Did you know that yesterday we celebrated a health day? World Health Day is celebrated on the 7th of April every year and marks the day when World Health Organization came into force. There is a special theme highlighted each year, about one topic of public health concern in the world. The topic raised this year is Our Planet, Our Health.

With the theme of Our Planet, Our Health, and focus on cleaning our air, water, and food, it aims to remind us about the health of our planet and its correlation to our health. Moreover, it is not only the responsibility of the health sector but also the responsibility of the government and society to work together and solve these matters. WHO stated on their page that this year, they will raise people’s attention to do some movements to “keep humans and the planet healthy and to create societies focused on well-being” (WHO, 2022).

During this pandemic, in the polluted planet and the diseases caused by it, we all have a big role to make our planet better. These things will not just improve our planet, but also improve our health. Do you want to make our planet happy? We can start with three applicable steps: use alternative transportations or walk, save energy or substitute with renewable ones, and preserve clean water.

First, transition to alternative transportations. By using a bike or public transportation, you are contributing to reducing air pollution and saving non-renewable energy such as oil, gas, and coal. If you are an UNAIR student and you come from other cities, if you are able, you can stay near the campus so you can walk to get there. Or when you need to go to another campus, you can make use of UNAIR’s Bus Flash. You should try it because it is comfortable and helpful. Maybe you do not realize it, but by doing so, you are contributing to reducing air pollution. Not only about the planet, but it is also about yourself. For those of you who rarely exercise, this activity helps you to move your body and helps you maintain your health. This will have a greater effect if you quit smoking. Indirectly, the reduced pollution gives us more fresh air for our lungs.

When you quit smoking, you will save 600 million trees, save yourself, your family, your friends, or even strangers. That means you are saving other people’s tears due to them losing their loved ones because of certain diseases. 

Next, switch to renewable energy. This campaign also promotes a change in energy, from non-renewable to renewable energy providers. Maybe it is still hard and too expensive to be applied in Indonesia, but there is one thing that can be done to contribute. When we do not need the light, we can simply turn off the light. So easy, right? However, sometimes we forget and do not realize that it has a huge effect on our environment.

.Finally, conserve clean water and decrease plastic usage. The campaign also has concerns about reducing plastic use. For you who love to bring your tote bag when you are shopping, great! You are contributing to making our planet healthier and our sea cleaner. Did you also know that two billion people are not able to access safe drinking water? Meanwhile, we are often just throwing away our drinking water if we cannot drink it all. We should make changes and think of other people before we do something. Imagine you cannot drink or use clean water before you decide to waste it.

All those steps are useless if we do not apply them in our everyday life. Let us do it together and share it with other people for a #HealthierTomorrow.

Happy planet, happy humans. 

Healthy planet, healthy humans.

References

https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2022

https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2022/campaign-toolkit 

https://www.paho.org/en/events/virtual-commemoration-world-health-day-april-7th-2022-our-planet-our-health#:~:text=In%20the%20face%20of%20the,is%20Our%20Planet%2C%20Our%20Health.

Writer: Leony Sutanto Halim 

Editor: Junanda Amriansyah