April 7th, World Health Day
7th of April 2008
April the 7th marks all over the date when the World Health Organization was prestigiously founded and watches over our health.
Every year this celebration gets the attention over an issue that concerns WHO and that can have one of the most tragic consequences over the humanity, topics that generally need an urgent and focused approached from the world's states.
2008 is the year when the international medical forum gets the attention over the important changes of the global warming and environment and especially over the tragic impact that these might have on the health of the planet's inhabitants.
The priority theme of this year, "health protection by the effects of the climate changes ", provides a reflection topic on the global warming context that we live in and on the consequences already visible on the health status, longevity, pathology, etc.
All these started to be a problem and a serious threat over the past years. The solution consists in coordinated approach of the global warming issue as some intervention measures could be identified by the international community:
- Strengthening and developing the control and prevention systems for infectious diseases;
- Rational use of the resources such as water, especially the drinking water - already in decrease - that can seriously affect the health of the population;
- Coordination and strengthen the activities meant to maintain and even to improve the health status.
The main objective that WHO proposes for the April 7th celebration of this year is the catalysis of international community's efforts to organize and involve in a global campaign of limiting the effects over health produced by the global warming changes.
Another priority objective of WHO is represented by including the topic of medical consequences of the global warming effects on the work agenda of the United Nations.
The measures undertaken to reach these objectives might create the necessary conditions for the governments and non-governmental institutions to get in the attention of the public opinion the issues and health problems caused by global warming.
The foreseen result would be the one to involve a big number of people and communities in the efforts of settling down the global warming and to limit the negative changes over the past years.Moreover, might be the moment to mobilize the existent resources for carrying out an advocacy campaign that would plead for urgent and real involvement of the governments, communities, civil society and even the population in implementing these measures.
A high attention shall be paid to the protection of vulnerable population, especially the one from the African continent, extremely affected and marked by the past years incidents.In the same, this can be an opportunity to establish a connection and a common approach regarding other fields that need a constructive approach, such as environment, food resources, energy and transports.
The objectives and the activities that WHO proposes in 2008 are various and very generous:
- An in depth understanding and increase of the involvement level of the population in the control of the local and global consequences of the global warming changes;
- Advocacy strategies that would plead for establishing some intersectional and interdisciplinary partnerships at a local and international level. The purpose of these partnerships is to settle down and to minimize the impact of the present global warming over our health status;
- Initiation of some specific activities within communities, organizations, health systems and governments in order to urgent apply some concrete and feasible measures to protect health;
- Proving the role that the preoccupation for community's health has in confronting with these kind of challenges, at a global, regional, national and community level;
- To inspire the governments, international organizations, donors, civil societies, business environment and communities, especially youngsters, with the decision of anchoring the health problem in the work agenda of the forums that approach the effects of the global warming.
In the globalization context of the problems that until the other day had represented national or regional concerns, the global warming changes and their medical effects represent o new global challenge.
We conclude by congratulating once again WHO for the prestigious activity and the remarkable obtained results, wishing it a lot of success in reaching the objectives proposed for 2008!
Also, we would like to thank to the WHO staff for the direct and value support provided every time in professional approach of some public health problems of local, regional or national interest.
Further details on the activities dedicated to this celebration can be found on http://www.who.org/ !
