Editorial: A commitment to a healthy world

International Health Day was first marked in 1950, on the basis of a 1947 recommendation by the World Health Assembly. Since then, many countries have observed April 8 as a day when governments reiterate their commitment to cope with diseases better and to promote the health sector. On this day, medical officials shed light on the health situation in their countries. In Afghanistan, too, officials focus on a particular cause every year, and this year the issue selected was the high incidence of mother and child mortality. The health minister says the high rate is due to lack of awareness among pregnant women and a shortage of female midwives, mainly in rural areas such as Badakhshan in the north-east, where the World Health Organisation has recorded a high rate. To solve this problem, health centres should be set up in the provinces, especially remote areas, and doctors should be persuaded to work there.