World Health Day 2010 to Focus on Urbanization and Health

It is World Health Day today, the Foundation Day (7th April) of World Health Organization. And like every year, the WHO has chosen a theme for it that is of utmost relevance to the global health issues - urbanization and health. Starting today on 7th of April, various events will be organized worldwide throughout the week till 11th of April 2010 to highlight this area of concern, and mobilize the campaign of the year '1000 cities, 1000 lives'.

Through this campaign, the WHO intends to highlight the impact of urban living on human health and encourage the efforts of making cities across the world healthier places for people to live in.

Urbanization and health theme of the World Health Day 2010 is very relevant in the present scenario because, everyday, modern man is falling prey to the urban lifestyle. Unhealthy competition has shrouded our minds in a race to earn more and more money. We have no time whatsoever for ourselves, and have stopped pursuing any of our individual interests. This has impacted our emotional and mental health to a severe extent. We have grown more impatient than ever before, and tend to react violently at the slightest turn of things.

Food habit has changed drastically too. Homemade food and traditional cuisine has become old fashioned for all of us. Even the poor people do not eat nutritious food; they rely more on roadside food which is cheap, oily and full of fat. Result - higher incidence of diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases.

These are also accredited to our excessive dependence on electronic gadgets like cell phones and computers. Children, who are the future of a nation, are increasingly becoming a home-bound lot, who is totally averse to any kind of outdoor activity.

There is a marked change in the way of parenting as well. Parents do not think twice before signing the death warrant of their beloved underage sons and daughters by managing to get driving licenses for them, or by keeping their licensed guns and pistols within their easy reach. All these have resulted in a serious degradation of the overall health condition of urban man.

Through the '1000 cities, 1000 lives' campaign of the World Health Day 2010, the WHO aims to undo these aforesaid effects of urban living to a significant extent, and achieve the following goals at the same time:

• 1000 cities: to open up public places to promote good health awareness, whether it is through activities in the parks, meetings in town halls, cleaning-up campaigns, or closing off portions of streets to motorized vehicles.
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• 1000 lives: to collect 1000 stories of real life urban health champions, whose actions have someway impacted health in their cities.

Health is an embodiment of a healthy body, mind and soul. It is only a healthy individual who can dream to build a healthy and prosperous nation. So, it is high time that we wake up to these serious issues and take a pledge of making ourselves healthier by keeping our surroundings and environment clean and disease-free.