The 2021 World Health Day theme is "Our World is Unequal" and focuses on health inequities that have been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some groups have limited access to quality healthcare and struggle with poor living conditions, employment opportunities, and access to services. This leads to unnecessary suffering and death while also harming societies and economies. WHO is calling on leaders to ensure all people can live and work in conditions that support good health, monitor health inequities, and ensure access to quality healthcare for all.

1. 2021

2. The World Health Organisation
was established on 7th April 1948.
 7th April is commemorated as
World Health Day since 1950.

3. THEME
Each World Health Day is given a Theme, to draw
attention to a specific health topic of concern to
people all over the world each year.
The WHO organizes international, regional and
local events on the Day related to a particular theme.
World Health Day is acknowledged by various
governments and non-governmental organizations,
who also organize activities and highlight their
support in media reports.

4. THEME OF 2021 WORLD HEALTH DAY

5. OUR WORLD IS AN
UNEQUAL ONE
 COVID-19 has highlighted that some
people are able to live healthier lives
and have better access to health services
than others.
 Inequalities caused by position, status
and voice in society and the conditions
in which they are born, grow, live, work
and age.
 All over the world, some groups not
only have limited access to quality
health services but also struggle to
make ends meet with little daily
income, have poorer access to safe
housing conditions and quality
education, fewer employment
opportunities that pay a living wage,
inequality, and have little or no access
to safe environments, clean water and
health care services, and
experience food insecurity.
 These conditions can lead to
unnecessary suffering, avoidable
illness, and premature death, and it
harms our societies and economies.

6. THIS IS NOT ONLY UNFAIR:
IT IS PREVENTABLE
• WHO is calling on leaders to ensure that everyone has
living and working conditions that are conducive to good
health.
• At the same time urging leaders to monitor health
inequities, and to ensure that all people are able to access
quality health services when and where they need them.
• COVID-19 has hit all countries hard, but its impact has
been harshest on those communities which were already
vulnerable, who are more exposed to the disease, less
likely to have access to quality health care services and
more likely to experience adverse consequences as a result
of measures implemented to contain the pandemic.

7. LEADERS SHOULD
WORK
TOGETHER
COLLECT
RELIABLE DATA
TACKLE
INEQUITIES
ACT BEYOND
BORDERS
• Work hand in
hand with affected
communities and
individuals to
address the root
causes of inequities
and to implement
solutions within and
beyond the health
sector to address
them.
• The impact will be
greatest when
governments and
communities work
together, in a
coordinated
approach.
• Ensure collection and
use of timely and
reliable health data -
disaggregated by
gender, age, income,
education, migratory
status, disability,
geographic location
and other
characteristics relevant
to the national context.
• Only then is it possible
to assess inequities
across population
subgroups and take
actions that have
impact.
• Adopt a whole-of-
government approach
to tackling the root
causes of
ineaquities and
increase investment in
primary health care.
• This is key to meeting
today’s challenges of
ensuring Health for All
and to building the
resilience of tomorrow.
• Act beyond national
borders. For example,
only when we can
protect, test and treat
the whole global
population can we end
the COVID-19
pandemic.
• As well as assuring an
equitable supply of
vaccines, tests and
treatments, we must
strengthen national
and international
mechanisms and build
community trust and
participation into their
delivery and uptake to
ensure access for all
globally.

8. WHO is committed to ensuring that everyone,
everywhere, can realize the right to good health.

9. https://www.who.int/data/gho