World Health Day – 7 April 2010

World Health Day 2010 will focus on urbanization and health. The theme was selected in recognition of the effect urbanization has on our collective health globally and for us all individually.

Some facts on urbanization

* Over 3 billion people live in cities.
* In 2007, the world’s population living in cities surpassed 50% for the first time in history.
* By 2030, six out of every 10 people will be city dwellers, rising to seven out of every 10 people by 2050.

World Health Day campaign: 1000 Cities, 1000 Lives

With the campaign 1000 cities, 1000 lives, events will be organized worldwide during the week of 7 – 11 April 2010.

The global goals of the campaign are:

1000 cities: to open up public spaces to health, whether it be activities in parks, town hall meetings, clean-up campaigns, or closing off portions of streets to motorized vehicles.1000 lives: to collect 1000 stories of urban health champions who have taken action and had a significant impact on health in their cities.

Source: WHO Release News