World Health Day - Monday, April 7, 2025

Every April 7, the World Health Organization chooses to highlight a special theme current in the wellness and medical world. Ranging from mental health to insurance and everything in between, this day sets the tone for what’s to come in the world stage. This year’s World Health Day will shine a light on nurses and midwives, the on-the-call, restless workforce that revolutionized the healthcare industry as we know it today.

World Health Day is celebrated every year on the founding day of the World Health Organization.  Established in 1950 this event has a theme each year to draw attention to a current world health issue.  The WHO puts together regional, local, and international events on this day related to that theme.  Local governments also tend to jump on this band-wagon, after all, global health means everyone!   On this day you may take some extra steps to care for your health, consider getting a gym membership (and going!), starting a diet, or starting multi-vitamins!

Even better, get involved with the local events or organize one yourself!  Spreading the news of health and threats to the same can be an excellent way to celebrate this holiday, and inform others of the important issue of global health.  Themes throughout the years have varied, but always covered important issues of the day, covering everything from the Global Polio Eradication, staying active while aging, even road safety.  All of these issues were deemed to be important enough to global health that they merited an occasion of their very own on this date.

The World Health Organization is an agency of the United Nations that focuses on the public health of the world at large.  The WHO has a constitution that countries involved in the United Nations had an opportunity to sign, and unanimously did, agreeing to the tenets laid out within to promote the general health of the globe.  Through its efforts we have seen the eradication of small pox, and its focus then turned to communicable diseases, with a particular focus on tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Everyone needs to be concerned about the health of themselves and their community, and as such it’s a good time to turn your attention to this year’s theme.  By checking in at their website at http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/ you can find out what the current theme is, and find all sorts of plans and activities that will help you raise awareness about this important issue.  You can keep up with it every year, and play a big part in helping to promote global health all around.

The World Health Organization has been involved in mobilizing many health efforts the world over. Describing what medicines are essential for public health, and which diseases to give a particular focus to.  The movement to eradicate smallpox started in 1958, initiated by pressure from Viktor Zhdanov, the Deputy Minister of Health for the then USSR.  In 1979, the WHO declared that smallpox had in fact been eradicated, making it the first disease in history to be eliminated by the dedicated efforts of humans.

As you can see, celebrating World Health Day is very important, and you can use it to organize fund-raisers to support local free clinics and other public health sources.  Everyone can take a hand in improving the overall health of the world, just by starting with yourself, your family, and your community.  Blood banks are often taking volunteers to help out with their efforts, and the ability to have healthy, fresh blood on hand is central to saving many lives.

You can also take the task at home, by getting to know your environment and property, and eliminate all possible sources of standing water.  Standing water is a breeding ground for insects such as mosquitos, who spread disease by consuming the blood of its hosts, and moving from victim to victim, spreading it as it goes.  So this year, take some time to spread the word about how you and your neighbors can improve the world’s health, on World Health Day!