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----------------------------------------------------------------------- Documented by Goa Desc Documentation Service & circulated by Goa Civic & Consumer Action Network (GOA CAN)<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Ph:2252660 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WORLD HEALTH DAY 2003 Shape The Future Of Life: Healthy Environments For Children ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Each year on April 7th, the world celebrates World Health Day. On this day around the globe, thousands of events mark the importance of health for productive and happy lives. This year, the theme for World Health Day is "Healthy Environments for Children". The millions of children that die annually from environmentally related illnesses could be saved through the creation of healthy settings, whether it be the home, the school, or the community at large.
Every child has the right to grow up in a healthy home, school and community. The future development of our children and of their world depends on their enjoying good health now.
Children are particularly vulnerable to environmental hazards because they are constantly growing, and consume more food, air and water than adults do in proportion to their weight. Their immune, reproductive, digestive and central nervous systems are still developing and they spend their time closer to the ground where most dust and chemicals accumulate.
Characteristics associated with children, such as their natural curiosity and lack of knowledge, are aggravating factors. Children can also be exposed to harmful environmental hazards before birth, for instance through maternal addiction to tobacco and other substances. Exposure to environmental risks at early stages of development can lead to irreversible damage.
The suffering of children because of environmental hazards is not inevitable. There are solutions; most of the environment -related disease and deaths can be prevented.
The risks to children in their everyday environments are numerous. But there are six groups of environmental health hazards that must be tackled as priority issues household water security, lack of hygiene and poor sanitation, air pollution, vector-borne diseases, chemical hazards, and unintentional injuries (accidents). These risks exacerbate the effects of economic underdevelopment and they cause the bulk of environment- related deaths and disease among children.
For most of these priority risks, security, stability, emergency preparedness and economic development are key to overcoming them. While experience shows that even in underdeveloped economies, these risks can be significantly reduced, experience also shows that, in higher income societies, the overall burden of environmental diseases in children decreases - at the same time as the relative priorities change. Therefore, regions and countries will have to set their specific priorities to complement these global ones. ----------------------------------------------------- Source:World Health Day Brochure ----------------------------------------------------- ======================================= GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 Tel: 2252660 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.goadesc.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy =======================================
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