World Health Day 2024

Everyone, everywhere should have access to good health care and the basic ingredients to a healthy life. The theme of World Health Day in 2024 is 'My Health, My Right', and we could not agree more. Access to health care is a basic human right. My health, my right also means a healthy environment, safe food and water, and strong community readiness for emergencies and epidemics. Sadly, access to those basic ingredients are under threat, due to conflict, climate events, natural calamity and extreme poverty.  We invite you to join our ongoing efforts to help people around the world access this most basic of human rights.

How IFRC helps ensure people's right to good health

A Venezuelan Red Cross health worker provides a health check up on a young boy in a rural village in Portuguesa state.

Health and Care

Everyone, everywhere should have access to the health services they need, including during emergencies. Our 191 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reach millions of people every year with a wide range of health and care services, improving health and well-being for all.

Chilean Red Cross teams respond to health needs of local residents after fast-spreading wildfires in 2023.

Community Health

Everyone, everywhere has the right to good health. Within their communities, our millions of Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers are working hard to promote good health, prevent disease, and reduce suffering.

A Lebanese Red Cross ambulance races to the scene of the Beirut blast in August 2020 to provide life-saving medical services to people affected.

Emergency health

The IFRC strives to reduce illness and death, improve health and maintain people’s dignity during emergencies. Our emergency health team works to improve the quality, reliability, predictability and flexibility of our health services around the world in preparation for emergencies.

People who are impacted by crisis are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat. These Iraqi children were displaced by conflict. They gather around water taps in a camp for internally displaced people in order to cool down and fill up their water jugs.

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

Hundreds of millions of people around the world do not have access to safe water and billions cannot access the sanitation services they need. Discover how the IFRC is at the forefront of responding to global water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs.

First-aid training in Kyrgyzstan

First-aid

The IFRC's 191 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are the world’s leading providers and trainers in first aid. Together, we trained more than tens of millions of people in recent years — empowering them with the skills to save lives.

A video tour of IFRC community health work

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