| BUILDING A FAIRER, HEALTHIER WORLD | | WORLD HEALTH DAY | | Dr. Parveen Kumar, Dr. F. D. Sheikh
The World Health Organization defines Health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religious and political belief, economic or social condition. The health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security and is dependent on the fullest co-operation of individuals and States. The world has made huge progress in health sector. Countries have improved on vital health parameters like Infant Mortality rate, Maternal Mortality Rate, Birth Rate, Death Rate, life expectancy and many others. Many life threatening diseases are now curable.
Despite crossing so many milestones, all across the globe there are still many groups which do not have even access to basic requirements of life like clean water and sanitation, toilets, clean air, housing, health and education. In recent years, many countries across the globe have experienced rapid economic growth, migration and urbanization. This no doubt created opportunities for better lives for many, but also many left others behind. The emergence COVID-19 pandemic has further undercut recent health gains, pushed more people into poverty and food insecurity, and amplified gender, social and health inequities. It has made the already unequal world a more unequal one. The places where we live, work and play may make it harder for some to reach their full health potential, while others thrive. Health inequities are not only unjust and unfair, but they also threaten the advances made to date, and have the potential to widen rather than narrow equity gaps.
To promote awareness about health, do away with health inequities and to have a fairer and healthier world where health would be an asset for everyone, World Health Day is celebrated across the globe on April 07 every year. This day is infact a call for all of us to eliminate health inequities, as part of a year-long global campaign to bring people together to build a fairer, healthier world. The campaign also highlights World Health Organization’s constitutional principle that ‘the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.’ World Health Day is celebrated every year on April 07 because it marks the anniversary of founding of World Health organization (WHO). From its inception at the First Health Assembly in 1948 and since taking effect in 1950, the celebration has aimed to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World Health Organization. This year the theme of World Health Day is ‘building a fairer, healthier world’.
In health sector, India too has made enormous strides over the past decades. The life expectancy has crossed 69 years, infant and under-five mortality rates are declining as is the rate of disease incidence. Many diseases, such as polio, guinea worm disease, yaws, and tetanus, have been eradicated. In spite of this progress, the communicable diseases is expected to continue to remain a major public health problem in the coming decades posing a threat to both national and international health security. Besides endemic diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and neglected tropical diseases, the communicable disease outbreaks will continue to challenge public health, requiring high level of readiness in terms of early detection and rapid response. In this regard, vector-borne diseases, such as dengue and acute encephalitis syndrome, are of particular concern. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest health challenges facing humanity that must be tackled with all seriousness. In addition, non-communicable diseases or NCDs are now the leading cause of death in the country, contributing to 60% of deaths. Four diseases namely heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic pulmonary diseases contribute nearly 80% of all deaths due to NCDs and they share four common risk factors namely tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, and lack of physical activities. With the second-largest population in the world, India is home to over 1.3 billion people. At an average of two children born per woman in 2018, the country’s birth rate stood at 18.6 for every thousand inhabitants. The average life expectancy has seen a consistent increase since the 1920s and was around 69 years in 2017. However, this was still lower than the global average of around 72 years. That same year, the country’s death rate was recorded at about 7.2 deaths for every thousand inhabitants. Infant mortality has also been on a steady decline over the years due to increased attention to providing special newborn care units, routine immunization and access to basic mother and child care facilities. Moreover, female infanticide and gender-selective abortions have seen a relative decline in the country ever since government regulations made such procedures illegal. The IMR, which was 81 in 1990, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), declined to about 28.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019, a significant decrease from previous years. Death rate per thousand has also come down to 7.23 and Crude Birth Rate stands at 17.86 per thousand. The health inequities are preventable with strategies that place greater attention to improving health equity, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized groups. COVID-19 has hit hard those communities which are already vulnerable, who are more exposed to the disease, have less access to quality health care services and more likely to experience adverse consequences as a result of measures implemented to contain the pandemic. Our world is an unequal one. All over the world, some groups struggle to make ends meet with little daily income, have poorer housing conditions and education, fewer employment opportunities, experience greater gender inequality, and have little or no access to safe environments, clean water and air, food security and health services. This is not only unfair: it is preventable.
Let all of us on ‘World Health Day’ commit ourselves to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health and for promoting and making accessible and affordable health care for all. |
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