Wellness Week 2021

Sep 11-17, 2021

The Pan American Health Organization´s (PAHO/WHO) Wellness Week 2021 (WW) will be celebrated from 11 to 17 September. The campaign is an initiative that began in 2011 inspired by Caribbean Wellness Day, which is celebrated on the second Saturday of September.

In 2018, the crux of the campaign changed from solely an NCD/disease focus to highlighting how health promotion is used at the community level to not only prevent diseases, but also support the empowerment and engagement of individuals and communities and facilitate collaboration, for promoting health and wellbeing.

The slogan for the 2021 campaign is “Building equitable communities," following the call to action from World Health Day to eliminate health inequities, “Building a fairer, healthier world for everyone.”

The campaign seeks to:

call for countries to strengthen social support mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic to support communities and to foster health equity; and
highlight how people in communities around the region have come together in solidarity, particularly with those in situations of vulnerability.

Story

The artist who symbolizes an indigenous community’s fight against COVID-19

read the story

Audiences, messages and supporting messages

Audience: National governments
Objective/call to action: Countries must strengthen social protection and support mechanisms to improve the health of their populations
Topline Message:

Countries can only achieve health equity through strong social protection measures.
Populations in situations of vulnerability face additional challenges that need to be addressed to ensure their health and wellbeing and to reduce health inequities. These populations include:
- Migrants
- People living in poverty
- Workers in the informal sector and precarious employment conditions
- Residents of crowded housing and neglected neighborhoods

Audience: Communities/ general public
Objective/call to action: Highlight and call for continuous solidarity among communities and populations in the face of COVID-19
Topline Message:

During the pandemic, people have come together in communities to support each other and those in more vulnerable situations.
Community solidarity practices play a vital role in achieving health and wellbeing for all.