WHO calls for global collaboration to boost health

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged people around the world to support science and work together to improve health.

In a statement released on Monday to mark World Health Day 2026, themed “Together for Health. Stand with Science,” the UN agency said scientific progress and international cooperation have transformed human health over the past century.

The campaign also marks the anniversary of WHO’s founding on April 7, 1948, and launches a year-long drive to raise public health awareness.

According to the WHO, maternal deaths worldwide have fallen by more than 40 per cent since 2000, while deaths among children under five have dropped by over 50 per cent.

The organisation attributed these improvements to science and collaboration.
Advances in technology, research, and skills, as well as partnerships across countries and sectors, have helped make once deadly conditions such as hypertension, cancer, and HIV infection manageable, improving life expectancy and quality of life globally.

However, the WHO warned that health threats continue to grow. “Challenges include climate impacts, environmental damage, geopolitical tensions, persistent diseases, strained health systems, and new diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential,” the statement said.

The organisation said thousands of scientists worldwide are accelerating research and developing policies, tools, and innovations to protect communities now and safeguard future generations.

Speaking on the theme, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus stressed the importance of science. “Science is one of humanity’s most powerful tools for protecting and improving health. People in every country live longer and healthier lives than their ancestors did, thanks to science. Vaccines, penicillin, germ theory, MRI machines, and the human genome mapping are just some of the achievements that have saved lives and transformed health for billions of people,” he said.