World Cities DayDesignated United Nations General Assembly resolution 68/239, is celebrated every year on October 31. This Day is an opportunity to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanization, advance cooperation between countries to address the challenges of urbanization, and contribute to sustainable urban development around the world. WHO joins the UN and partners in celebrating this day every year, recognizing health and well-being as an integral part of sustainable and inclusive urbanization. As a growing priority for WHO, urban health is an area that requires a cross-cutting approach to address the triple public health challenges in urban areas: noncommunicable diseases, infectious diseases, injuries and interpersonal violence.
On World Cities Day, WHO is organizing various events to launch its new technical guidance and tools, disseminate advocacy messages and raise awareness of urban health issues among health experts and urban practitioners.
World Cities Day 2023 focuses on the theme “Financing a Sustainable Urban Future for All” to explore ways to unlock transformative investments in urban planning and achieve adequate fiscal decentralization.
