speech on world laughter day

• General English
• Magazine zone

World Laughter Day

Every year, on the first Sunday in May, World Laughter Day celebrates the positive effect that deep laughter can have on us all.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the article and do the exercises.

Preparation

Magazine: World Laughter Day – preparation

For over 25 years, on the first Sunday in May, thousands of people from more than 120 countries get together and celebrate World Laughter Day. And what do they do? They laugh and laugh … and laugh! People from 'laughter clubs' in cities and towns across the planet invite their friends and family members to join them, usually in public spaces. One very large 'laughter event' took place in the year 2000, when 10,000 people of different ages and backgrounds gathered in the Town Hall Square of Copenhagen, Denmark – to laugh! 

The Laughter Yoga movement

The very first World Laughter Day took place in 1998 in a park in the city of Mumbai, India. It was organised by Dr Madan Kataria, the person who also founded Laughter Yoga. Laughter Yoga is not about thinking of something funny, but it is based on a series of easy-to-do exercises that include the act of laughter. Like other types of yoga, it supports our physical and mental well-being. One fascinating point that Dr Kataria makes is that for the body, there is no difference between 'pretend' or 'fake' laughter and real laughter. As long as the laughter is deep or hard, it doesn't matter. After regularly attending a 'laughter gym', you begin to feel the physical and emotional benefits.

The benefits of laughter

Deep laughter causes our muscles to relax, which helps to cope with stress. During laughter our body releases chemicals that are associated with positive events and emotions. This can also reduce anxiety and physical pain. Like yoga, the physical act of laughter involves deep breathing. The oxygen flow throughout our body is increased, and when we breathe out, the 'old' air in our lungs is released. Mentally, laughter can help us feel more positive about life, ready to face challenges and deal with difficult situations more calmly. There are many free videos on different social media platforms with Dr Kataria but – warn your housemates or family members – you will probably laugh loudly and keep laughing!

Laughter as medicine? Maybe!

Some people think that deep laughter can help with the recovery from serious illness. Norman Cousins, a famous 20th-century writer, certainly believed this. In his late forties and following an extremely stressful time in his professional life, Cousins was diagnosed with a serious illness. He moved with difficulty, he was in constant pain and he was told he had a limited time to live. 

However, Cousins thought that if stress or negative emotions had caused his illness, then maybe positive emotions could help him get better – and daily laughter became part of this approach. For months, from his sickbed, Cousins watched comedy films that made him laugh out loud. He became convinced that ten minutes of deep 'belly' laughter resulted in two hours of painless sleep, so decided to stop taking powerful painkillers and sleeping pills. Instead, he used laughter and high doses of Vitamin C to help his recovery. Amazingly, within six months he was up and about, and within two years back at work.

Whatever the case, if laughter helps us to cope with stress and makes us feel positive about life – then let's keep doing it!  

Magazine: World Laughter Day – 1

Magazine: World Laughter Day – 2

Would you like to try Laughter Yoga? Why?/Why not?

Language level

It would be so exciting to attend Laughter Yoga session. I mean it seems to be a very interesting activity and this is my very first time hear about it. I have heard about the benefits of laughter many times, though. I try in my daily habits to meditate but it is not an easy routine to settle as i can be easily overwhelmed by my current activities yet.

• Log in or register to post comments

Hi! Everyone, I am Akash Kumar for Patna. I couldn't try laughter yoga because in a fild, ground you laugh loudly without any reason our surrounding called these type of people are mad or a mental disorder. Rather i enjoy with my family, friends, cousin with comedy shows or comedy movie and laugh..

I would like to try Laughter Yoga, but I preffer to watch hours of commedy films as Mr. Cousins did

Yes of course, I am going to definitely try Laughter yoga. It is really a beneficial act for us. As you may now nowadays all over of us need to cape with stress in daily life. Personally, I think its perfect way to get relaxed.

exactly true, if you wanna feel better, you need to laught :D

The purpose of Laughter Yoga is interesting, I think it can be a good exercise to release daily stress and build a healthier lifestyle.

Online courses

Group and one-to-one classes with expert teachers.

Learn English in your own time, at your own pace.

One-to-one sessions focused on a personal plan.

Get the score you need with private and group classes.  

Laughing is good for you—here’s why

For thousands of years, versions of the saying “laughter is the best medicine” have emerged in religious, scientific and popular literature—and for good reason. Laughter helps our neurological, physical, emotional, cognitive and social health and well-being in multiple ways.

To find out why laughter is so good for us, The Daily spoke with Eileen Anderson, the Anne Templeton Zimmerman MD Professor in Bioethics and director of education in bioethics and medical humanities at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine . 

Anderson is a psychological and medical anthropologist who completed a postdoctoral fellowship in developmental neuroscience, and is the founding director of the university’s Center for Medicine, Society and Culture . The center supports multidisciplinary exploration of people’s well-being in social, institutional and cultural contexts. 

Anderson’s research on adolescent mental health and well-being in multiple cultures has pointed to the importance of laughter in experiences of joy, well-being and mental flexibility—along with young people’s feelings of belongingness, which are critical to mental health. 

“My studies of college student mental health suggested that laughter helped students reduce stress and form social bonds, especially at the most stressful times of the academic year,” Anderson explained. “Conversely, when young people spend time in contexts where there is no room or ability for laughter for long periods of time, their sense of well-being diminishes.”

In recognition of World Laughter Day (May 7) , read on to gain Anderson’s insights on why laughter is good for you.

