World Health Day 2018

World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on 7 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as other related organisations.

In 1948, the World Health Organization held the first World Health Assembly. The Assembly decided to celebrate 7 April of each year, with effect from 1950, as World Health Day.

World Health Day is held to mark WHO’s founding, as is seen as an opportunity by the organisation to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year.

WHO organises international, regional and local events on the day which are related to a theme, which is universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere for 2018.

In this 70^th anniversary year, WHO is calling on world leaders to live up to the pledges they made when they agreed the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 and commit to the advance the health of all people. This means ensuring that everyone, everywhere can access essential quality health services without facing financial hardship.

The Organization will maintain a high-profile focus on Universal Health Coverage via a series of events through 2018, starting on World Health Day on 7 April with global and local conversations about ways to achieve health for all.

What World Health Day can do?

Some countries have already made significant progress towards universal health coverage. But half the world’s population is still unable to obtain the health services they need. If countries are to achieve the SDG target, one billion more people need to benefit from UHC by 2023.

World Health Day will shine a spotlight on the need for UHC - and the advantages it can bring. WHO and its partners will share examples of steps to take to get there through a series of events and conversations held at multiple levels.

As the WHO Director-General has said “No one should have to choose between death and financial hardship. No one should have to choose between buying medicine and buying food.”

Throughout 2018, WHO aims to inspire, motivate and guide UHC stakeholders to make commitments towards UHC:

•           Inspire: by highlighting policy-makers’ power to transform the health of their nation, framing the challenge as exciting and ambitious, and inviting them to be part of the change.

•           Motivate: by sharing examples of how countries are already progressing towards UHC and encourage others to find their own path.

•           Guide: by providing tools for structured policy dialogue on how to advance UHC domestically or supporting such efforts in other countries (e.g. expanding service coverage, improving quality of services, reducing out-of-pocket payments).

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