Jordan and the world celebrate today World Health Day 2022, which falls on April 7th of each year. This year, the global campaign is ‘Our Planet, Our Health’ amidst the Corona virus pandemic, a polluted planet and the increase in diseases such as cancer, asthma and heart diseases.
Marking World Health Day this year will focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being
The Higher Population Council confirmed in a press statement that it pays special attention to this occasion as pollution is one of the most common causes for the deterioration of biological diversity, and is also the direct factor for the emergence of pollution due to the negative impact of Man on the environment of living organisms, leading to the eradication of biological diversity. In addition to migrations that most often lead to short or long-term environmental damages as a result of large numbers of refugees, which affects water supplies, or may cause damage to the land.
Extreme weather phenomena, land degradation and water scarcity are displacing people and affecting their health; pollutants and plastic are found at the bottom of the deepest oceans and high in the mountains, and have made their way into our food chain. Systems that produce unhealthy, highly processed foods and drinks are causing an increase in obesity, high rates of cancer and heart disease, and at the same time contribute to generating a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
While the COVID-19 pandemic showed us the healing power of science, it also highlighted the prevalent inequities in our world. The pandemic has also revealed weaknesses in all areas of society and underlined the urgency of creating sustainable well-being societies committed to achieving equitable health now and for future generations without breaching ecological limits noting that the present design of the economy leads to inequitable distribution of income, wealth and power, leaving very large numbers of people still living in poverty and instability.
According to the special Family and housing Survey on income and expenditure carried out by the General Department of Statistics (2017-2018), the total poverty rate among Jordanians reached 15.7%, representing 1.069 million Jordanians, while the rate of (extreme) hunger poverty in Jordan was 0.12%, which is equivalent to 7,993 Jordanian individuals.
The Higher Population Council indicated that Jordan has made a progress by 11.2% in the Global Environmental Performance Index Report 2020, a significant means for assessing global environmental policies and their effectiveness in achieving global sustainability goals. The report includes 180 countries globally subject to 32 performance indicators within 11 categories, covering environmental health and biodiversity of the ecosystem. Jordan ranked 48th in the global ranking, and 3rd in the Arab countries after the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, thus achieving a great leap compared to previous years, where it ranked 62nd globally and 5th on the Environmental Performance Index 2018.
In order to achieve the well-being of communities, the Higher Population Council recommended actions supporting efforts to reduce health care waste, providing sustainably grown local foods and ensuring healthy food choices, in addition to ensuring clean and safe water in health facilities, and supporting the purchase of environmentally friendly products that can be easily recycled or reused.
