World Healthy Day 2024: My health, my right

Sunday 07 April

World Health Day

The theme for 2024 was chosen by the World Health Organization (WHO) to champion the right of everyone, everywhere to have:

access to quality health services, education, and information
safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions
freedom from discrimination

We asked the staff at Imperial WHOCC to share an insight, lesson, challenge or success story on this year’s theme…..

7th of April is the world heath day. It represents the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. It focuses each year on a specific public health concern. We celebrate it, to highlight the importance of making our health a priority. As we know, health makes people handle other aspects of life efficiently. This year the theme is broad and of global concern “my Health, my right”. It reflects the right of everybody to have equal access to health services and to have healthy life in term of good nutrition, clean air and water, good mental health and safe place to live without violence or crimes. It’s the responsibility of the individuals and governments to help achieve this goal of health equity. Let’s all come together to raise awareness and promote the urgency to have health equity. – Fakhria

The theme for the upcoming World Health Day 2024, “My health, my right,” emphasizes the urgent need for universal access to healthcare and essential resources for well-being. While health is acknowledged as a fundamental human right in many nations, millions still face threats from diseases, disasters, conflicts, and environmental hazards. Governments must go beyond mere recognition and implement laws guaranteeing healthcare access for all. Key principles and strategies that governments can embrace include adopting a multisectoral approach, empowering communities, prioritizing prevention, making decisions based on data, ensuring accountability, and promoting global solidarity. These principles serve as a guide for policymakers to achieve health equity and safeguard the right to health for every individual worldwide. – Ryan

This Sunday, we are celebrating World Health Day, centered around the theme “my Health, my right”. It serves as powerful reminder that access to healthcare is a fundamental human right, regardless of one’s financial, ethnic and cultural background. In today’s uncertain times, it is more crucial than ever to redouble our efforts towards achieving Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC).

As we strive towards the ambitious goal of Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) by 2030, ensuring widespread availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of healthcare services will be crucial. However, our commitments should not stop there. World Health Day is not only an opportunity to make us more aware of our rights to accessing healthcare, our decision autonomy and right to privacy; it also serves as a call to action for policymakers to enact legislation that strengthens healthcare systems, making them more resilient, equitable and high-performing.

Health extends beyond medical care alone. It also encompasses a variety of factors, including access to clean water and air, nutritious food, safe housing and freedom from violence and discrimination among others. We should therefore celebrate this day from a more holistic perspective, by not forgetting to also raise awareness about the wider determinants of health.

We should use this opportunity to reaffirm our dedication to achieving our set targets, while celebrating the milestones we have already reached. Let’s continue working towards a future in which health would truly be a universal right. – Phil

As we mark World Health Day 2024 under the theme “My health, my right,” it’s crucial to recognise that health encompasses access to healthcare, healthy behaviours, and lifestyles. This theme is a powerful reminder that everyone deserves the opportunity to lead a healthy life, free from preventable diseases and ailments. Access to healthcare services is undoubtedly essential, but the promotion of healthier behaviours and lifestyles that can prevent illness is equally important.

In today’s world, where non-communicable diseases (#NCDs) are on the rise, adopting healthier behaviours such as balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, stress management, and avoiding harmful substances like tobacco is paramount. However, achieving these behaviours can be challenging without access to supportive environments that facilitate healthy choices.

Therefore, this World Health Day, let us advocate for UHE (Universal Healthy Environments) for affordable, nutritious, unprocessed food, safe spaces for physical activity, clean air and water, and opportunities for education and awareness about healthy living. By addressing both access to healthcare and promoting healthy behaviours, we can truly uphold the right to health for all. – Celine

As a surgeon and innovator in the field, I’m honored to celebrate World Health Day 2024 under the theme “My Health, My Right.” Today reminds us of the crucial importance of universal access to healthcare, including safe surgical practices.

Did you know that we’re currently short of 500,000 surgeons worldwide? Shockingly, 1.5 million deaths occur every year due to the lack of access to surgical care. Additionally, we’re facing a staggering need for 143 million extra surgeries annually.

Ensuring every individual has access to high-quality surgical care is not just a goal—it’s a fundamental right. From comprehensive training for all surgeons to maintaining safety standards in every operating theatre, we must prioritise excellence and accessibility to surgical care worldwide.

Let’s commit to promoting universal access to surgical care through rigorous training and the implementation of safe surgical practices. Together, let’s make quality surgical care a reality for every patient, everywhere. – David

We at the WHOCC remain steadfast in our collective efforts of upholding humanity, ethics, and the protection of all people including vulnerable populations in conflict zones and those fleeing war and persecution.

