The World Health Organisation celebrated the World Health Day on the 7th April 2005. This day has been celebrated annually since 1950. The objective of the day is to raise global awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the WHO. This then serves as a launch for a long-term advocacy programme from which activities will be undertaken and resources provided well beyond 7 April. Past examples include the health theme of 1995 which was “Global Eradication of Polio”, and today the world is on the brink of polio eradication.
The theme for this year was “Make Every Mother and Child Count”, reflecting the need to change today’s reality where half a million women die during pregnancy and childbirth, and where nearly 11 million children die before they reach 5 years of age. The majority of these deaths occur in South-central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
