7th April is celebrated as World Health Day. Since the 1950s, World Health Organization marked this date to spread general awareness worldwide regarding different prevailing health issues and how to prevent and combat them efficiently.
Each year, WHO announces a theme for World Health Day. Last year in 2020, it was dedicated to the nurses and midwives to honour their contribution to the health sector. This year, however, the theme is different. The theme for 2021’s World Health Day is “Building a fairer, healthier world”.
Building a fairer, healthier world
This theme has been announced keeping in mind the disparities that were observed in the year 2020 because of COVID-19. Health systems are not standard all over the world. Some people have better access to medicines and treatments than others. Some get to outlive COVID-19, and some succumb to the deadly virus due to low immunity, lack of nutrition, inadequate health treatments, and lack of clean water, etc.
The predicament of COVID-19 forced experts to analyse and thus a promise has been made to strive and build a fairer healthier world, where everyone gets access to quality food supply and health treatments as their basic human right.
Health Conditions in Pakistan
The current health conditions are pretty dire in Pakistan. With a population of over 60 million below the poverty line, the majority remains deprived of the health treatments and facilities they are entitled to. Diseases like Malaria, Dengue Fever, Tuberculosis, and Cancer are running rampant and with COVID-19 under its third deadly wave, the situation is rather grave.
Although the authorities and government are trying their level best to accommodate as many people, we are still facing various challenges to extend medical attention to all those in need. The vaccination drive for the elderly has commenced and we expect to have the majority of people vaccinated in the following months.
Challenges of COVID-19
While COVID-19 has not taken kindly to any country, the developing nations especially have taken the brunt of it. With complete nation-wide lockdowns not an option due to the crippling economy, corrective measures and strict SOPs are being carried out to the maximum capacity to contain the virus and keep people protected.
In such dire circumstances, telemedicine portals have been a massive help in extending medical attention without exposing the staff and patients to external environment. CloudClinik has played its role in facilitating people get in touch with medical experts remotely from the comfort of their homes.
This World Health Day, the theme of building a fairer and healthier world sits aptly to our situations. It implores our leaders to diligently take notice of the inequalities in the nation when it comes to health facilities and ensure proper health care systems are established. Let’s us all pledge to play our part in spreading awareness about good health.
