A retrospective look at World Health Day 2010 initiatives on Urban Health

Each year on April 7th, the World Health Organization (WHO) marks World Health Day by inaugurating a yearlong campaign addressing a featured public health issue affecting the global community.

In 2010, the theme for World Health Day was “Urbanization and Health”. An international day of awareness was celebrated, the campaign “1000 cities, 1000 lives” was launched, a Global Forum on Urbanization was held in Kobe in November, and a joint WHO/UN-HABITAT comprehensive report was published, followed by an official Call to Action. On the eve of proceeding to a new theme, it is an opportune moment to take a retrospective look, from a planning perspective, at the outcomes and strategies stemming from these initiatives.

WHO recognizes that urban settings have direct repercussions on the health of their residents. A major theme underpinning the initiatives is “Urban planning and community engagement”, which promotes the view that major drivers of health in urban areas lie beyond the health sector. Given this view, urban planning is regarded as a “crucial link to building a healthy 21st century” in WHO’s strategy.

Urbanization is associated with a number of health challenges: noise, overcrowding, traffic. Many of these are considered minor inconveniences and inherent realities of city life – a small price to pay for the advantage of living in urban areas. In truth, these problems are part of a larger public health picture. With over 3 billion people worldwide living in cities, one third of which live in slums, seemingly basic challenges are increasingly concentrated within urban population and the burden of these problems constitute very real threats to health in many cities. WHO identified three priority areas that must be tackled in order to ensure future health in urban areas, stating that many cities “face a triple threat” that includes:

• infectious diseases, which thrive when people are crowded together
• chronic, non-communicable diseases including diabetes, cancers and heart disease which are on the rise with unhealthy lifestyles including tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol
• road traffic accidents, injuries, violence and crime.

In order to address these threats, WHO supports a framework of actions and solutions for healthy living that includes five priority areas, most of which sit within the realm of urban planning. As cities around the world are facing considerable growth, these actions can and should be embraced as opportunities for better urban living.

1. Use urban planning to promote healthy behaviours and safety:

• design cities to promote physical activity
• make healthy food available and affordable
• provide health services for all
• improve road safety.

2. Improve urban living conditions:

• locate houses in safe places
• improve housing conditions
• control indoor and outdoor pollution
• ensure safe water and improved sanitation.

3. Ensure participatory urban governance:

• share information about city planning for health
• encourage public dialogue
• involve communities in decision-making
• create opportunities for participation.

4. Build inclusive cities that are accessible and age-friendly:

• make public transport accessible to disabled people
• develop safe walkways for those with special needs
• build public places and buildings for easy access
• promote active city life and sports for all.

5. Make urban areas resilient to emergencies and disasters:

• locate hospitals in safe areas
• strengthen health centres to withstand known dangers
• prepare community emergency response
• improve disease surveillance.

Throughout the year, 1550 cities from 138 countries joined the “1000 cities, 1000 lives” campaign and held events focusing on health. As the WHO prepares to tackle another theme (Antimicrobial Resistance), the planning community, along with city authorities, share the responsibility of keeping urban health in the spotlight and implementing new and known solutions.

Visit the WHO website for resources on world health
World Health Day
Read the WHO/UN-HABITAT report “Hidden Cities”
Read about the Global Forum on Urbanization and Health