World Health Day 2018: The theme for 2018 ‘Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere’

The World Health Day is celebrated every year on 7th April under the leadership of World Health Organisation (WHO) which aims at creating awarness about health related issues. The theme for this year's World Health Day is Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere. The motive or message of the theme is to provide healthcare service to every individual across the country.

The World health Day was first celebrated in the year 1950, this is the same year when WHO was established. Every year the themes for the day is different and varities of program are conducted at national and international level. The programs organised focus on increasing life expectancy of the people by promoting nutrional lifestyle and eating habits.

Also Read: World Health Day 2018: Suggestions to stay happy at your workplace

Apart from World Health Day, there are several other health campaigns marked by WHO, which includes World Tuberculosis Day on 24 March, World Immunization Week in April, World Malaria Day on 25 April, World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, World Blood Donor Day on 14 June, World Hepatitis Day on 28 July and World AIDS Day on 1 December.

Last year, the theme for the day was Depression: Let’s Talk, which aimed at speaking to people about depression and breaking the taboo which is associated with depression and mental health. According to an estimate by WHO, there has been an 18 per cent increase in people dealing with depression, that is approximately 300 million people.

2018 theme: ‘Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere’

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) aims at providing essential health care and medical facilities to the people without putting them to financial distress. The objective behing this theme is that every individual should get the service even if they are unable to pay for it. This is required to alleviate the financial costs associated with healthcare while making individual access to these services easier.

According to a report in WHO, more than half of the world's population do not have access to basic health care services. More than, 100 million people still live in poverty as they have to pay for the medical facilites. The theme for this year is based on WHO's constitution of 1948 which has declared health a fundamental human right and on the Health for All agenda set by the Alma Ata declaration in 1978. UHC denies all the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and wants to reach out to the poorest of people across the world.

Also Read: World Health Day 2018: Superfoods every woman should include in her diet