1. Laughing benefits you neurologically. 

Evolutionarily, laughter is a signal that everything is okay and we can relax. Laughter is complex neurologically and engages many different parts of the brain. Depending on the duration and intensity of the laughter, several neurochemicals may be released. Studies have shown that serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins and even endogenous opioids can be released when we laugh (discussed by function below).

2. Laughing improves your physical health.

Laughter has been shown to reduce the subjective experience of pain. Likely, this is due to the endorphins and endogenous opioids that can be created if a good laughter is sustained for 20-30 minutes, a finding that is heightened if among a positive social group. Norman Cousins, who fought his own debilitating pain with laughter, created “laugh therapy” which has since been adopted around the world.

Laughter has also been shown to decrease heart rate and blood pressure, relax muscle tension and is associated with improved immune functioning. It reduces the limbic “fight or flight” response and can reduce cortisol over time. And laughter can even strengthen and tighten your abs.

3. Laughing increases your emotional well-being.

The increased neurotransmitters of serotonin and dopamine found with laughter increase our emotional well-being and mental health. Mood can be better regulated with a regular guffaw. The overall physiological calming effects of laughter can also help ease anxiety.

4. Laughing benefits your cognitive function.

Even a short bout of laughter during the workday can allow people to think more clearly and creatively. Taking a few minutes here and there during your day to look at funny memes, trade “dad jokes” with your colleagues, or think about something funny that happened to you or in a movie can translate to increased cognitive function and productivity.

5. Laughing impacts your social health.

Laughing evolved as a social event. Laughter is found in all cultures, though what someone finds funny varies by social group. The oxytocin released during laughter is an important neurochemical part of human social bonding. If you laugh on a date, you’re more likely to have a second date. Social groups who laugh together develop strong bonds. Parents who laugh with their children tend to have better communication overall. 

So, get laughing! Whether it’s “laugh therapy,” a weekly funny movie night, beginning a meeting with a G-rated joke, or fake laughing with someone until it becomes real, you have every reason to incorporate more laughter into your life to improve your health and well-being.

About World Laughter Day

Mission: Health, happiness and world peace through laughter

World Laughter Day was created in 1998 by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement. The celebration of World Laughter Day is a positive manifestation for world peace and is intended to build up a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter. Today, we are surrounded with a sea of negativity – violence, terrorism, natural disasters, global warming, bad economy and other stressors. When people are happy and healthy they contribute to world peace.

How can we bring World Peace through Laughter?

Formula is very simple -When you laugh; you change and when you change the world changes around you. Inner change is the key to see the change in the outer world. The war in the external world the reflection of the inner war going on in the minds of people. Unconditional laughter has the power to change the inner chemistry and make us feel good inside. When you feel good inside, it changes the perception of outer world. Laughter is the easiest and cost-effective solution for physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being.

Universal Language

Laughter is a universal language, we all speak and it helps to connect people from different cultures and countries. Through the network of free social Laughter Clubs, we are creating a worldwide community of caring and sharing people who believe in unconditional love, kindness and compassion.

When and What happens on WLD

First Sunday of every May is World Laughter Day. On this day the laughter club members and their friends and families get together in important squares public parks to laugh together to send out positive vibrations of unconditional love, laughter, kindness and compassion.

• Download Message from DrK
• Download Round Logo
• Download Blue Background Logo
• Download Banner

Subscribe Now! Get features like

• Latest News
• Entertainment
• Real Estate
• SRH vs CSK Live Score
• Election Schedule 2024
• Win iPhone 15
• IPL 2024 Schedule
• IPL Points Table
• IPL Purple Cap
• IPL Orange Cap
• Bihar Board Results
• The Interview
• Web Stories
• Virat Kohli
• Mumbai News
• Bengaluru News
• Daily Digest

World Laughter Day 2020: From Byron to Bill Gates, world has always believed in power of a good laugh

World laughter day was founded in the year 1998 by a mumbai-based doctor, madan kataria, who was also the founder of the worldwide laughter yoga movement..

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine. — Lord Gordon Byron

In a world where everyone is caught in a rut to meet their goals and turn desires into reality, World Laughter Day comes as a reminder to take a break and ease the load. 

From some of the greatest poets, writers that the world has ever seen to the 21st-century business tycoons and billionaires - the world, from time to time, has come around to recognise the power of laughter and has always recommended it as one of the cheapest drugs to most things that plague the mind. 

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, in one of his heartfelt blog entries, shared how his friendship with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet - spanning over 2 decades now - has been all about “ learning and laughter”. 

Gates said that Warren has always helped do two things “that are impossible to overdo in one lifetime: learn more and laugh more”.

Also read: Fight Covid-19 with 30 minutes of laughter every day

“I’m always impatient for the plane doors to open because I know Warren will be waiting with a new story or a joke and I’ll be learning and laughing with him all over again,” Gates wrote in a blog piece in 2016. 

Breaking into a fit of laughter is one of the best and easiest ways to ease the stress temporarily and thus goes the popular saying, ‘laughter is the best medicine’. 

The benefits of laughter are many. It automatically infuses a sense of connection among people, almost instantly. Laughing can bust stress, relieve tension and scientifically speaking, it is known to boost brain activity, alleviate pain, improve mood and activate the stress response.

Laughter is what comes to us naturally, instinctively. Nothing else is as pure and real as a good laugh, the easiest way to placate a troubled soul.  

World Laughter Day was founded in the year 1998 by a Mumbai-based doctor, Madan Kataria, who was also the founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement. The day dedicated to laughter is celebrated every year on May 3.

