World Health Day 2022

Thursday April7, 2022 is World Health Day! World Health Day marks the founding anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO was founded in 1948 and became the leading global health authority that’s within the United Nations System. Every year, the organization chooses to shed light on a specific theme that is going on in the medical and wellness world. For the theme of 2022’s World Health day, WHO will “focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being1.”

The World Health Organization estimates that there have been over 13 million deaths across the world that occurred because of environmental causes that have been avoidable. Included in these causes is the climate crisis. Human activities, like industrialization, have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Due to over burning of fossil fuels, over 90% of people are breathing in unhealthy air. The global warming has caused extreme weather patterns, water scarcity, and land degradation affecting people’s health and displacing them from their home lands. Pollution and plastics have been found all throughout every terrain in the world, including our oceans and in the food chain. We are consuming food that contain plastics.

If nations meet all of the goals of the Paris Agreement, about a million lives a year worldwide, by the year 2050, will be saved by reducing air pollution alone. Avoiding the most critical climate impacts could help save over 250,000 additional deaths a year between 2030 – 2050. The deaths that could occur would be from malaria, malnutrition, heat stress, and diarrhea.

What can you do to help protect our planet and your health? On the individual front:

We can not do this alone, governments and corporations alike need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, stop fossil fuel subsidies, and re-invest the fuel subsidies into public health initiatives.

Resource:

• Use your voice to demand climate actions to protect your health
• Walk or bike to work at least once a week if possible, or choose public transportation
• Buy your produce from local producers and limit intake of high processed foods
• Change to a renewable energy provider
• Purchase less plastic and use reusable grocery bags

• https://nationaltoday.com/world-health-day/