World Health Day 2021

Every year on April 7, the World Health Day which was established at the First Health Assembly in 1948, is celebrated all over the world. The celebration of this day aims to raise awareness of a particular health topic in order to highlight the priority activities of the World Health Organization (WHO) and serves as an opportunity to focus global attention on these important aspects of global health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned all eyes towards not only our health and our health systems but also their deficiencies. This year, the WHO is calling for action to eliminate health disparities, as part of a one-year global campaign to bring people together to build a fairer, healthier world. The campaign highlights one of the WHO's most important principles: "The use of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being, regardless of racial, religious, political opinion, economic or social status."

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), as well as national standardization bodies, including our Institute, in addition to adopting a number of standards aimed at fair health management, have made many of them relevant to COVID-19 available online free of charge. These include standards for ventilators, medical and personal protective equipment, and occupational health and safety. You can find them at the link: https://iss.rs/sr_Cyrl/covid-19-free-download-of-standards_p896.html.

All of these standards, and many more, contribute to this year’s World Health Day objectives and to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for good health and well-being (SDG 3), which aims to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. What’s more, by bringing together international best practice, standards can help countries and organizations with limited resources benefit from the latest expert guidance on establishing practices and protocols that can help.

Additional information is available on the following link: https://www.iso.org/news/ref2653.html