Special News--April 2021World Health Day--7 April 2021
Building a Fairer, Healthier World
Image: WHO/WHD 2021Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being
and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
WHO Constitution, 1948---------- In this Update we rally with people around the world—locally through globally—in support of World Mental Health Day (7 April). Organized annually by the World Health Organization (1950-current), this year’s theme reflects the crucial need for health equity for all: Building a Fairer, Healthier World.
We are excited to share several helpful resources from WHO and other organizations. Below you will find info/links to short videos on health topics from around the world (e.g., Rwanda, The Philippines, Iraq), fact sheets on health issues (e.g., air pollution, aging, autism spectrum), upcoming events (e.g., Psychology Day at the UN, World Mental Health Day), etc. We think you will find many items to be of interest and relevance plus ideas for building greater health equity in your settings and spheres of influence.
In addition to our compiling this Update, we want to specifically support World Health Day by launching our latest orientation article, Global Mental Health: Collaborating for Sustainable Development and Wellbeing (2021). We are delighted to share this new resource with you, with its emphasis on mental health developments and directions, and encourage you to read and share it.
We also continue to include Perspectives and Resources for Covid Care (click on previous link to access). These materials have been compiled over the past year to support you, others in your life, and your work. We also acknowledge that there are many views about this pandemic including how best to manage it and future pandemics via science, policy, and public cooperation.
Warm greetings,
Kelly and Michèle
MCAresources@gmail.com
--Share your comments and resources on our MCA Facebook page
--Forward to your colleagues and networks (link to sign up is at the end).
Featured Resources
World Health Day
Building a Fairer, Healthier World
Image: WHO/SDGs
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal 3
Reduce inequality within and among countries
United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal 10
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World Health Day 2021
"On World Health Day, 7 April 2021, we will be inviting you to join a new campaign to build a fairer, healthier world. We’ll be posting more details here shortly, but here’s why we’re doing this:
Our world is an unequal one. As COVID-19 has highlighted, some people are able to live healthier lives and have better access to health services than others - entirely due to the conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work and age. All over the world, some groups struggle to make ends meet with little daily income, have poorer housing conditions and education, fewer employment opportunities, experience greater gender inequality, and have little or no access to safe environments, clean water and air, food security and health services. This leads to unnecessary suffering, avoidable illness, and premature death. And it harms our societies and economies.
This is not only unfair: it is preventable. That’s why we are calling on leaders to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health. At the same time we urge leaders to monitor health inequities, and to ensure that all people are able to access quality health services when and where they need them. COVID-19 has hit all countries hard, but its impact has been harshest on those communities which were already vulnerable, who are more exposed to the disease, less likely to have access to quality health care services and more likely to experience adverse consequences as a result of measures implemented to contain the pandemic.
WHO is committed to ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can realize the right to good health." (quote from website)
WHO Impact Videos
Short videos, usually 1-3 minutes and usually focusing on a specific topic in a specific country. Examples:
--Universal Health Coverage in Rwanda
--Fighting Obesity in The Philippines
--Field Hospitals in Iraq
More Videos
--10 Common Warning Signs of a Mental health Condition, NAMI, USA
--Would You Harbor Me, Stitching the Unthinkable, Common Threads Project
WHO Fact Sheets
The are over 180 topics--concise and informative. Some examples:
--10 Facts on Aging and Health
--Air Pollution: Outdoors and Indoors
--Autism Spectrum Disorders
--Depression
--Diabetes
--Headaches
--Violence Against Women
Upcoming Events
--2 April 2021: Inclusion in the Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities in a Post-Pandemic World. World Autism Awareness Day
--15 April 2021: Psychological Contributions to Building Back Better in a Post-Pandemic World. Psychology Day at the United Nations, Psychology Coalition at the United Nations
--10 October 2021: Mental Health in an Unequal World
World Mental Health Day, World Federation for Mental Health et al.
--22-24 October 2021: Promoting Equity and Justice in an Age of Uncertainty
International Council of Psychologists
--24-26 October 2021: World Health Summit
Featured Article
Global Mental Health: Collaborating for Sustainable Development and Wellbeing (2021). Kelly O'Donnell, Julian Eaton, and Michèle Lewis O'Donnell. A revised version of this article will appear in the forthcoming volume (in press): E.P. Congress, H. Takooshian, & S. Osborn (Eds.), Behavioral Science and Health in the Global Arena. Information Age Publishing. "Mental health is increasingly being recognized for its pivotal role in health, sustainable development, and wellbeing for all people and of the planet. In this chapter we highlight several markers that collectively reflect crucial developments and directions for mental health’s global impact. These comprise events, reports, manuals, campaigns, consortia, etc., and this body of markers represent the culmination of a series of articles over the past 10 years to orient colleagues in mental health and across sectors to the domain of Global Mental Health (GMH) (GMH-Map Project). We organize the markers into 10 areas of engagement for GMH Collaboration and conclude with perspectives on working together into the future."
GMH Defined:
“GMH is a growing domain of study, research, and practice which promotes equitable mental health and wellbeing for all--locally through globally and everything in-between. It is international, interdisciplinary, culturally-relevant, and multi-sectoral; emphasizes the right to health and equity in health; encourages healthy behaviours and lifestyles; is committed to preventing and treating mental, neurological, and substance use conditions (MNS) especially for vulnerable populations (e.g., in settings of poverty, conflict, calamity, and trauma) and in low- and middle-income countries; and seeks to improve policies and programs; professional practices and research; advocacy and awareness; and social, structural, systemic, and environmental factors that affect mental health and wellbeing." (quote from article, bold font added for emphasis)
Image: WHO/WHD 2021