In the midst of the highest number of violent conflicts since World War II, our colleagues are there providing healthcare services to those in need populations. The recent escalation to targeting of hospitals, schools and aid workers, is therefore deeply concerning. Targeting health facilities is an egregious crime, taking a significant toll on healthcare workers already working under stressful conditions with limited resources. As stipulated by International Humanitarian Law, healthcare infrastructure and healthcare workers must be safeguarded.

We beseech all of you to leverage your influence and take decisive actions to stop war and prevent further harm. We stand in solidarity with any efforts you may undertake to address this critical issue. The prevention of violence against children, innocent lives, and healthcare workers is a shared responsibility that demands collaborative and decisive international action. – ArPHA

“My health, my right” theme encompasses all people, all ethnicities, all genders and calls for review of health-related policies worldwide. With the recent shift in the media, science and culture menopause began to be better understood and is slowly leaving the shade of taboo in the past. With nearly four million women in the menopausal age in the UK, the UK government appointed Helen Tomlinson as the Government’s Menopause Employment Champion as of 6 March 2023 to raise awareness and drive menopause friendly policies within workplace.

On 1 April 2023 the government also introduced Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) prescription prepayment certificate which allows women to access effective treatment for menopausal symptoms in the form of HRT for just £19.30 per year as opposed to each prescription payment, which currently stands at £9.56 per item. This policy makes the HRT available to more women and reduces the cost as one of the barriers to essential healthcare.

Both governmental initiatives are great examples of making menopause care more accessible and available. They can serve as inspiration to other healthcare systems. – Ela

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates another 12 million more girls, some as young as 10, will become girl child brides this year. Girl child brides, too young to have the legal rights of an adult, are not fully free to consent to a lifelong commitment. Rather, the decision is made by another person to contractually bind girls in relationships that are unequal, manipulative, or predatory. Girl child brides are deprived of their agency and bodily autonomy, suffering unequal life outcomes to their peers. They are denied their basic rights to education, employment, health, and welfare, with the greatest burden on girls from minority, marginalised and disadvantaged groups. Moreover, every piece of research shows girl child brides are at greater risk of domestic violence, poverty, obstetric injury, chronic illness, and early death.

Great work was done in the decade before 2020, with UNICEF reporting a 15% reduction in the number of young women who were married as children. However, there was an alarming increase in the number of girl child brides during the SARS-CoV-02 pandemic. If we hope to achieve the United Nations’ goal to eliminate child, early, and forced marriage by 2030 (SDG5.3) we must address the root causes of socioeconomic inequalities that disproportionately impact girls and drive child marriage. – Rachel

At the Imperial WHOCC London we join Dr Tedros and the World Health Organization to call on all people to demand My Health My Right! for persons with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS, and for mental health rights.

“Human rights are universal rights of all human beings, regardless of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. The right to health and other health-related human rights are legally binding commitments enshrined in international human rights instruments. WHO’s Constitution also recognizes the right to health. Every human being has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Countries have a legal obligation to develop and implement legislation and policies that guarantee universal access to quality health services and address the root causes of health disparities, including poverty, stigma and discrimination. The right to health is indivisible from other human rights, including the rights to education, participation, food, housing, work and information. Universal healthcare coverage (UHC) grounded in primary health care helps countries realize the right to health by ensuring all people have affordable, equitable access to health services.” – World Health Organisation

United Nations SDG Target 3.3:
End the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases; and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases, and other communicable diseases.

The Global Health Sector Strategies (GHSS) on HIV for the period 2022–2030 promote disease-specific goals to end AIDS by 2030:
1. Deliver high-quality, evidence-based, people-centred services.
2. Optimise systems, sectors and partnerships for impact.
3. Generate and use data to drive decisions for action.
4. Engage empowered communities and civil society.
5. Foster innovations for impact.

Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) facilitates the consolidation of disease- and intervention-specific agendas, priorities, and approaches for HIV/AIDS. Core to UHC is the concept of universality; quality healthcare should be non-discriminatory and accessible. People living with HIV/AIDS should be able to access the entire range of HIV services free from financial hardships and discrimination.

Mental health is increasingly acknowledged as a public health priority and human rights imperative. Unfortunately, laws on mental health still often fail to address discrimination and human rights violations, including in mental healthcare settings. The WHO together with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, have developed and published “Mental health, human rights and legislation: guidance and practice”. Providing key information on how to adopt a human rights-based approach when reforming, implementing, or evaluating mental health related laws, so that countries can assess whether their laws align with current human rights standards.