Date: 4/5/2010
TUMSPR News: Dr. Hussein A. Gezairy, the director for the World Health Organization Office in the Eastern Mediterranean region in a letter to Iran’s health minister, Dr. Vahid-dastjerdi, hopes the 2010 World Health Day bring about national and regional boost in urban health and quality of life.
Dr. Hussein A. Gezairy, the director for the World Health Organization Office in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) who is an affiliated faculty member of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) too, in a letter to Iran’s health minister, Dr. Vahid-dastjerdi, has hoped the 2010 World Health Day bring about national and regional boost in urban health and quality of life.
The letter reads as follows:
Dear Dr. VAhid-dastjerdi,
I have the pleasure to inform Your Excellency that the World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, will celebrate World Health Day 2010 under the theme of “Urbanization and Health”. The theme of World Health Day 2010 will focus on the importance of addressing the challenges that can arise for health in an increasingly urbanized world.
For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population live in cities, with over one third of them living in slums with no adequate basic services, and the proportion is growing. It is estimated that by 2030 two-thirds of us will be living in urban areas. Considering that urbanization is an irreversible trend that is now part of the world that we live in, it brings new realities to the health landscape. Unplanned urban growth puts populations at increasing risk of poor quality of life, poor health coverage, unsafe housing, poor sanitation, unsafe drinking water, higher vulnerability to disasters, and hence higher risk of disease, injury and mortality. By acknowledging and embracing this reality, WHO takes the leadership in one of the greatest challenges facing the world this century.
As with previous World Health Days the celebration of this day galvanizes the entire Organization and its partners around a single health issue. The key message of World Health Day 2010 is to make health a priority in urban policy. Urbanization encompasses many health challenges, some of which directly or indirectly impact on the health and livelihood of urban dwellers. Therefore, the involvement of all stakeholders, policy makers, ministers of health and of internal affairs, municipal authorities, mayors and governors, partners and donors, nongovernmental organizations and United Nations agencies, media and community groups is key to improving health in our cities.
In this regard, we are inviting cities in the Region to join a global movement entitled "1000 cities, 1000 lives". The key players in this initiative will be communities, nongovernmental organizations, mayors or governors and actors from the relevant development sectors at the city level, as well as all health care providers and managers. Our target for the Region is to have 150 participating cities, which will be called “Health Friendly Cities” (HFC). This along with other activities will give an incentive for active stakeholder involvement.
To confirm a city's participation, the Mayor/Governor or concerned city official or WHO Representative in the country should register the name of the city online through the following portal: www.who.int/whd2010. Once registered, this city will be flagged and can be viewed on Google Earth. Also, to ensure coordinated action all cities of the Region, WHO has issued a "Letter of Cooperation". This letter is an agreement between the Governor or Mayor of the city and the concerned WHO Representative in the country committing the city to actively carry out world Health Day activities. WHO Representatives and national focal points for community-based initiatives in the country will provide technical support. Resources should be generated at the national and local level to implement planned activities.
WHO calls on city candidates who are ready to join "1000 cities, 1000 lives" movement to register, preferably by 7 September 2009. I hope Your Excellency will support this initiative and encourage cities to participate in this movement.
This year's campaign will be a year-long activity, continuing beyond 7 April 2010. This will give WHO and Member States the chance to implement many of their traditional activities in a more inclusive and expanded manner with more flexibility in time. We encourage Member States to develop plans with a number of booster events to maintain the momentum of World Health Day throughout the year. Below are suggested activities that may be implemented during the course of the year. Your Excellency may also wish to consider these activities to take place on Wednesday, 7 April 2010 and Friday, 9 April 2010.
• Family walk
• Healthy life style behavior
• No smoking days
• Tree and flower planting and environmental campaign
• Healthy Nutrition days
• Social solidarity activities
• Safe Drive days
• School health campaign
• Free routine physical screening
• Community and Mayor's forum
• Art competition for school children
• Video and snapshot competitions for university students
These are just a few ideas which your Excellency may wish to consider, of course adding what you feel to be suitable. I look forward to receiving your Excellency's ideas and feedback on the activities to be carried out to mark World Health Day in your country.
WHO is preparing an information package containing materials for World Health Day which will tackle all aspects of urbanization and health. In continuation of last year's use of electronic media for a “green campaign" , and also in line with WHO policies to promote the culture of protecting the environment, the Regional Office has planned to initiate and disseminate a large portion of World Health Day 2010 materials in electronic formats. This will ensure Member States receive the media and communication products faster and in adjustable formats, enabling language and cultural adaptation, to further suit each Member State. The campaign will include a wide range of web, e-mail, and multimedia interactive products, for sharing data, collection of feedback and on-line updates. Your Excellency may wish to access the above mentioned portal for more detail and to view the progress/updates on this event.
It is my firm belief that our continued collaboration will give this important day the success worthy of its message. World Health Day 2010 promises to further help in developing national and regional strategies and plans that can contribute to improved urban health and quality of life, reduce health concerns, improve slums and urban poor conditions, increase community awareness and participation, and foster sustainable healthy urban communities/cities in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Kind regards,
Yours sincerely,
Hussein A. Gezairy, M.D., F.R.C.S.
Regional Director
http://publicrelations.tums.ac.ir/english/news/detail.asp?newsID=16329
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