Kataria was resolved to start a global laughter yoga movement based on the premise that facial expressions can affect human emotions.

• World Laughter Day
• Warren Buffet

Join Hindustan Times

Create free account and unlock exciting features like.

• Terms of use
• Privacy policy
• Weather Today
• HT Newsletters
• Subscription
• Print Ad Rates
• Code of Ethics

• Elections 2024
• India vs England
• T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule
• IPL Live Score
• IPL 2024 Auctions
• T20 World Cup 2024
• Cricket Players
• ICC Rankings
• Cricket Schedule
• Other Cities
• Income Tax Calculator
• Budget 2024
• Petrol Prices
• Diesel Prices
• Silver Rate
• Relationships
• Art and Culture
• Telugu Cinema
• Tamil Cinema
• Exam Results
• Competitive Exams
• Board Exams
• BBA Colleges
• Engineering Colleges
• Medical Colleges
• BCA Colleges
• Medical Exams
• Engineering Exams
• Horoscope 2024
• Festive Calendar 2024
• Compatibility Calculator
• The Economist Articles
• Explainer Video
• On The Record
• Vikram Chandra Daily Wrap
• PBKS vs DC Live Score
• KKR vs SRH Live Score
• EPL 2023-24
• ISL 2023-24
• Asian Games 2023
• Public Health
• Economic Policy
• International Affairs
• Climate Change
• Gender Equality
• future tech
• Daily Sudoku
• Daily Crossword
• Daily Word Jumble
• HT Friday Finance
• Explore Hindustan Times
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Subscription - Terms of Use

World Laughter Day

• Laughter Yoga
• About World Laughter Day
• Reports Archive
• Videos Archive
• WLD Events 2012
• Submit WLD Event

World Laughter Day was created in 1998 by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement. The celebration of World Laughter Day is a positive manifestation for world peace and is intended to build up a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter.

World Laughter Day is customarily celebrated on the first Sunday of May every year. The Laughter Clubs movement is a global initiative to unite entire mankind through unconditional love and laughter. It is a non-religious, non-racial and non profit organization committed to generate good health, joy and world peace through laughter. This revolutionary idea has changed the lives of hundreds and thousands of people around the world and has helped them to attain a state of complete wellness. Similarly, many people admitted that cryptocurrency trading has changed their lives and various reports even claim that cryptocurrency trading has even made ordinary people millionaires. In fact, trading cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, is much easier today due to the availability of trading software like Bitcoin Revolution. So, if you are interested in the bitcoin revolution crypto robot , be sure to carry out a test and read the user review before purchasing it for your needs.

WLD celebrated in Vijayawada

• Worldwide Laughter Yoga News
• Dr. Kataria’s Diary
• Laughter Yoga Health Benefits

World Laughter Day: How Laughter Can Enhance Your Life

World Laughter Day, typically celebrated on the first Sunday of May, is an annual event dedicated to spreading joy and positivity through laughter. This day was founded in 1988 by the founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement, Dr. Madan Kataria. World Laughter Day can celebrate the power of laughter in fostering happiness, social connection, and overall health and well-being across communities. To celebrate, you might attend a comedy club performance, watch funny movies with friends, or share silly stories with others. Those who have trouble embracing happiness and laughter may benefit from working with a therapist online or in person.

History of World Laughter Day

World Laughter Day began in 1998 when Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician from Mumbai, India, founded the Laughter Yoga movement. It’s thought that Dr. Kataria created this day after discovering the many healing benefits of laughter on an individual’s physical and psychological health. He realized that effortless laughter, especially when combined with other healthy lifestyle choices like yoga, can have a real impact on a person’s overall happiness and well-being. 

The main goal of World Laughter Day is generally to promote world peace and positivity through laughter. When we celebrate World Laughter Day on a global scale, it can remind us that laughter often transcends language, culture, and nationality, allowing for connection between people who would normally face barriers to communication. By fostering a sense of community and connection, World Laughter Day can reinforce the importance of humor and happiness in our lives. 

How laughter can benefit mental health

Research shows that laughter can positively impact individuals of all ages, regardless of an individual’s circumstances or stage of life. For instance, laughter can have a positive effect on the happiness of students in learning environments , and it can also reduce grief and depression in bereaved people.

Laughter can activate serotonin production in middle-aged women, potentially improving their quality of life as well. 

It can be important to value times that promote laughter in our lives, whether those include moments with friends, sporting activities, comedy shows, or simply laughing during silly moments. Regular laughter sessions may be linked to improved self-esteem, enhanced optimism, and a more positive outlook on life. 

In addition, the act of laughing can shift a person’s perspective, empowering individuals to approach difficult situations with greater resilience. By promoting laughter on days like World Laughter Day, we can take care of ourselves, our loved ones, and the wider community, contributing to a greater sense of happiness and well-being.

Ways to encourage laughter in your life

Finding humor in everyday life can be as simple as approaching situations, daily moments, or larger events with a light heart. By embracing spontaneity and allowing yourself to laugh at mistakes or mishaps, you may find greater enjoyment in life. 

Outside of approaching life in this way, there may be activities and events that can promote laughter in your life. 

