2021
The World Health
Abou Organisation
t This was established on 7th April
1948.
Day 7th April is commemorated as
World Health Day since 1950.
THEME
Each World Health Day is given a Theme,
to draw attention to a specific health
topic of concern to people all over the
world each year.
The WHO organizes international,
regional and local events on the Day
related to a particular theme.
World Health Day is acknowledged by
various governments and non-
governmental organizations, who also
THEME OF 2021 WORLD HEALTH DAY
OUR WORLD IS AN
UNEQUAL ONE
COVID-19 has highlighted that some
people are able to live healthier lives
and have better access to health
services than others.
Inequalities caused by position, status
and voice in society and the
conditions in which they are born,
grow, live, work and age.
All over the world, some groups not
only have limited access to quality
health services but also struggle to
make ends meet with little daily
income, have poorer access to safe
housing conditions and quality
education, fewer employment
opportunities that pay a living wage,
inequality, and have little or no access
to safe environments, clean water and
health care services, and
experience food insecurity.
These conditions can lead to
unnecessary suffering, avoidable
illness, and premature death, and it
harms our societies and economies.
THIS IS NOT ONLY UNFAIR:
IT IS PREVENTABLE
• WHO is calling on leaders to ensure that everyone
has living and working conditions that are conducive
to good health.
• At the same time urging leaders to monitor health
inequities, and to ensure that all people are able to
access quality health services when and where they
need them.
• COVID-19 has hit all countries hard, but its impact
has been harshest on those communities which were
already vulnerable, who are more exposed to the
disease, less likely to have access to quality health
care services and more likely to experience adverse
consequences as a result of measures implemented
to contain the pandemic.
LEADERS SHOULD
WORK COLLECT TACKLE ACT BEYOND
TOGETHER RELIABLE DATA INEQUITIES BORDERS
• Work hand in
• Ensure collection • Adopt a whole-of- • Act beyond
hand with affected
and use of timely government national
communities and
individuals to and reliable health approach borders. For
address the root data - disaggregated to tackling the example, only
causes of by gender, age, root causes of when we can
inequities and to income, education, ineaquities and protect, test and
implement migratory status, increase investment treat the whole
solutions within disability, geographic in primary health global population
and beyond the location and other care. can we end the
health sector to characteristics COVID-19 pandemic.
relevant to the •
This is key to
address them. • As well as assuring
national context. meeting today’s
• The impact will be challenges of an equitable supply
greatest when • Only then is it ensuring Health for of vaccines, tests
governments and possible to assess All and to building and treatments, we
communities work inequities across the resilience of must strengthen
together, in a population subgroups tomorrow. national and
coordinated and take actions that international
approach. have impact. mechanisms and
build community
trust and
participation into
their delivery and
WHO is committed to ensuring that
everyone, everywhere, can realize the
right to good health.
https://www.who.int/data/gho
