United Nations' World Health Day

Global health issues are raised on World Health Day. ©iStockphoto.com/Günay Mutlu

What do people do?

A wide range of local, national and international events are arranged to educate the public and policy makers about a specific aspect of the work of the World Health Organization. This issue receives a lot of coverage in most types of media. A toolkit is provided for those who wish to plan events but emphasizes that these should be suitable for the local cultural, social and economic conditions. Examples of events include conferences for health workers, briefings for local politicians, informational displays for children and young people, public marches and demonstrations and free or easy access to medical tests.

Public life

World Health Day is not a public holiday and public life is not affected.

Background

In 1945 diplomats from a range of countries formed the United Nations. One of the organizations formed was the United Nations Economic and Social Council, which first met in 1946. During this meeting, there were calls for the establishment of an organization in the United Nations, which would be dedicated to health issues.

The new organization would carry on the work of the Office International d'Hygiène Publique (the International Office for Public Hygiene) and the health units of the League of Nations. These organizations were established in the early years of the 20th century, but were overburdened by the huge health consequences of the aftermath of World War I and were unable to function effectively when World War II started. It would also carry on the work of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, which provided medical aid to millions of people in the aftermath of the devastating military action in Europe during the last part of World War II.

The World Health Organization was founded on April 7, 1948. Since then, the organization has carried out a huge amount of valuable work, including the global eradication of smallpox and the implementation of a wide range of public health strategies. Now, 193 countries are members and the organization is still working to improve many aspects of health around the world.

At the First World Health Assembly in 1948, the delegates called for a World Health Day to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization. This has been held on April 7 every year since 1950. The day is used to draw attention to particular priorities in global health. Recent themes have been "Road Safety" (2004), "Make Every Mother and Child Count" (2005), "Working Together for Health" (2006), "International Health Security" (2007) and "Protecting Health from Climate Change" (2008).

Symbols

The symbol of the World Health Organization is white on a mid-blue background. It shows a stereographic projection of the Earth centered on the North Pole under a serpent coiled around a staff. Two ears of wheat 'cradle' the image. The projection symbolizes the global nature of the organization, while the serpent and staff are a widely recognized symbol of medical help and knowledge.

External Links

World Health Organization: World Health Day 2008

United Nations' World Health Day Observances

Other calendars

• Perpetual yearly calendar - make yearly calendar for any year
• Perpetual monthly calendar - shows only one month at a time
• Custom calendar - make customized calendars

Related links

• Moon Phase Calculator
• Find duration between two dates
• Add a number of days to a given date
• Find when you are 20000 days old - and other useless facts
• Countdown to New Year