Founded in 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) held the First World Health Assembly on April 7. In recognition of their founding, and in effort to promote awareness around the significance of global health, and what that means, the World Health Organization annually observes April 7 as World Health Day, along with many other health related organizations across the world.

Galvanizing awareness concerning health issues in less fortunate populations all over the globe is also a major focus of WHO; World Health Day is another opportunity for WHO to generate awareness surrounding that specific topic as well. Often times, the people of impoverished communities in the U.S. have minimal and limited access to vital healthcare resources needed to sustain a healthy quality of life (https://health.gov/healthypeople). In fact, the role of poverty as it pertains to health is one out of eleven health issues to watch in 2023 according to experts at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), along with issues such as: Long Covid, Cardiovascular Disease, Lower Respiratory Infections, Diabetes, Dementia, and Strengthening Health Systems. Also mentioned on the IHME website (www.healthdata.org), as health matters to watch this year, are Mental Health and Impact of Climate Change.

Aiming to educate and advocate for complete well-being, WHO strives to bolster the value of not only physical health, but mental and emotional health as well... and even the health of the planet! Let’s all join together on April 7 to celebrate World Health Day, and make 2023 the healthiest year yet!