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World Health Day 2024, the key to global wellness
When is World Health Day celebrated? It’s celebrated on April 7 annually. This day has tremendous importance for the population’s well-being. But what is World Health Day? It is a day that has helped eradicate smallpox, nearly eradicated polio, and has contributed to the progress in finding a cure for AIDS. It has achieved this by increasing pu...
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World Health Day designs to help raise awareness
Symbols
World Health Day symbols: hearts, planet Earth, and stethoscopes
World Health Day Color Palette
Prussian blue, a color that saves lives and helps against radiation poisoning
Prussian blue is also known by other names, such as Berlin or Paris blue. It is made by oxidizing ferrous ferrocyanide salts, creating a characteristic dark blue pigment. Prussian blue needed to be part of the World Health Day color palette: it’s listed on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, as it can help remove radioactive cesium and thallium after radiation exposure. If you are not yet surprised by discovering the healing effects of Prussian blue, there is a theory of the creation of this color that will amaze you. Supposedly, Johann Jacob Diesbach, a paint maker, created Prussian blue accidentally. He intended to produce a red cochineal dye. He used potash, ferric sulfate, and dried cochineal… but he tainted the potash with blood! This mixture reacted and turned blue!
World Health Day history: taking care of public health since the 40s
To understand why we celebrate World Health Day, we first need to know about the World Health Organization, also known as WHO. It is an agency that depends on the control of the United Nations, and its main concern is public health. This organization has several targets, as you can imagine. For example, they are in favor of universal health care coverage. They also deal with public health risks and stand up for universal well-being. Doesn’t this sound impressive to you? Let’s discover the most important milestones in the creation of World Health Day and some achievements related to this day!
The constitution of the World Health Organization
The beginning of a new (health) era
World Health Day cannot be understood unless we discuss the creation of one of the most important associations, the World Health Organization (WHO). Let’s begin with a little bit of history here. At the United Nations Conference in 1945, different countries agreed on the need for an international health organization. This dream became true in July 1946, when 61 countries signed a treatise to form the WHO. However, the first meeting of the WHO took place later, in 1948.
The First World Health Assembly
One of the greatest milestones in public health history
The constitution of the World Health Organization took place during the summer of 1948. Dr. Stampar was elected president for a year, and the executive board was also constituted. In addition, Geneva was chosen as the location for its headquarters. This first assembly focused on six of the major health issues in the World: nutrition, malaria, tuberculosis, venereal diseases, maternal and child health, and environmental sanitation. They also took care of other problems, such as viruses and parasitic diseases, together with mental health.
Changing the date
The Establishment of the World Health Day on April 7th
In the beginning, the World Health Organization (WHO) held its very first assembly on July 22, but in 1949, they decided to change it to April 7. This new date had effect from 1950. The change was quite successful, and it has remained the official World Health Day date since that year. The WHO focuses on different public health issues each year, as it brings several global concerns into focus. They have made efforts to eradicate polio and control HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. They also deal with food security, occupational health, drugs, cancer…
New year, new goals
Solving different public health issues each year
1950 was an important year, as one of the greatest achievements of that very year was a tuberculosis inoculation using the bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine. Every single year, the priorities and goals change. Let’s explore a few of them throughout the years: the WHO proposed a malaria eradication program in 1955. Three years later, in 1958, they intended to eradicate smallpox. The International Agency for Research in Cancer was created in 1965. In 2006, the WHO established a plan against the AIDS pandemic, and they also helped control the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.