air, exacerbating cardiovascular and respiratory disease.
In addition, levels of plant pollen and other aeroallergens increase during heat waves. They can trigger asthma, which affects about 300 million people.
Climatic conditions also have a strong impact on waterborne diseases and those transmitted by insects, molluscs and other cold-blooded animals.
The WHO notes that extreme weather events, land degradation and water scarcity displace and displace people and worsen their health. Pollutants and plastics are seeping into the deepest depths of the world’s oceans, onto the slopes of the highest mountains, and into food production systems. The production of unhealthy processed foods and beverages, which account for one-third of the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere worldwide, is causing mass obesity, an increase in cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The WHO notes that estimates of the effects of climate change on health can be very rough. Climate change is expected to cause about 250 thousand additional deaths per year from 2030 to 2050, about 38 thousand people will die due to the effects of heat on the elderly, 48 thousand due to diarrhea, 60 thousand due to malaria and 95 thousand due to childhood malnutrition.
WHO experts believe that in order to stop this deadly vicious circle for the planet and human health, it is necessary to take legislative action, to reform the corporate structures, and to support and encourage people to lead healthy lifestyles.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe calls on everyone to rethink a world order in which clean air, water and food are available to all, the economy is geared to ensure the health and well-being of people and the planet, and healthy cities, villages and people-centered communities provide all the conditions for a good life. (WHO)