World Health Day 2025 is being observed under the theme “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures”, a message that holds little meaning for many regions like Gaza and Sudan.
April 7: A Day to Recognize Global Health Challenges
April 7, marks the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization and is commemorated each year as World Health Day. Each year, a specific theme is selected to highlight key areas in public health.
These themes are chosen to encourage international cooperation, political intervention, and increased awareness of urgent health challenges.
Over the past 50 years, topics such as maternal and child care, climate change, and mental health have been emphasized.
The World Health Organization observes this day annually, selecting a specific health issue to raise awareness about a major global concern.
The 2025 theme, “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” highlights the critical need to prioritize interventions for improving maternal and newborn health.
Global Health Under Pressure
World Health Day 2025 is being marked while U.S. interference has disrupted the World Health Organization’s activities, and growing threats like wars, armed conflicts, budget shortages, and climate change increasingly jeopardize public health.
According to alarming WHO statistics:
- Over 300,000 women die annually across various countries due to preventable pregnancy or childbirth-related causes.
- More than 2 million newborns die in their first month of life, and another 2 million are stillborn. Many could have survived with timely medical care. These figures amount to one preventable death every 7 seconds.
- 70% of these deaths—and half of the 2 million newborn deaths—occur in Africa.
These numbers point to a critical gap in maternal and newborn healthcare. Current projections show:
- 4 out of every 5 countries are not on track to meet the target for reducing maternal mortality.
- 1 out of every 3 countries is failing to reduce newborn deaths.
This indicates a global health emergency, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where access to essential maternal and newborn care is extremely limited.
Gaza: Silenced in the Global Health Conversation
World Health Day 2025, with its focus on maternal, newborn, and pregnant women’s health, comes as Israel continues to violate the rights of these groups—especially in Gaza, where these violations have intensified since the war began in October 2023.
Israeli obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza has already led to the death of at least 18 newborns due to cold.
Free food supplies for malnourished infants in southern and central Gaza have run out, and there is currently only enough infant formula to last 400 babies for one month.
UNICEF estimates that 10,000 infants under six months need supplementary nutrition. Without access to these resources, caregivers are forced to use unsafe alternatives.
According to UNICEF, 150 newborns in Gaza are currently dependent on 21 respiratory machines to stay alive.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, 17,954 children have been killed, including 274 newborns and 876 children under one year old.
Premature babies have not been spared. On November 10, 2023, Israeli forces raided Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital in Gaza City and forced medical staff to evacuate. During the raid, five infants were killed. Their decomposed bodies were later found in incubators.
Israel has severely violated pregnant women’s rights to health standards, including respectful care during childbirth and pregnancy, and access to newborn care.
Warnings Without Action
Belkis Wille, Director of Crisis, Conflict, and Arms at Human Rights Watch, stated that since the war began in Gaza, women and girls have been deprived of water, food, and basic medical care, putting them and their babies at risk of preventable death.
Although humanitarian organizations such as UNICEF, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the WHO, and UNRWA issued a joint statement on World Health Day 2025 warning about the complete humanitarian collapse in Gaza, these warnings have remained on paper—without any real impact in easing the suffering or stopping Israeli attacks.
From: mizan