World Health Day, observed annually on April 7th, marks a global moment to draw attention to important health issues and promote awareness and action for global health.
Established by the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Health Day focuses on a specific health theme each year, addressing pressing challenges that affect communities worldwide. This year, the theme “My health, my right” advocates for universal access to essential rights, including quality healthcare, education and information; access to safe drinking water, unpolluted air, nutritious food, adequate housing, fair labour conditions, environmental preservation, and freedom from discrimination.
The day provides an opportunity for governments, organisations, and individuals to come together to discuss, and implement initiatives that can improve public health outcomes. The day aims to raise awareness about the importance of health and well-being, highlight key health issues, and encourage collective efforts to address health disparities.
World Health Day is a call to action for global solidarity. It emphasises the need for accessible healthcare, health education, and disease prevention on an international scale. Each year’s theme reflects the evolving health landscape and encourages collaboration to achieve sustainable improvements in health outcomes for people around the world.
Third World Quarterly and Central Asian Survey support the objectives of World Health Day to share a common goal in addressing health disparities, promoting human rights, and advocating for equitable access to healthcare. To mark the day, we have curated eight free-to-view articles that explore a wide range of global health issues:
- Implementing the human right to water and sanitation: a study of global and local discourses, Madeline Baer & Andrea Gerlak, Third World Quarterly 18 Aug 2015
- Political responsibility and global health, Nana K. Poku & Jesper Sundewall, Third World Quarterly 19 Sep 2017
- Towards ecological public health? Cuba’s moral economy of food and agriculture, Marisa Wilson, Denise Baden & Stephen Wilkinson, Third World Quarterly 22 July 2020
- Women’s bargaining power and contraception use in post-Soviet Tajikistan, Zarrina H. Juraqulova & Ellison B. Henry, Central Asian Survey 03 Sep 2020
- The rise and fall of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition: a tale of two discourses, Dagmar Milerová Prášková & Josef Novotný, Third World Quarterly 11 May 2021
- A void in Central Asia research: climate change, Roman Vakulchuk, Anne Sophie Daloz ,Indra Overland, Haakon Fossum Sagbakken & Karina Standal, Central Asian Survey 26 May 2022
- From financial inclusion to financial health of refugees: urging for a shift in perspective, Swati Mehta Dhawan, Kim Wilson & Hans-Martin Zademach, Third World Quarterly 19 Oct 2023
- Let’s talk about researchers’ mental well-being, Jasmin Dall’Agnola, Central Asian Survey 30 Nov 2023
The articles will be available temporarily as free-to-view until the end of May 2024.
