South Africa launches two digital health platforms
This year's theme for world health day 2021 is:
"Building a fairer, healthier world."
Ronald Abvajee, CEO of Healthy Living Consulting, has announced the launch of two digital platforms aimed at bringing health and wellness information to every South African citizen.
This was announced as today marks World Health Day 2021,
In an e-mail interview with ITWeb, Abvajee says MyHealth360, an online portal, and MyWell360, which is an app available on both iOS and Android, are services that run to support online assessments, consultations, courses, surveys, challenges and learning.
“MyHealth360 and MyWell360 are disruptive health tech platforms that deliver multi-faceted wellbeing support via video, articles, classes, short and long courses, learning, assessments, live content, online consultations with medical practitioners (from doctors to dieticians and traditional healers), social engagement, and challenges in a manner never so comprehensively or uniquely offered before.”
Both platforms are live as of today, but their full functionality will be released in a phased approach over the next two weeks, he notes.
“The app and portal are free to use, and the app is data-enabled so once downloaded, it is data light. Informational content, live events, fitness classes, chat facilities and select courses are free. Some services within the app and portal, for example, one-on-one consultations and courses, are paid-for options.”
On this year’s World Health Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for urgent action to eliminate health inequities and mobilise action to attain better health for all and leave no one behind.
Delivering the World Health Day message during a webinar this morning, Dr Matshediso Moeti, WHO director in Africa, said COVID-19 has really shone a light on inequalities between countries.
“Amid shortages of essential supplies, African countries have been pushed to the back of the queue in accessing COVID-19 test-kits, personal protective equipment and now the vaccine.
“Vaccines offer great hope to turn the tide of the pandemic, but to protect the world, we must ensure all people, at risk everywhere and not just in countries that can afford vaccines, are immunised.”
She adds: “This World Health Day, I’d like to call on member states, partners, civil society, communities and other stakeholders to intensify work with WHO and our partners to achieve universal health coverage and to invest in addressing the social and economic ills of health, tackle inequities and build a fairer, healthier world.”
WHO COMMEMORATES WORLD HEALTH DAY:
This year's theme for world health day 2021 is:
"Building a fairer, healthier world."
World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April to mark the founding of World Health Organisation. Each year, the Organisation selects a key global health issue and organises international, regional and local events on the Day and throughout the year to highlight the selected area.
Health is not just about physical well-being but also about the mental and social aspects. A person is said to be healthy if he/she possesses all three. According to the WHO, health is central to human happiness and well-being. It also makes an important contribution to economic progress, as healthy populations live longer and are more productive.
Millions of people around the world are prey to many terrible diseases. Therefore, to raise awareness about the overall health and well-being of people across the globe every year World Health Day is celebrated.
World Health Day History:
In 1948, the WHO organised the first World Health Assembly which called for the creation of a "World Health Day". In 1950, the first World Health Day was celebrated on April 7 and since then, it is observed every year on the same day. The main aim of the day is to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World Health Organization.
2021 Theme:
Each year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) selects a theme highlighting a particular priority area of public health. The theme for this year's global health awareness day is Building a fairer, healthier world.
The campaign highlights WHO's constitutional principle that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition."
Key facts
At least half of the world’s population still do not have full coverage of essential health services.
About 100 million people are still being pushed into extreme poverty (defined as living on 1.90 USD or less a day) because they have to pay for health care.
Over 930 million people (around 12% of the world’s population) spend at least 10% of their household budgets to pay for health care.
All UN Member States have agreed to try to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)..
Primary health care can cover 80 to 90% of people’s health needs across their lifetime
There is an 18 million gap between the current global health work force and those needed today for UHC.
Immunization (DTP3) coverage remains at 85% (2017), leaving 19.9 million children vulnerable to vaccine preventable diseases.
Ref:
https://www.gov.za/world-health-day
Comments