The theme for this year’s World Health Day is “Our Planet, Our Health”
April 7 is celebrated and observed as World Health Day. The major objective of this day is to draw attention to specific health issues concerning people across the world which is in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO estimates that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes. This includes the climate crisis which is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The climate crisis is also a health crisis.
The theme for this year’s World Health Day is “Our Planet, Our Health”. In the midst of a pandemic, a polluted planet, increasing diseases like cancer, asthma, heart disease, on World Health Day 2022, WHO will focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being.
Lets see what experts have to share on World Health Day 2022:
Sunita Nadhamuni, Head-Global Social Innovation and Lead-Digital LifeCare, Dell Technologies said, “World Health Day is a great reminder to recognise efforts, assess and collaborate for transformation of health programs that India needs to achieve for impact at grassroots. India is tackling a complex rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), with NCDs accounting for more than 60 per cent of the deaths today. The Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has an ambitious NCD program that works on prevention, detection, monitoring and management of NCDs at population-scale. With the adoption of technology that enables actionable insights for the government, this program is exemplifying how technology can improve service delivery at scale. As the technology partner to the MoHFW with Tata Trusts on this transformative initiative, we are excited in collaborating to enable digital inclusion for more and more people.”
Tarun Gupta, Co-Founder, Lissun said, “WHO defines health NOT as the absence of a disease in an individual, but as a state of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Today, one in 7 Indians is suffering from some form of mental health issue of varying severity (depression, anxiety included). Undoubtedly, mental health is the next emerging pandemic of 21st century. Thus re-envisioning of current medical practices is required. Integration of mental health care in medical treatments is the need of the hour. Research has proven that counselling and mental health therapy help improve the outcomes of medical procedures in chronic diseases, cancer, IVF, dialysis treatments and many others. Here, a relook at insurance policies is also crucial. IRDA should push for OPD reimbursements for psychology therapy and counselling. Insurers should cover non-hospitalisation treatments or OPD reimbursements for mentally ailing patients.”
R Nanda, Chief-CSR and HR, Tata Chemicals said, “World Health Day – this year is a reminder of prioritising the well-being of people and the environment, which has been disrupted in recent years due to the pandemic and socio-political upheavals. However, it has also given us an opportunity to break old patterns and work towards building a sustainable ecosystem towards a healthy environment.”
Jesal Doshi, CEO, B Medical Systems said, “In the coming years, digital technologies will drive a significant transformation of the healthcare sector. Technologies like IoT, machine-to-machine communications, wearable devices, telemedicine, and more will improve not just diagnosis and patient engagement, but also further enhance R&D efforts around the healthcare sector. For example, the development of artificial intelligence and wearable technology will help communities across the world in detecting and managing health conditions more efficiently. Big data will deliver superior outcomes, better efficiency, and lower costs. In the world of the medical cold chain, IoT will ensure full traceability from the manufacturer to the consumer. I also believe that we will see more instances of public and private sector stakeholders coming together and that equitable access to health services will take the centre stage in the efforts of governments across the world.”
Saurav Kasera, Co-founder, Clirnet added, “While digital transformation was slow in the healthcare industry, Covid has rapidly changed patient’s preferences; they are more aware and will demand quicker, better service. Unfortunately, a lot of effort in past by healthcare has been directed towards filling the digital divide only i.e. access to equipment, hardware, fancy apps without considering the extreme variance across patients (genetics, food habits, and financial capability), geography (tropic to extreme cold) and cultural/ religious practices leading to heterogeneity in healthcare practices across India. I believe there will be a huge transformation to fill this service divide promoting accessibility, affordability and quality of the services for patients. The trifecta of Technology, Knowledge and Institutional Resources and a balanced interaction among them will bring forward this powerful change.”