This is how World Health Day 2021 was celebrated

World Health Day is an event held annually on April 7th since 1948 , the year in which the First World Health Assembly was held and where it was proposed that this date be established to commemorate the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) . Since then, every year we have sought to create global awareness about deadly diseases and about the need to create healthy habits that help people have a better quality of life.

Likewise, on World Health Day, the most important health organizations remember the problems that exist regarding inequality in health services in both developed and developing countries, therefore, no matter how good habits are, the less privileged people are the most exposed to have almost unattainable access to a right that, it is assumed, is basic.

A healthier world in a pandemic

After just over a year of experiencing a pandemic, it is more than clear that health systems around the world have been up against the wall and their shortcomings have been exposed. According to the WHO press release for this commemoration, COVID-19 has revealed that "some people may lead healthier lives and have better access to health services than others, due entirely to the conditions in which they they are born, how they grow up, their live, their work and their age ". For the organization, this is not only unfair, it can also be avoidable. The responsibility rests, then, on the actions that world leaders and their governments may or may not take, since it is evident that the most privileged social classes are favored from above.

Also read: Is COVID-19 reinfection possible?

Each year, this global event has a different theme, for 2021 it is "Building a fairer and healthier world". That is why the WHO, in conjunction with the WhatsApp application, created and made available to the public stickers with the theme of vaccination. On the other hand, 2021 was designated as the " International Year of Health and Care Workers " in order to recognize the hard work that health workers have carried out around the world in the midst of one of the most important health crises. relevant of the century.

In addition, WHO and PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) held an online panel where experts and health ministers from different countries were discussing the problems that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it. Likewise, a call was made to the leaders to take into account these four points:

1. Work together
2. Collect reliable data
3. Address inequalities
4. Act beyond the borders

On the other hand, for these organizations it is important that attention is paid to environmental problems, such as climate change and pollution, since these affect not only ecosystems and animals, but also human beings who use the air, soils and bodies of water. In addition, the health crisis and the environmental crisis go hand in hand with poverty , and according to the WHO, poverty levels have increased so much and will continue to do so more than ever, hampering the path towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, just 9 years from its deadline.