• Attend comedy shows: Attend comedy shows or improv performances in your local neighborhood. Enjoy sharing a dose of laughter with friends, family, and the wider community in a social setting.
• Participate in playful activities: Engage in playful activities like board games, charades, or outdoor sports. Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself and make a mistake or two. It can all be part of the fun.
• Share funny moments: Whether it’s sharing a funny meme on social media or a story about your day around the fireplace, this can be a great way to re-live events with others and share laughter.
• Try laughter yoga: Practice laughter yoga or participate in laughter therapy sessions to experience the benefits of intentional laughter.
• Get creative: Explore creative outlets like writing, drawing, or crafting humorous content to express your playful side and inspire laughter in others.
• Enter laughter contests: Try competing in a laughing contest where people go head-to-head to see which contestant has the most contagious laughter.
• Join a laughter club: Join a local community laughter club and come together with other members to promote laughter through various activities and exercises.

You can strengthen bonds and create lasting memories by sharing laughter with those around you, so try to create opportunities for humor in your daily life. 

The impact of laughter at work, at home, and in the community

Laughter may not only be beneficial for individual well-being, but it can also have a positive impact in various areas of our lives, including our workplaces, homes, and communities.

In the workplace, laughter can improve morale, foster team bonding, and increase productivity, potentially helping employees collaborate more effectively. Shared laughter can break down barriers between colleagues, enhance communication, and promote a sense of camaraderie, possibly leading to a more enjoyable and fulfilling work environment.

Within families and households, laughter can strengthen relationships and build emotional connections. It may diffuse tension during challenging times, promote empathy and understanding, and create lasting memories. Laughter can foster a sense of warmth and closeness among family members, making simple activities more enjoyable. By promoting laughter in your family life, you can create a conducive atmosphere for happiness in which each member of the family can feel safe and supported.

In the wider community, laughter has the potential to bring people together, bridge divides, and promote social togetherness. Shared laughter can transcend cultural and language barriers so that people from different demographics and backgrounds can come together. Laughter-based activities and events can strengthen community bonds, promote positive social interactions, and create inclusive spaces where everyone is accepted. 

Benefits of online therapy

Making room for enjoyment and laughter in your life may not always be an easy task, but a licensed therapist can help you identify and address any barriers that may be standing in your way. Online therapy can enable you to connect with a mental health professional from the location of your choice and choose between appointment formats like video conference, phone call, and online chat. This can make it easy and convenient to incorporate therapy into your life.

Effectiveness of online therapy

If mental health concerns like depression are preventing you from embracing laughter and fully enjoying life, participating in online therapy can be an effective way to address them. According to a 2019 study evaluating the efficacy of an online therapy platform in treating adult depression, “ depression symptom severity was significantly reduced after the use of the multimodal digital psychotherapy intervention.”

• International No Diet Day: A Step Toward Body Acceptance Medically reviewed by Julie Dodson , MA
• Ways To Celebrate International Moment Of Laughter Day Medically reviewed by April Justice , LICSW
• Current Events
• Relationships and Relations

National Today

• Arts & Entertainment
• Food & Beverage
• Relationships
• Special Interest
• Create a Holiday

Gift Guides

Got an idea for a holiday send it to us.

World Laughter Day – May 5, 2024

World Laughter Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday of May, and this year it is celebrated on May 5. Shrill or funny, giggly or bubbly, on this day, let out your laughter and laugh to your heart’s content. As Shakespeare said, “With mirth and laughter, let old wrinkles come.” We want you to spend your life with laughter and joy. Did you know that laughter decreases stress? By laughing, the brain releases endorphins which make one feel happy. So do not let anyone dampen your day, and laugh as much as you want.

History of World Laughter Day

The first World Laughter Day gathering took place in Mumbai, India, on January 11, 1998. Around 12,000 members from the international laughter clubs attended the event and laughed on this joyous day. It was followed by “Happy-demic,” the first world laughter day celebrated outside India. The event was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 9, 2000, and around 10,000 people attended, putting it in the “Guinness Book of World Records.”

The history of laughter is very intriguing. Origins of laughter can be traced back 10 million years ago. Laughter is linked to high pain tolerance and even social status, but the primary function of laughter appears to be to create profound social bonds. As the ancient ancestors started to live life in complex social structures, the quality of relationships became crucial for them to survive.

There is a book supposed to be the one in which King Philip of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, requested an Athenian social club to write down all its member’s funniest jokes and send them to him. Athenaios of Naukratis, a 2 A.D. Greek writer, mentions the book’s existence, but the book did not survive to the present day.

World Laughter Day timeline

The origin of laughter is traced back 10 million years ago.

Philip II of Macedonia requests the social club to write down their funniest jokes.

Written around 16,000 years ago, “Philogelos” contains 265 jokes.

World Laughter Day is held on January 11, 1998, in Mumbai, India.

World Laughter Day FAQ s

Why is world laughter day celebrated.

This day is celebrated to raise awareness about the health benefits of laughter.

Which energy is created by laughter?

According to Sigmund Freud, laughter releases psychic energy.

Does laughter yoga work?

It is reported to have reduced stress in people.

World Laughter Day Activities

Try laughter yoga.

Join a laughter yoga club and practice this art of laughing together. Laughing is more fun when it is shared.

Watch funny videos

There is no shortage of funny videos on the internet. So get online and laugh till you can’t anymore.

Go out and watch a stand-up show

Make sure not to miss the opportunity to watch a stand-up show. Contagious laughter blows up in the crowd when you laugh with everyone.

5 Interesting Facts About Laughter

Laughter came before language.

Scientists believe that humans laughed before they could speak.

Animals laugh too

Rats and Chimpanzees are known to laugh.

The brain can’t help but laugh

Whenever we hear someone laugh, our premotor cortical region of the brain is triggered, which activates laughter in us too.

