Dr Chirantan Bose
World Heath Day is celebrated every year on 7th April to commemorate the founding of World Health Organization in 1948. This global event, held every year, serves a vital purpose of raising awareness about specific public health concerns impacting people worldwide. It’s a day to focus on educating the mass, initiate collective actions and promote the Importance of health for everyone. Healthcare Institutes across the globe actively participate in this important day along with Govt. healthcare delivery system. This year marks the 76th such observance. The theme for this year’s (2024) World Health Day is “My Health, My Right” – a theme coined to showcase fundamental human right – access to quality health care – to emphasize that everyone, everywhere has the opportunity to live a healthy life.
Global Importance:
This event serves a vital purpose of raising awareness about specific public health concerns impacting people worldwide. While Healthcare Institutes involved in curative health also participate in this important day, it is crucial to understand that societal or community healthcare is NOT intrinsically linked to disease and its treatment, rather the fundamental basis of health of society is dependent more on Preventive and Promotive aspects of health. Detailed study of the Rural Society and Urban slums show that the biggest roadblock to all-around development of this segment of society lies on their not having access to various facets of healthy life, something which has roots to the below par literacy & financial levels prevalent in such segments. In India, as elsewhere, World Health Day helps us align to these segments through focusing on preventive & promotive health.
Importance of World Heath Day in India:
Indian healthcare scenario is a complex mix of paradox largely because of its being a young population with demography dividend at one end and being Developed & economically strong on the other. Due to this paradox, there is a sizable population who is yet to get access to affordable healthcare, whether curative, preventive or promotive and thus unaware of key determinants of healthy life. A brief recap of some of the important societal health concerns that is being addressed through World Health Day are as follows:
- Infectious Disease: Highlighting the prevention and treatment of some very common and highly virulent disease like HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Dengue & Malaria is one of the major action areas of WHO.
- Non-Communicable Disease: raising awareness about silent killer disease like cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory illness is another milestone to aspire for. These chronic diseases can best be addressed not in hospital environment but in society through promotion of healthy lifestyle, workouts, exercises and healthy food – aptly brought about by the fundamental key concept of “Health Wellness”.
- Mental Health: increasing our awareness to mental health issue, reducing mental stress brought about by the modern society, reducing stigma & gender discrimination and making accessible mental health services & support to all is a key area of intervention through World Health Day.
- Reproductive Child Health: started decades back as Maternal & Child Health program, this is still a focus area for us. Advocating for improved Maternal & Child Health through providing healthcare support to all women in reproductive age group, making available access to prenatal care, safe institutionalized childbirth, immunization & nutrition are some of the key deliverables for us as partners of community health.
- Environmental Health: With environment playing key role in today’s world, focusing on key issues of environmental health like Air and Water borne diseases, pollution related respiratory disease, occupational health and climate change are emerging areas to focus on.
Significance of this year’s Theme – “My Health, my Right”:
The importance of this lies in the grim postulates put forth by WHO and other community health experts in 2021 & 2022 which states that more than half of world population do not have access to affordable essential health services. This reality has brought forth the requirement of renewing our focus on providing all world citizen with access to health and healthy life. The right of every citizen to health – tagged as “My Health, My Right” covers key salient points:
- Universal Health Coverage: Bring in a system of affordable health care to ensure everyone in need of medical care has access to the same wherever he/she requires it. This may happen only through promulgating sustainable policy aimed at addressing social determinants of health and advocating for heath equity.
- Quality Healthcare: Everyone must have access to not just “available “healthcare” but must have access to effective, safe, affordable & culturally appropriate healthcare service, irrespective of their socioeconomic, demography-based positioning in life.
- Empowering Individuals: We need to empower individuals to decide for themselves the best approach to healthy life through access to appropriate healthcare mechanism in place. For this, knowledge sharing and cafeteria choice of all three branches of community health should be made available.
- Building Equitable Healthcare System: sustainable, affordable healthcare system needs to be established across communities which can only be possible through bringing in effective policies & strategies by world bodies and resource sharing among all countries. Govt. and NGOs must join force with the societal organizations to make this dream a reality.
Concluding:
World health day for us should not be and must not be listed as an “one day event” only – it must trigger a call for action for everyone who has education, knowledge and means to play an active role in improving global health. Let us – on this day – take the solemn oath that we shall actively participate in all such activities which will contribute to a healthier life and world, thereby strengthening our commitment to the community and establishing ourselves as change management for Health.
(Author is Head Administration, Medical Services, Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur)