By Ayomide Otitoju
On World Cities Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on national and city leaders to transform urban areas into engines of health, equity, and sustainability, as more than half of the world’s population now lives in cities — a figure expected to reach nearly 70% by 2050.
Urban environments, WHO noted, have become the dominant influence on human health, shaping exposure to pollution, housing conditions, transportation safety, and the effects of climate change. While cities offer vast opportunities for progress, they also concentrate health risks — particularly in slums and informal settlements, where 1.1 billion people currently live without adequate housing, sanitation, or food security. That number is projected to triple by 2050.
To address these challenges, WHO launched a new guide titled “Taking a Strategic Approach to Urban Health,” designed to help governments integrate health considerations into urban planning and policy. The guide provides the first comprehensive framework for strategic urban health planning, offering practical tools for decision-makers to build healthier and more resilient cities.
“This is a moment for decision-makers at every level to act together,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion, Disease Prevention, and Care. “The guide gives national and municipal leaders, planners, and communities a framework to work together across sectors to build fairer, healthier, and more resilient futures.”
The WHO highlighted striking inequalities within cities, citing research from 363 cities across nine Latin American countries, where life expectancy differences reach up to 14 years for men and 8 years for women between the healthiest and least healthy areas. Globally, urban residents face overlapping risks — from air pollution, which kills 7 million people annually, to unsafe housing, transport hazards, and climate-related stresses.
“Cities are key to advancing public health,” added Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of Health Determinants, Prevention and Promotion at WHO. “This guide offers governments a roadmap to act strategically, linking health with climate action, transport, digital transformation, and migration.”
The guide underscores that health is not the responsibility of a single sector, urging collaboration across housing, transportation, finance, and urban development. By aligning urban policies with health goals, WHO believes cities can drive economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social equity.
The organization also announced the launch of the first three modules of a new Urban Health E-learning Course, hosted by the WHO Academy, aimed at strengthening cross-sector collaboration and building capacity for healthier urban futures.
WHO’s message is clear: with coordinated action, cities can move from being centers of health risk to beacons of resilience, innovation, and well-being for billions of people worldwide.
