Today marks World Health Day, held every year on this day under the World Health Organization’s sponsorship and celebrated locally at various campuses and locations.
UCLA and USC’s Schools of Public Health and Schools of Medicine are teaming up to honor the day within a week-long series of events.
The week, called the first-annual UCLA-USC Global Health Awareness Week, began with festivities on Friday at both campuses and including a series of lectures, movie screenings, rallies and petitions.
The events are meant to target students interested in sharing their passion for health around the globe. This year, World Health Day is focusing on health facilities and health workers and their preparedness in emergency situations.
On Sunday, the Fowler Museum featured the “Hollywood for Health Gala,” which emphasized that television and film can do more than entertain, but it can also educate and bring awareness.
In a world so connected through means of the internet and media, getting the message about global health in Hollywood has the potential to reach a wide range people, said Sandra de Castro Buffington, director of the Hollywood, Health & Society program at USC’s Annenburgh School of Communication. Buffington served as a panelist at Sunday’s event.
“Entertainment education has the power to improve health and save lives globally,” she said.
Keith Quinn was also a panelist at the opening day’s event.
He said he was filming a movie in the Sahara when he learned about the global water crisis. The documentary “Running the Sahara,” has so far raised over 5 million dollars, which has funded over 125 projects in countries in Africa.
The events continued on Monday and will last until April 10.
“One doesn’t need to be a health care professional to make a difference in the field, or a media professional to influence a creative endeavor. One simply needs to take an interest in an issue, and to think about how to apply one’s talents to it,” Quinn said.