Tackling health inequalities should be a priority
COPENHAGEN, 7 April 2010: To mark World Health Day, WHO is launching a global campaign to raise awareness of the impact of increasing urbanization on the health and lifestyles of people around the globe.
WHO calls on municipal authorities and concerned citizens to take a close look at health inequalities in cities and take action, the WHO Regional Office for Europe writes in a press release Tuesday.
Over half the worlds population now lives in cities, and urbanization will be among the most important global health challenges during the 21st century. By 2030, 6 out of every 10 people around the globe will be city dwellers, rising to 7 out of 10 by 2050.
Urbanization is associated with many health chal-lenges – infectious diseases and noncommunicable diseases, including cancer and heart disease – as well as unhealthy life choices such as tobacco use and alcohol abuse.
In addition, city dwellers are more exposed to road traffic accidents, injuries, violence and crime. The urban poor suffer disproportionately from a wide range of diseases and other health challenges.
– With increasing urbanization, health inequalities in cities are on the rise. To reverse this trend, representatives of local and national governments are urged to develop policies to protect and promote health, across multiple sectors, including the environment, health, transport, education and urban planning, says Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
“Urbanization is one of the major threats to public health in the 21st century as urban poor people often face illness and premature death from preventable diseases due to lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and health facilities”, an official of the World Health Organization (WHO) added in a press statement.
WHO Regional Director for Asia Samlee Pliangbangchang, said in his message on the 62nd World Health Day 2010 that closing the urban equity gap and promoting healthy cities require urgent actions including efforts of both rich and poor urban dwellers.
The WHO campaign launched on Wednesday will seek to counter a triple threat to health in fast growing cities, home to more than half the world’s population. The global campaign starting on World Health Day aims to rally 1,000 cities to ‘open up public spaces to health’, by closing off portions of streets to traffic, to encourage exercise in parks and clean up campaigns.
The Jakarta Post quotes, the Indonesian Health Ministry’s director general of disease control and environmental health, Tjandra Yoga: “… ‘As of 2009, 43 percent of Indonesia’s citizens were dwelling in urban areas, and that figure is predicted to increase to 60 percent by 2025’ … Bambang Sarjono from the ministry’s Directorate General of Community’s Health Development said the main concerns of urban development were poverty, environment, industrialization, sociocultural and transportation.
The WHO Healthy Cities networks promote comprehensive and systematic policy and planning with an emphasis on health inequalities, urban poverty and participatory governance. They support partnership-based work across sectors, integrated planning and networking for solidarity and innovation.
“1000 cities, 1000 lives”
WHO’s global campaign – entitled “1000 cities, 1000 lives” – encourages efforts to make cities healthier places to live, and brings together mayors, citizens and nongovernmental organizations through a unique social media web site (http://1000cities.who.int/).
With the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), WHO will soon publish a report on urban health inequalities around the world, including a series of practical examples and policy recommendations for evidence-based interventions.
World Health Day is celebrated every year on 7 April, the anniversary of the founding of WHO. The Day aims to raise awareness of key health issues and provides a global platform for action.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Health Ministry’s director general of disease control and environmental health, Tjandra Yoga concluded: – As of 2009, 43 percent of Indonesias citizens were dwelling in urban areas, and that figure is predicted to increase to 60 percent by 2025.
Bambang Sarjono from the ministry’s Directorate General of Community’s Health Development said the main concerns of urban development were poverty, environment, industrialization, sociocultural and transportation.
Yderligere oplysninger hos:
Ms Zsofia Szilagyi
Communications Adviser
WHO Regional Office for Europe
Tel. (mobile): +45 24 67 48 46
E-mail: [email protected]
Useful links
World Health Day 2010 campaign web site:
http://1000cities.who.int/
World Health Day 2010 website:
http://www.euro.who.int/worldhealthday/20100325_1
WHO/Europe programme on Healthy Cities and urban governance:
http://www.euro.who.int/healthy-cities
Kilder: WHO og Verdensbanken
