World Health Day

World Health Day was created by the World Health Organization to help raise awareness on various global health concerns. In order to highlight these global health concerns in depth, each year has its own designated theme where a significant concern is explored. World Health Day brings important issues to the forefront in order to create a healthier, more sustainable society.

Some of the most recent themes include:

• 2010: Urbanization and Health: Make Cities Healthier
• 2011: Antimicrobial Resistance: No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow. 
• 2012: Good Health: Add Life to Years.
• 2013: Healthy Heartbeat, Healthy Blood Pressure.
• 2014: Vector-borne Disease: Small Bite, Big Threat.
• 2015: Food Safety.
• 2016: Halt the Rise: Beat Diabetes.
• 2017: Depression: Let’s Talk.
• 2018: Universal Health Coverage: everyone, everywhere.
• 2019: Visionary Women: champions of peace and non- violence.
• 2020: Support Nurse and Midwives.
• 2021: Building a Better and Fairer World.

World Health Day is celebrated each year on April 7th. Although it was first declared in 1948 at the First Health Assembly, the first World Health Day did not come into effect until April 7, 1950.

We celebrate World Health Day because it gives us the opportunity to focus our attention on many health-related issues that impact our daily lives. It is through this initiative that the World Health Organization is able to focus worldwide attention on specific healthcare challenges throughout the world in an effort to increase global citizenship. It allows us to think about health in relation to our environment, including our social connections, as a way of exploring some very important health issues, including: mental health, childcare, climate change and more.

The 2021 theme for World Health Day focuses on, “Building a fairer, healthier world for everyone.” The World Health Organization is interested in learning how we, as a society, can eliminate health inequities during a Global Pandemic. They highlight that attainable health standards are a human right regardless of race, religion, political belief, and economic or social condition. World Health Day asks us to align our body, mind, and spirit in an effort to create social change regarding health-related issues.

Everyone can participate in World Day because health affects everyone. It is important to be aware of your personal health and the health of those around you.

You can celebrate World Health Day at home, in school, throughout your community; practically anywhere! Everything we encounter on a daily basis affects our health, so it is important for us to be mindful in thinking about where to spread the message.

You can celebrate World Health Day in a variety of ways. You can do your part by advocating for change by raising awareness on global health-related issues that make healthcare more accessible. You can start by getting your blood pressure checked, reducing your salt intake, or exercising to any of Trickster’s Activities that will have students remembering the importance of health for years to come!

One size does not fit all

How you and your school decide to use the suggested activities, performances, and resources will depend completely on what you and your peers are comfortable with, and the time you have available to designate to the project(s). Trickster is also available to consult with if you would like extra help, resource connections, and/or coordination. You can go big, involving every class with different projects, performances and events throughout the school, or, you can go as small as just doing an activity listed in the materials for your own class which you believe will help them connect to the subject matter. 

Due to the circumstances of COVID19, not everything suggested will be possible, and many will need to be adjusted to suit your needs and comfort level. As we hope to carry this forward, and know that schools are looking to future projects much further down the road, we do want to plant the seeds for what those event days might look like too. There will be suggestions throughout on how you can modify activities for social distancing, but you are also able at any point to choose and modify activities and projects to achieve the level of safety your school is comfortable with.