World Health Day - WHO Urges Countries to Build Fairer Societies

The Covid-19 pandemic has unfairly impacted some people more harshly than others, exacerbating existing inequities in health and welfare within and between countries. The World Health Organization says that the pandemic is estimated to have driven between 119 and 124 million more people into extreme poverty in 2019. There is also convincing evidence that the pandemic and measures taken to combat it have widened gender gaps in employment, with women exiting the labour force in greater numbers than men. The organization says that as countries continue to fight the pandemic, there is an opportunity to "build back better" for a fairer, healthier world by implementing existing commitments, resolutions, and agreements while also making new and bold commitments. On World Health Day, the organization is calling for governments to invest in strengthening their health services.