WHO / A. Fugia
Immunization has saved an estimated 4 to 5 million lives each year.
© Credits

On World Health Day and every day, let’s stand with science

6 April 2026

Each day, we do things that we usually take for granted. We drink water with our meals, go to the hospital to get treated, get vaccinated to ensure we’re protected from diseases, or take medicines when we are sick.

But have you ever thought about how your water is made safe? Or that the medicines you take are truly effective? Did you ever think about how hospitals are built to ensure patients get the optimal care they need, safe from hospital-associated infections? 

When the stakes are measured in lives, global and national health decision-making cannot be left to chance. The World Health Organization (WHO) brings together the best available evidence and experts from around the world to scrutinize evidence to ensure recommendations are safe, effective, and reliable. These life-saving guidelines are then used by governments to help their people survive and thrive. 

WHO directly addresses the global leading causes of death, including heart disease, stroke, infections, newborn conditions, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Cardiovascular diseases account for nearly 18 million deaths annually, driven primarily by modifiable risks including high blood pressure, tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and diabetes. WHO has relevant guidelines proven to greatly lower the chances of death and disability resulting from heart attacks and strokes.1  

Approximately 1.4 million deaths each year are due to unsafe water, sanitation, and poor hygiene, primarily from diarrhoeal diseases. WHO’s advice on clean drinking water, good toilets, and proper hand washing is proven to save lives. It’s not just policy talk, it’s about making sure people get safe water from protected sources, treat and store it safely at home, have working toilets, and wash their hands where care is provided to prevent the spread of diseases.2 

Tuberculosis causes approximately 1.3 million deaths annually, and WHO recommendations emphasize early diagnosis, standardized treatment, and preventive therapy.3  Malaria claims an estimated 619 000 lives each year, and WHO guidelines specify using artemisinin-based combinations for effective treatment, adopting preventive measures such as using bed nets, and safe dosing of drugs like primaquine. These recommendations are continuously updated to ensure interventions remain safe and effective.4 

Up to 1 in 7 patients can acquire an infection during hospital care. These infections are associated with millions of deaths globally each year. WHO guidelines on infection prevention and control, especially hand hygiene, help ensure hospitals remain safe for people who seek treatment, by reducing hospital-associated infections by up to 50%.5   

Unsafe, tampered, or improperly used medicines cause major global harm, with medication errors alone responsible for at least 1.3 million deaths each year. WHO helps ensure medicines are safe and effective through its Prequalification Programme by setting global standards, supporting national regulators, monitoring for substandard or falsified products, and, where appropriate, inspecting manufacturers.

But perhaps the biggest impact of these guidelines is seen in immunization, where an estimated 4 to 5 million lives are saved each year. Meanwhile, oral rehydration salts prevented approximately 500 000 deaths from diarrhoea, and early essential newborn care has dramatically transformed survival in the first days of life.6 

These global recommendations are equally important here in Solomon Islands. Malaria remains one of the highest health burdens in the Asia-Pacific, with nearly the entire population at risk, while gaps in water, sanitation, tuberculosis and infection prevention and control continue to bring unnecessary suffering. Where WHO-recommended interventions have been implemented, such as malaria control and immunization, substantial reductions in disease have followed, demonstrating that these guidelines translate directly into lives saved.

So the next time you or your loved one drinks a glass of water, seeks health care, or takes a prescribed medicine, consider the invisible system behind it. We may not realize it, but we feel its life-saving impact every day. Every guideline, every regulatory standard, every ‘best practice’ has been built carefully—checked, tested, and shaped by global evidence for local impact. It’s the result of experts agreeing on what protects lives, and countries standing together for health and with science.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7 April of each year marks the celebration of World Health Day. From its inception at the First Health Assembly in 1948 and since taking effect in 1950, the celebration has aimed to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for WHO. Over the past 75 years, this has brought to light important health issues such as mental health, maternal and childcare, and climate change. The celebration is marked by activities that extend beyond the day itself and serve as an opportunity to focus worldwide attention on these important aspects of global health.

Authors

Dr Howard Sobel

WHO Representative to the Solomon Islands
World Health Organization