The trend of caring for health and longevity in the last decade has been one of the most visible and popular. One of the reasons for this was the fashion for the spiritual development of man, the rejection of an exclusively consumer attitude to the environment, and, of course, the “erasing” of borders between countries and continents. That is why the idea of holding World Health Days belongs to the international organization WHO (World Health Organization).
How it all started
In 1948, under the auspices of the UN, the World Health Organization was founded, which was called upon to coordinate and direct all UN efforts in the field of protecting the health of the inhabitants of the planet. She is responsible for addressing global health issues, setting relevant topics for research and setting health norms and standards. In addition, by monitoring and evaluating the dynamics of the global health situation, WHO is developing policies to support countries in need.
One of the objectives of the World Health Organization is to provide access not only to medical care, but also to information that provides general protection against potential threats. This function is realized through world health days.
April 7th
In order to attract public attention to health problems at the initiative of WHO, various events are held throughout the year. The most famous of them is World Health Day. It is held annually on April 7 - on that day in 1948, it was decided to create the World Health Organization.
Of course, educational work is conducted more than once a year. The most threatening and potentially dangerous problems of mankind have “received” their dates and are also annual. We are talking about children's health, problems of cancer and tuberculosis, the fight against tobacco smoking and drug use, environmental protection and the prevention of technological disasters , etc. These socially important questions for humanity should be “on everyone’s lips” in order to reduce their threat and to raise the standard of living of people in all corners of our planet.
All medical institutions are expected to conduct outreach and activities aimed at disseminating information about a specific problem. WHO staff members are also involved in volunteer organizations that help raise public awareness.
Point out a problem - do half the battle
World Health Days have their own focus and are dedicated to some priority area of health. So, last 2014 the event was dedicated to the control and prevention of vector-borne diseases (those that are mainly transmitted through the bites of blood-sucking insects). The campaign on the occasion of this day promoted the dissemination of information not only about vectors and the diseases that they cause, but also about how to protect and protect people.
In 2013, WHO drew people's attention to the prevention of hypertension. The statistics of this question is cruel: every third person in the world suffers from this disease. The main activities were aimed at reducing the number of heart attacks and strokes.
Even earlier, in 2012, World Health Day events were held under the motto “A good mood adds life to years.” The main theme was the aging of mankind and the excess of people over the age of 65 over youth. Of course, we all want our loved ones and ourselves to live as long as possible. The fact that it is necessary and how to live is what was said in the WHO materials.
What are we going to talk about today?
World Health Day 2015 was dedicated to food safety. It would seem that it can be dangerous in food? But in the world, about 2 million people (mainly children) die from “food poisoning” every year. In fact, everything is much more complicated, because unsafe foods can trigger the appearance of almost 200 diseases, the simplest of which is diarrhea. Viruses and parasites, pathogenic bacteria and chemicals that enter our bodies can eventually cause cancer.
Today we have the opportunity to try products grown or prepared in any country in the world. Logistic supply chains are international in nature. That is why WHO is focusing on the need to consolidate the governments of all countries on food safety issues.
World Health Day, whose motto is “From farm to plate to make food safe!” Aims to inform people about the importance of gaining access to safe nutrients and water, which helps to maintain a normal standard of living.
What else does WHO pay attention to
According to WHO staff, annually drawing attention to some current problem is an important but small contribution to the development of the health system. After all, there are global issues that truly threaten humanity. In addition to April 7, there are other dates when World Health Days are celebrated. In fact, WHO throughout the year focuses our attention on the need to protect our own health and longevity.
So, what other days of the calendar are worth paying attention to? Of course, listing absolutely everything is not necessary, but we will recall some. So, at the beginning of the year there are two interesting dates:
February 12 is the "celebrated" International Patient's Day. After all, despite the mass of healthy people, there are those who undergo outpatient treatment. WHO calls for their rights and concerns.
March 1 is another World Health Day - Immunity Day. About the need to maintain and strengthen the immune system does not speak only lazy. After all, in fact, we are talking about the internal capabilities of our body to resist viruses, infections and pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, information on ways to strengthen immunity throughout life will be very useful to each person.
Forewarned is forearmed
March 24, World Tuberculosis Day, we once again recall the complexity and prevalence of this disease. And about the basic rules of hygiene: their observance greatly reduces the risk of developing the disease. And you need to remember that tuberculosis can be cured, and the sooner a diagnosis is made, the easier and faster the course of rehabilitation will be.
July 8 - World Allergy Day. Every year there are more and more allergens. And one of the ways to learn how to prevent allergies or how to get rid of seizures is to pay attention to the information distributed on this day.
World versus
May 31 - World No Smoke Day. There is nothing to say here. The harmful effects of tobacco smoke and tar vapors not only on the smoker himself, but also on the people around him have been repeatedly proven. Passive smoking is recognized as almost more dangerous than active.
As you can see, every World Health Day is designed to draw people's attention to the seemingly invisible, but very important problem of humanity. Indeed, today there are still global horrors such as drug addiction (special days to remind of this - March 1, March 19 and June 26), mental imbalance (in the modern world, this pathology is becoming an increasingly formidable threat), the problems of old age and raising healthy children.
Caring for children is a global challenge for society
It is not news that human health is laid in the womb. And the correct upbringing of the child is the best prevention of many diseases. World Children's Health Day is designed to once again remind us adults of the responsibility for all babies who are not yet able to take care of themselves.
Within the framework of this program, WHO identified such problems (for them, by the way, special calendar days are also allocated):
- International Children's Day (June 1);
- World Breastfeeding Week (July 1-7);
- Mother's Day (November 26).
Since the health and calmness of the mother is the key to the correct upbringing of children, WHO calls for providing them with everything necessary.
Medical Days
The task of protecting public health, and, if necessary, providing assistance is entrusted to employees of medical institutions. Of course, not all countries can (and want) to ensure the proper level of professionalism in this area. Therefore, the international days of health workers are another step towards attracting attention to this global problem.
Over the course of the year, we “pay tribute” several times to Red Cross and Red Crescent employees (May 8), nurses (May 12) and all medical staff (June 17). In addition, WHO also supports such a direction as “Doctors of the world - for peace”, designed to promote a peaceful resolution of conflicts and misunderstandings.