Laughter burns calories

10 to 15 minutes of laughter can burn up to 40 calories, according to a Vanderbilt University Study.

The longest stand-up show was 80 hours

On April 15, 2015, Nashville recorded 80 hours' worth of stand-up shows with multiple comedians.

Why We Love World Laughter Day

It cracks us up.

Life is better with a bit of humor. Laughter keeps us sane and happy, and this is the day to celebrate the gift of laughter.

It creates a bond

Laughter is known to create social bonds. Laughing with people connects us to them.

It is a day for happiness

We spend our lives stressing over things. But we have this one to celebrate happiness in our lives.

World Laughter Day dates

Holidays Straight to Your Inbox

Every day is a holiday! Receive fresh holidays directly to your inbox.

• 6,427 Days celebrated
• 19,281 Ways to celebrate
• 1,000,000+ Happy users
• Our Mission
• For Businesses
• For Journalists
• For Influencers
• Submit a Holiday
• Promote an Event
• Work With Us
• Submit an Error

Our Services

• Create A Holiday
• Sponsor A Holiday
• Data Licensing
• National Today Calendar
• Reviews and Gift Guides

Shopping Reviews

• Health & Fitness
• Home & Garden
• By Interest
• By Occasion
• By Recipient

Popular Holidays

• National Girlfriend Day
• Day of the Dead
• National Boyfriend Day
• National Sons Day
• Mexican Independence Day
• Pride Month
• National Best Friends Day
• National Daughter Day
• World Bicycle Day
• National Dog Day

About National Today

We keep track of fun holidays and special moments on the cultural calendar — giving you exciting activities, deals, local events, brand promotions, and other exciting ways to celebrate.

Follow us on

• India Today
• Business Today
• Reader’s Digest
• Harper's Bazaar
• Brides Today
• Cosmopolitan
• Aaj Tak Campus
• India Today Hindi

World Laughter Day 2023: History, significance, and all you need to know

World laughter day will be observed on may 07 this year. here is all you need to know about the day..

Listen to Story

World Laughter Day is an annual event celebrated on the first Sunday of May to raise awareness about laughter and its many healing benefits. This year, in 2023, the day falls on May 07. An innocent smile or slight giggle can completely change the mood and atmosphere around you. Laughter has the power to heal and renew.

The phrase 'laughter is the best medicine' is often repeated. Go ahead and laugh whenever you have a chance, even when people give you funny looks.

WORLD LAUGHTER DAY: HISTORY

In 1998, World Laughter Day was created by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.

WORLD LAUGHTER DAY CELEBRATION:

The celebration of World Laughter Day is a positive manifestation of world peace and is intended to build up a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter.

Several community groups regularly practice simple international laughter techniques that promote wellness and overall well-being around the world. These community groups are known as Laughter Clubs.

People go to laughter clubs, gather and laugh together. You can see several comedy pictures or can listen to famous comedians for fun. Published By: Animesh Bhardwaj Published On: May 7, 2023 --- ENDS --- READ | School holidays in May 2023: Check full list here

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

• Speech on Laughter is The Medicine

Introduction to the Speech

Laughing helps in forming bonds with friends, families and closed ones. One can easily forget the cause of the laughter shared together but one can never forget the fun times spent laughing. 

Laughter is a mood elevator and rightly so because when one laughs the muscles lose the tension that they generally hold and even the tightness. The chemicals called endorphins are released into the brain. 

Endorphins provide a sense of feeling good even in painful situations and give relief to one in the time of panic situations. 

This gives one a happy feeling and leaves the person who laughs feel warm and fuzzy. It has a similar effect to that of one after a workout. And therefore laughter is considered a medicine. There are many ways to deliver that laughter is the best medicine speech. In this article, we will explore laughter as the best medicine speech for students in a long and a short format. 

Long Laughter is The Best Medicine Speech

This form of laughter is the best medicine speech introduction that is very useful for students in grades 8-12 who have to deliver a 5-minute speech.

Good Morning everyone, respected teachers and my dear friends. I am ABC (mention your name) here to speak on one of the most popular sayings: laughter is the best medicine.  My most memorable and fondest memory I have in my life is with my family and friends. And all of it included many moments of shared laughter and camaraderie. 

And anyone who laughs a lot appears truly magnetic, they are the life of a party and their charm is infectious. It brings people together and also helps build a sense of community in any kind of situation. Laughter has a lot of power in one’s life and even in health. Whenever we are gloomy or are in a tough situation there are many people who advise us to smile and laugh stating that laughter is the best medicine.

Let’s understand why that is the case. Laughter or a smile as we all know is a physical act. And whenever our body is actively involved in displaying a certain emotion it triggers physical changes and emotional changes. 

The muscles of our body loosen, it also triggers the release of endorphins that is considered a happy hormone. This hormone is released in abundance even after a workout. So one can say a good laugh is easily considered a good workout. As the muscle movement also induces calories to burn. It keeps us healthy and relaxed. Laughter is especially important because in times of despair this simple act can brighten the whole day by lifting our spirits. Laughter is also helpful in boosting our immune system. 

There are many groups when I go for a morning workout of old people I see just laughing open-heartedly. They have lived life and experienced a lot of hardships, they say laughter is what gives them hope that there are always better days ahead. When you laugh you have a positive aura around you and have an optimistic outlook towards life. 

It gives you a healthy heart and keeps diseases at bay. It relieves one’s physical pain and stress. A good laugh can keep the body relaxed. When one is relaxed, they deal with everything in their life in a calm state. Relaxed and calm people are happy people and this happiness seeps into every aspect of life be it work or relationships. 

