Natia Shakaia

Mahatma Gandhi once said: ”It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver”. Indeed, health is the most valuable treasure we were given, so we have to protect it.

Health and well-being are not always synonyms. Health refers simply to physical body being free from diseases, but wellness is more general, as it combines several aspects, including: physical, spiritual, social, emotional conditions. We strive our whole life to achieve the balance throughout our life.

Health is something that requires some support. Clean environment, clean water, proper nutrition and other factors have vital impact on our health.

On the one hand 21st century offers vast amount of opportunities, I mean different technologies that are used very productively in modern operations. But, along with benefits, this century has some disadvantages as well, for example: polluted streets with the fumes of cars and factories, lots of buildings, and many other things like that. This issue is acute in large cities, like Delhi, capital of India, which is the most polluted city in the world according to recent surveys. As I found out almost 3.3 million people are killed because of air pollution. I only see one solution for this problem, to move in the suburbs or in the villages. But it is not always that easy, because lots of us are working in large cities and we have to cope with this.

As I already have mentioned above, health needs some support. It is very important to live in the environment that gives us all the necessary conditions we need to live healthy life.

Though the environment is significant for our life, it is not the only thing that impacts on our healthy life. Everyone is familiar with the quote: “We are what we eat”. Indeed, the proper nutrition is very important. It can be said that our health is in our hands.

While we are thinking about everyday problems like how to look beautiful, how to be healthy the countries like Nigeria have to think how to survive millions of lives. Millions of children are dying with measles in Nigeria and also in India. The good news is that with the initiation of WHO (World Health Organization) the two-week campaign will target all children aged from 6 months to 10 years. This measles vaccination campaign is an emergency intervention, which will protect more than 4 million children against a highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease.

In the end, I want to say that Health is more than the absence of disease; it is a resource that allows people to realize their aspirations, satisfy their needs to live a long, productive life.

Natia Shakaia

The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the author, and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of ALDA and the European Union.