World Health Day 2025 | Everyone has the fundamental right to health

Today, 7 April 2025, is World Health Day.

While we celebrate the major medical strides made in the last decades, we also recognise that access to healthcare is under threat worldwide.

We must advance every individual’s right to health.

Over 18 months of war in Gaza, more than 700 attacks have impacted health facilities or transport. At least 50,000 people have been killed and another 114,000 injured, but only 60% of health facilities remain at least partially functional to assist a population with enormous needs.

In Sudan, more than 500 days of fighting have left over 14.7 million people facing critical challenges in accessing care. Food insecurity and malnutrition are widespread, with famine already confirmed in multiple locations. In the worst-affected areas, less than a quarter of health facilities are functioning.

Meanwhile, wealthy countries cut their humanitarian aid budgets, impacting millions of the most vulnerable people around the world. Without access to essential healthcare, many with long-term and life-threatening conditions may die.

Every day, healthcare workers, health facilities and access to healthcare must be respected and protected, because everyone has the fundamental right to health.