When you share a burst of laughter you are making happy memories, it strengthens your connection and bond with other people. You might have observed, even if you are meeting someone for the first time, and someone cracks a joke and everyone bursts into laughter. The ice is immediately broken, bringing two people together and making it less awkward. So it is important to take this dose of medicine every now and then in a day, I assure you it is expertly recommended. There is no cheaper and best way to stay healthy, and one must laugh while you still have teeth. Here is hoping this speech made you smile or laugh.

Short Speech on Laughter is the Best Medicine

This form of laughter is the best medicine speech and is extremely helpful for students in grades 4-7 to give a 3-minute speech.

Good Morning everyone, respected Principal, teachers and my dear friends, I am Abc (mention your name) here to speak on the topic of laughter is the best medicine. Let me tell you what my siblings and I do every evening with our grandparents. We tag along with our grandparents to their laughter club and have a good laugh along with their other friends. 

This, in the beginning, seemed pretty dubious to me. I was wondering how this helps anyone. But now it is my favorite part of the day, I always look forward to it. It has helped me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I am a shy person, and laughter has helped me better at interacting with others and increased my confidence and hence my social circle too. 

It is definitely distressing, I forget all my worries about the day or any fight or quarrel that puts me in a bad mood. I feel energized and refreshed for the rest of the day. I complete my work in a good mood and manage to do better every day. It is relaxing and stimulating at the same time.

I have come to learn other benefits of laughter that justify it being the best medicine, it boosts our immunity, keeps a healthy heart, keeps us young and positive. 

Now mental health has been the main concern and laughter helps a great deal in staying positive and calm that can also calm the nerves one experiences in anxiety and depression. 

Keep laughing and stay healthy, isn’t that an easy alternative to a workout that also promises the same benefits. 

10 Line Laughter is the Best Medicine Speech

This form of speech is helpful for students in grades 1-3 to deliver and understand the concept and the topic in simple words. 

Laughter can dissolve any sort of awkwardness even in a rather serious situation.

It is helpful in help as it enhances our social skills, physical as well as emotional well-being.

Social skills improve because it encourages one to form lasting bonds and relationships.

Such healthy relationships with a shared peal of laughter also enhance teamwork, promotes group bonding and helps defuse conflicts.

Physical health improvement when one heartily laughs is endorphins or the happy hormone release is triggered and therefore stress hormones levels are lowered.

This keeps one relaxed and calm as muscles also relax and physical pain also relatively lowers.

Laughter is the best immunity booster and also helps keep heart diseases at bay.

This physical activity of laughter also keeps us mentally healthy, happy and content.

It adds zest and zeal to our rather monotonous life.

One can find joy even in little things, as tension and anxiety is at ease and no longer a problem. It keeps us youthful and radiant. 

Importance of Laughter       

Laughter enhances the intake of oxygen and it also helps other organs of the body.  When you laugh, you take breaths more than usual, that increases heart rate and helps in avoiding heart issues. 

It changes one's mood and takes off the mental stress wrapping the mind of the people.  It releases tension in a most easy way and creates a calming effect in the mind and body. 

Laughter helps in replacing negative thoughts with the vibrant, positive ones. One can enhance their self-esteem through it. 

Having a good laugh with people actually helps in lowering the blood pressure and keeps you healthy. 

Laughing increases the blood flow and repairs the skin and makes it shine like a baby. 

Laughter is The Best Medicine - How? 

The tablet of laughter is free of cost, easy to receive and you don’t have to move to buy it. It’s in your own hands. There are people in this world who deal with their troubles through laughter. They watch comedy shows to get something to laugh about  and forget their own worries. 

There is nothing sweeter in the world than a child laughing at small things because he laughs with his heart and that automatically makes the mood lighter for everyone witnessing. 

FAQs on Speech on Laughter is The Medicine

1. Define the power of laughter?

If you are having a bad day, laughing really helps in wiping your tears and curving your lips in a smile. As we all know, laughing is very contagious just like yawning. When you see someone laughing, your lips pass a smile without your knowledge and you wouldn't even notice it. Laughter heals people as fast as any medication given. The power of laughter can be seen by people doing things which they wouldn’t do otherwise. People often fall in love with the way a person laughs. It makes people feel happy and their will to hang in there continues. 

2. Can anyone practice laughing? 

It is a known fact that if we want to we can add any habit in our daily routine. If you put your mind into practicing something daily, it will be a part of your schedule automatically. Laughter is no different than any other day to day activity. With practice, you can train your mind to include laughter smoothly into your everyday routine. Starting with a few minutes a day, it will feel forced at first but after a few days, it will come more organically. Increase the time after every few days, you will realize that after doing this, it won't be forced anymore. 

3. What do you understand about laughter yoga? 

Laughter yoga also known as “Hasya Yoga” is a kind of modern exercise that involves people coming together in a circle and laughing loudly with hands in the air. You must have seen people gathered in the parks, laughing their guts out, usually in the early mornings or evenings. They are just doing laughter yoga. People doing this form of yoga believe that voluntary laughter results in the same benefits as spontaneous laughter. It makes your brain release the same chemical which we discussed earlier. 

4. Does laughter have any impact on living longer? 

Researchers believe that laughing for a couple of minutes a day burns a lot of calories. It provides the body a mini workout and hence people often feel a little tired after having a good laughing session, be it forced or spontaneous. When you laugh, you attract a lot of positive energy, making you feel young by heart. It is largely believed as a social phenomenon because with your people in a comfortable environment helps reduce negative energies.  It helps in making your immune system stronger than before.  

