“Health for All” — World Health Day 2018
Published on in Global Health Update
Published on in Global Health Update
Healthcare providers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) see over 1.2 million children each year at the Main Campus and across our provider network. We also serve more than 600 children each year through CHOP’s partnerships in Consuelo and La Romana, Dominican Republic, and thousands more in Botswana and the more than 15 other countries where CHOP Global Health faculty work. These lives are impacted by providers trained at CHOP as well as research and clinical advances made at CHOP and at partner sites.
On April 7, we celebrated World Health Day. This year’s theme, “Health for All,” is a principle that CHOP’s Global Health team works and lives by 365 days a year.
The world continues to shrink as more people have the ability to travel; journeys that once took days or months now only take a few hours. This has developed an interconnectedness among all people regardless of country boundaries, where each person’s health has an effect on those around them. Former United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, said, “Our planet is [small] and the human family is one.” Each life is valuable and the quality of that life is important, though it is often dependent on health status. Ensuring health for all means we are all protected from infectious disease epidemics, poverty, hunger and inequality.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every day around the world, 15,000 children under the age of 5 die; half of these deaths are due to diseases and conditions that are preventable and/or treatable.
“The excitement of working and partnering in Global Child Health is that each of us can make a difference, and help put a stop to these preventable and treatable child deaths,” says Andrew Steenhoff, MD, Medical Director of the Global Health Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Whether it’s teaching an international observer at CHOP, or training, doing research or clinical care in another country, or donating to the CHOP Global Health Center, each plays a crucial role.”
"Health for all" means that children anywhere in the world have access to quality healthcare, giving them a fair shot at life. This is what the Global Health team is committed to contributing to through:
Every person can contribute to promoting health for all. A simple first step is to connect and stay up to date on global health by joining our newsletter email list, globalhealthcenter@email.chop.edu. Become a volunteer and advocate for health for all by connecting with local organizations like the CHOP Refugee Health Program, or donate to the CHOP Global Health Center to change the lives of children and families around the world. Together we can change the world to ensure health for all.