The date of 7 April marks the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. For this year, WHO notes that COVID-19 has highlighted that some people are able to live healthier lives and have better access to health services than others - entirely due to the conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work and age.
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 leads to unnecessary suffering, avoidable illness, and premature death, states WHO, and it harms our societies and economies.
WHO is calling on leaders to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health - a campaign on this will be launched on the dedicated World Health Day 2021 web page.