Today is World Health Day. A day to bring worldwide attention to the importance of global health and to reflect on 75 years of global health cooperation with the World Health Organization. Today is an opportunity to recognize what we still need to achieve to improve global health and to get one step close to better health for all.
Around the world deaths from preventable causes continue to be among the leading reason of death, as of 2022 the WHO estimates that 74% percent of all deaths globally are preventable. The key word here being preventable, meaning there is a way to prevent the disease or health system failure that individuals are exposed to suffering from. Living in Canada we are privileged with the easy availability of life saving medications and vaccines. The pandemic has been a clear example of the privilege and disparity between high-income and low-and-middle-income countries. Millions around the world do not have that same privilege and access and that’s why at ONE we work on improving health advocacy, funding and programing alongside global organizations, working to build stronger health systems and resilient populations.
Last year, ONE worked alongside a slew of Canadian civil society organizations to secure Canada’s investment in the Global Fund, which has been one of the most effective global programs targeting preventable deaths for the last two decades. The Global Fund is a global movement with the goal of defeating HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in order to ensure a healthier, safer and more equitable future for all. Poverty and poor health have a direct correlation that can be seen around the world. This correlation can be proven by the rates of infections of malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. While these three diseases have been largely contained in high-income countries these diseases continue to kill millions in low-and-middle income regions of the world. It has been just over six months since the Global Fund had their seventh replenishment with countries pledging a total of US$15.7 billion dollars to the fight of these three diseases.
ONE, alongside a coalition of Canadian actors helped secure Canada’s commitment of $1.2 billion dollars after months of dedicated advocacy – and thousands of ONE supporters on the ground and on social media taking action.
World health day is a day to recognize our privilege in Canada. It’s a day to inform and to educate others of strategies to help the world progress to a healthier society for ALL. Today is a day to start your journey of contributing to the world reaching ONE’s goal of ending preventable diseases by the year 2030. Becoming a volunteer with ONE or signing petitions on the ONE website are two easy ways you can get involved in the fight against preventable diseases today.
Take action on the ONE website here. Join the fight to end extreme poverty and preventable diseases to ensure a more equitable world for ALL.