5. Define laughter? 

Laughter is a physical form of expressing your happiness. It is of many types. There is normal laughter like something funny happens and your brain collects the information and you react in a loud noise. Everyone has their own understanding of humor and how their brain registers any event. There is nervous laughter, when you are unsure about things, you laugh in a different way than usual. Sometimes your brain mixes these signals like when someone tickles you, you react by laughing but you don't enjoy it. You can download study material from Vedantu website. They provide the best. Free Online Study Materials for CBSE, ICSE, IIT, JEE Main  - Vedantu

• Elections 2024
• Entertainment
• Andhra Pradesh
• Mobile Phones
• Product Review
• Board Results
• Entrance Exams
• Exam Results
• Health Conditions
• Mental Health
• Health News
• Women's Premier League
• Other Sports
• Personal Finance
• Movie Reviews
• Regional Cinema
• Telugu cinema
• Kannada cinema
• Malayalam cinema
• Tamil cinema
• Food & Drink
• Relationships
• Spirituality
• Home & Garden
• Education and Career
• Latest News
• Opinion / Analysis
• Short Videos
• Photo Gallery
• Home Lifestyle Events

World Health Day 2024: Quotes, speeches, slogans and activities!

Make world health day count this article shares creative slogans, motivational quotes, inspiring speeches and engaging activities to promote health for yourself and your community..

Mumbai: World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on April 7th by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It provides an opportunity to focus on important health issues that affect people worldwide. The theme for World Health Day 2024 is  ‘My Health, My Right.’

World Health Organisation (WHO) first started celebrating World Health Day on April 7, 1950. World Health Day is aimed at raising awareness of global health issues. It encourages governments, NGOs, and healthcare professionals to collaborate, allocate resources, and promote healthy lifestyles. The day also celebrates medical advancements and addresses challenges like healthcare access, infectious diseases, maternal and child health, mental health, non-communicable diseases, and environmental health.

World Health Day is an opportunity to support global health, promote healthy living, and advocate for an empowered and equitable healthcare future. Here are World Health Day quotes, slogans, speeches and activities for students to promote awareness about this day and to lay emphasis on good health:

World Health Day Quotes

• “Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind, and spirit.” – B.K.S. Iyengar
• “The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
• “To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” – Buddha
• “Health is not valued till sickness comes.” – Thomas Fuller
• “The first wealth is health.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “A healthy outside starts from the inside.” – Robert Urich
• “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” – Jim Rohn
• “He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything.” – Arabian Proverb
• “The groundwork for all happiness is good health.” – Leigh Hunt
• “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” – Mahatma Gandhi
• “The body heals with play, the mind heals with laughter, and the spirit heals with joy.”
• “Wellness encompasses a healthy body, a sound mind, and a tranquil spirit.”
• “The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” – Thomas Edison
• “The best six doctors anywhere, and no one can deny it, are sunshine, water, rest, and air, exercise and diet.” – Wayne Fields
• “To ensure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.” – William Londen

World Health Day Slogans

• “Health for all, all for health!”
• “Your health, your responsibility!”
• “Stay fit, stay happy!”
• “Eat right, live bright!”
• “Take a step towards better health!”
• “Wellness is wealth!”
• “Healthy living, happy life!”
• “Nourish to flourish!”
• “Exercise regularly, live happily!”
• “Good health is true wealth!”
• “Prevention is better than cure!”
• “Be smart, eat smart!”
• “Health first, everything else follows!”
• “Keep moving, stay healthy!”
• “Be active, be healthy!”
• “Commit to be fit!”

World Health Day Speech

Speech sample 1:.

Good morning everyone,

Today, we gather here to mark World Health Day—a day dedicated to raising awareness about global health issues and advocating for the importance of health and well-being for everyone, everywhere.

The theme for this year’s World Health Day is ‘Health for All: Equity and Solidarity.’ It reminds us that achieving universal health coverage is not just a matter of ensuring access to healthcare services, but also addressing the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health that create disparities in health outcomes.

Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible, regardless of their background, income, or where they live. It’s about removing barriers to good health—be it lack of access to quality healthcare, nutritious food, clean water, or safe housing.

In our increasingly interconnected world, health equity is not just a moral imperative but also a practical necessity. Health disparities in one part of the world can have far-reaching consequences, affecting global health security and economic stability.

As we commemorate World Health Day, let us pledge to work together to build a world where everyone can access the healthcare services and resources they need to lead healthy, fulfilling lives. Let us advocate for policies that promote health equity and solidarity, and let us empower communities to take charge of their health and well-being.

Remember, health is not just the absence of disease—it’s a state of physical, mental, and social well-being. So, let’s commit to creating a world where health for all is not just a slogan but a reality.

Speech Sample 2:

As we gather here today to celebrate World Health Day, let us take a moment to reflect on the importance of health and well-being in our lives.

As individuals, we can all play a role in promoting health and well-being by making healthy lifestyle choices, advocating for health equity, and supporting initiatives that improve access to healthcare and essential services for all.

Simple actions like eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, practising good hygiene, and seeking timely medical care can go a long way in preventing disease and promoting overall health. Moreover, by raising awareness about health issues and encouraging open discussions within our communities, we can help break down stigmas and misconceptions that often prevent people from seeking help and accessing the care they need.

So, as we mark World Health Day, let’s commit to taking proactive steps to improve our health and well-being, as well as that of our families, friends, and communities. Let’s work together to build a fairer, healthier world where everyone has the opportunity to lead a healthy and fulfilling life.

