World Health Day is celebrated every year on April 7 in order to promote awareness about general health and well-being. According to WHO’s definition of healthy, it is an essential part of human happiness and wellbeing. Health does not only mean being physically healthy but it is also about being mentally and socially healthy. If a person has all these, he/she is considered to be healthy.
Theme of World Health Day 2022
Our Planet, Our Health has been chosen as the theme for World Health day 2022 by WHO because, In the midst of a pandemic, a polluted planet, increasing diseases like cancer, asthma, heart disease, on World Health Day 2022, WHO wants to focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being.
Climate Crisis equivalent to Health crises?
More than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes. This includes the climate crisis which is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The climate crisis is hence also a health crisis.
Relevance of this day
While the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the healing power of science, it also highlighted the inequities in our world. The pandemic has revealed weaknesses in all areas of society and underlined the urgency of creating sustainable well-being societies committed to achieving equitable health now and for future generations without breaching ecological limits. The present design of the economy leads to inequitable distribution of income, wealth and power, with too many people still living in poverty and instability. A well-being economy has human well-being, equity and ecological sustainability as its goals. These goals are translated into long-term investments, well-being budgets, social protection and legal and fiscal strategies. Breaking these cycles of destruction for the planet and human health requires legislative action, corporate reform and individuals to be supported and incentivized to make healthy choices.
Top CSR Projects to improve Healthcare
1. MANSI initiative by Tata Steel Limited
Lack of easy access to institutional care and low level of awareness about proper care for mothers and babies lead to high mortality among infants in remote rural areas. With an aim to address the same, Tata Steel Limited launched its initiative ‘MANSI’ (Maternal & Newborn Survival Initiative) which reduces mortality among neonates and infants by enhancing the capacity of Government health volunteers (ASHAs/Sahiyas) in the Home Based Newborn Care (HBNC) system.
2. Healthcare Initiatives by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
Project Dil Without Bill: Project Dil without Bill is aimed at supporting heart surgeries, free of cost, for people with heart ailments from low-income groups, particularly children. Under the project, the organization organized health camps to raise awareness and identify patients with heart ailments. This project has given life and hope to thousands of families over the years. Through this project, 600 successful heart surgeries were carried out in Financial Year 2019-20, bringing smiles to families of beneficiaries.
3. National Cancer Institute by ONGC
At Nagpur, ONGC has supported the setting up of National Cancer Institute, a 455 bedded quaternary care oncology center. The institute will provide a world-class oncology treatment facility at affordable rates to the general public of Central India. The state of the art radio diagnostic equipment and construction of the first floor and ground floor of the institute has been funded by ONGC. More than 10,000 people have benefited through this project up to April 2019.
Conclusion
World Health Day encourages discussion on health-related issues and actions on an international level as it is one of the major campaigns of the WHO. WHO makes sure to choose a pressing health issue for every year’s World Health Day theme so that people are updated and keep learning about the health crisis or problems the world is facing. Moreover, all the activities, campaigns, and discussions are organized keeping the theme in mind. World Health Day also works towards eliminating any stigma related to health issues so that people can talk about them openly without any shame and come forward to seek help and treatment.
