World Health Day: The SPSM stresses the urgency of rethinking the world
The Ministry of Health and Social Protection celebrates, with the support of the Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Morocco, Thursday, World Health Day under the theme “Our Planet, Our Health”. and the slogan “Let’s act for cleaner air, water and food”.
This day is celebrated this year in a global health context marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in diseases linked to environmental degradation, the ministry said in a statement.
Through the choice of the theme “Our Planet, Our Health”, the WHO aims to raise awareness among decision-makers on, on the one hand, the importance of standardizing and regulating the population’s exposure thresholds to environmental risks and, on the other hand, the urgency of rethinking a world where everyone has access to clean air, water and food, a world where cities are safe and sustainable and where people have control over their health.
Indeed, according to the WHO, more than 13 million deaths worldwide each year are due to preventable environmental causes. This includes the climate crisis which is the greatest health threat facing humanity.
At the national level, while it is true that a reduction in the main diseases linked to the environment has been underway for several years, the fact remains that environmental health risks remain a major public health problem, notes the communicated.
A recent study, carried out by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, estimated that the mortality rate attributable to ambient air pollution was 28 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2019.
This year’s celebration of World Health Day is also an opportunity to raise awareness among Moroccan citizens and professionals about the importance of the environment and the environmental causes likely to impact human health, in particular climate change. , air pollution, pollution of water resources, inappropriate management of hazardous waste and the misuse of antibiotics in human and animal health, it is emphasized.
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