FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UNA-Canada brings the ideals of World Health Day to Canadians
Thursday, 6 April, 2006, Ottawa-The United Nations Association in Canada celebrates World Health Day. Every year on April 7th organizations around the world celebrate the UN declared World Health Day. World Health Day recognizes global health issues and is this year focuses on the contributions of health workers worldwide. UNA-Canada celebrates all health-workers from doctors, to educators who promote safe and healthy practices to our youth, to athletes and community leaders who serve as positive role-models of healthy and active lifestyles.
“As Canadians reflect with justifiable pride on our performance at the Winter Olympics – we must mobilize that pride to ensure young Canadians have the opportunity not only to share the podium in 2010 but also to share good health for life.” Says Kathryn White, Executive Director of the United Nations Association in Canada.
UNA-Canada is engaging young people from coast to coast to coast on three initiatives that bring leadership, and joy to Canadians and encourages critical thinking and global citizenship. UNA-Canada will take these made-in-Canada solutions (and challenges) to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN. Healthy Children, Healthy Communities, It’s Time to Act and Sport-in-a-Box, bring the concepts of Social Determinants of Health to life for young Canadians.
Through the work of UNA-Canada engaging youth, educators, health practitioners, and youth role models, Canada is leading in both development of policy and programming linking health and healthy lifestyles for young Canadians to the social determinants of health. These include factors like access to health care, poverty or wealth, friendship and kinship or isolation. We are engaging young Canadians in both learning about these factors and learning about others that would free them or erect barriers to healthy participation in their families, schools, community and the world.
Healthy Children, Healthy Communities (HC2) Through community workshops and a Child Health Perceptions Survey, children (aged 9-12) and child health stakeholders exchange knowledge about social factors that impact health. In their communities, participants create plans to ensure that their priorities are included in health initiatives in their schools and communities, provincially, nationally, and internationally.
It’s time to Act: Mobilizing Young Canadians Around HIV/AIDS is an initiative that engages youth who are infected, affected and unaware of HIV/AIDS, in a series of cross-country regional forums, to build capacity for action around the prevention and management of HIV/AIDS.
Sport-in-a-Box inspires young Canadians to use the power of sport to engage with their communities in the global issues that affect us all. This innovative, creative and fun project uses sport to promote public awareness of relevant issues and emphasizes the importance of a life-long engagement in sport, physical activity and the appreciation of social-cultural diversity. Rock the Box!
UNA-Canada is a national charitable organization celebrating its landmark 60th anniversary. As a ‘think and do’ organization, UNA-Canada supports a network of fifteen volunteer branches with a National office in Ottawa and Western professional office in Vancouver. Our mandate is to engage Canadians in the work of the UN and the critical global issues which affect us all, through innovative projects, policy research, and on-going communications with Canadians.
“It is the right of the child to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health.”
(United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child)
For further information please feel free to contact:
Jason Oliver
Communications Officer
United Nations Association in Canada
(613)232-5751 ext.237
jason.oliver@unac.org
www.unac.org
