(Vector-borne Diseases)
Small Organisms that Carry Serious Diseases
The World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world. This day allows individuals in the various societies to take part in the activities that could lead to better health.
Most Common Diseases in KSA:
- Malaria
- Dengue
- Rift valley fever
- Leishmaniasis
- Schistosomiasis
Globally approved date: 7/4/2014
Locally approved date: 7/6/1435H
Theme of the World Health Day 2014:
Persons vulnerable to these diseases such as:
- Persons living at places where insect-borne diseases prevail.
- Persons living at poor regions; poverty and lack of health awareness add much to the prevalence of these diseases and their mortality throughout the world.
- Persons with immunodeficiency.
- Young children and infants.
- Persons who travel to the regions stricken by such diseases.
- Pregnant women.
- Health educationists at health institutions and organizations.
- Health associations and decision makers.
- The public.
Objectives and Messages of the World Health Day 2014:
General Objective:
The campaign aims at improving protection against vector-borne diseases, and raising people's awareness as to the threat that such diseases pose. In addition to that, it seeks to prompt the family and community to take precautions for protection against infection of one of these diseases.
Detailed Objectives:
- Introducing people with the vector-borne diseases, the risk they trigger, and the ways to protect themselves against them.
- Increasing the awareness of the persons vulnerable to vector-borne diseases of the potential causes of such diseases, the ways of transmission, and the methods likely to prevent the infection of these diseases.
- Paying particular attention to the protection of the groups at risk, such as pregnant and breast-feeding women, children and infants, the elderly, patients, and the persons with low physical activity.
- Increasing the awareness of families living in places where transmission of vector-borne diseases is highly probable of the valid protection methods.
- Acquainting travelers to countries stricken by such diseases with the ways to protect themselves against vectors and vector-borne diseases.
- Prompting the health ministries of countries stricken by vector-borne diseases to take certain precautions aiming at providing better protection for their citizens.
- Urging the health authorities of countries at potential risk of vector-borne diseases to cooperate with the environmental authorities, and other concerned bodies, at both the domestic and regional levels, to provide better comprehensive surveillance of vectors, and take the necessary precautions to prevent their prevalence.
- Communicating with the targeted groups to increase their awareness, by introducing individuals with the preventive and therapeutic methods.
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