Speech Sample 3:

Today, as we come together to observe World Health Day, we are reminded of the importance of not only our physical health but also our mental and emotional well-being.

Mental health is an integral part of our overall health and well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, and plays a crucial role in determining our ability to cope with stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Yet, despite its significance, mental health is often overlooked and neglected, leading to unnecessary suffering and reduced quality of life for millions of people worldwide.

As we commemorate World Health Day, let us pledge to prioritise mental health and well-being in our lives and our communities. Let us encourage open and honest conversations about mental health, and let us support those who are struggling by providing them with the resources and assistance they need to seek help and treatment.

Remember, it’s okay to not be okay. Seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness. So, let’s break the silence and stigma surrounding mental health, and let’s create a supportive and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, understood, and empowered to take control of their mental health.

Speech Sample 4:

As we gather here today to celebrate World Health Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles and preventive healthcare practices that can help us lead longer, happier, and more fulfilling lives.

Prevention is always better than cure. By adopting healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, avoiding tobacco and excessive alcohol consumption, and getting regular health check-ups, we can significantly reduce our risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Moreover, preventive healthcare not only benefits individuals but also contributes to the overall well-being of our communities and societies. It helps to reduce healthcare costs, improve productivity, and create a healthier and more resilient population.

As we mark World Health Day, let us pledge to take proactive steps to prevent disease and promote health and well-being in our lives and our communities. Let us educate ourselves and others about the importance of preventive healthcare, and let us advocate for policies and programs that support and encourage healthy lifestyles.

Together, we can make a difference and build a healthier, happier world for ourselves and for future generations.

World Health Day Activities

Here are activities for students to commemorate World Health Day:

Gratitude cards : Craft individualised thank-you cards addressed to nurses and other medical professionals, then send them to a nearby hospital as a gesture of appreciation.

Nature exploration: Emphasise the importance of physical activity by encouraging students to go on hikes or walks. They can capture photos of the natural world and later share them in a show-and-tell session.

Healthy eating awareness: Motivate students to consume more fruits and vegetables, highlighting the positive effects of a balanced diet on their well-being and energy levels.

Global health initiative: Initiate a brainstorming session where students can devise creative strategies to raise awareness about a specific health issue. This could manifest as a brochure, poster, or even a video campaign.

Health awareness poster competition: Students can design posters highlighting various health topics such as nutrition, mental health, hygiene, or physical activity. Organise a poster presentation where students explain their designs and the importance of the health message depicted.

Healthy recipe challenge: Encourage students to create and share healthy recipes and whoever cooks the best one, wins.

Guest speaker session: Invite a healthcare professional or a nutritionist to speak about the importance of maintaining good health followed by a Q & A session.

Interactive workshops: Conduct workshops on topics like stress management, mindfulness, or first aid. Engage students with hands-on activities and demonstrations.

Health fair: Organise a health fair with booths offering free screenings, health consultations, and information on various health topics. Invite local healthcare providers and organisations to participate.

Fitness challenge: Host a community-wide fitness event such as a fun run, yoga session, or group exercise class.

Community clean-up: Promote environmental health by organising a community clean-up day. Encourage participants to collect litter, plant trees, or create a community garden.

Health documentary screening: Screen a documentary focusing on a global health issue followed by a discussion session. Raise awareness and encourage community members to take action.

Social media campaign: Launch a social media campaign to raise awareness about World Health Day. Encourage people to share their own health tips, stories, or challenges using a specific hashtag.

These activities can help promote awareness about important health issues, encourage healthy behaviours, and inspire people to take proactive steps towards improving their health and well-being.

Share these creative slogans, motivational quotes, inspiring speeches and engaging activities to promote health for yourself and your community.

• Grand Rapids/Muskegon
• Saginaw/Bay City
• All Michigan

World War III, immigration and electric vehicles: 5 takeaways from Trump’s Grand Rapids speech

• Updated: Apr. 03, 2024, 2:29 p.m. |
• Published: Apr. 03, 2024, 8:50 a.m.

• Michael Kransz | [email protected]

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Former President Donald Trump gave a blistering attack on President Joe Biden’s handling of the southern border during a speech Tuesday in Grand Rapids.

But the former president also remarked on the threat of World War III, the importance of winning the state for his reelection and more during his stop in Michigan’s second-largest city.

More than 120 people attended the invite-only speech, dubbed “remarks on Biden’s Border Bloodbath,” Tuesday, April 2, at the DeVos Place Convention Hall in downtown Grand Rapids.

Related: ‘Carnage and chaos’: Trump attacks Biden’s border policy after Grand Rapids killing

Among the audience members were a number of state and federal Republican leaders, including Michigan GOP Chair Pete Hoekstra, former U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop, U.S. Rep. John James and more.

Trump gave his speech flanked by the sheriffs of Allegan, Berrien, Chippewa, Crawford, Hillsdale, Leelanau, Mason and Van Buren counties. Behind Trump was also a graph that he said showed illegal immigration taking off like a “rocket ship” under the Biden administration.

Here are five takeaways from Trump’s speech.

1. Trump’s border plan

Trump spent a majority of the Tuesday speech talking about violence committed by people living in the U.S. illegally.

He railed against the Biden administration, which he claimed has failed to secure the southern border with Mexico and allowed violence and drugs into the country. Trump said his administration was far more effective on border security.

If reelected, Trump promised that on his first day in office he’ll seal the border and enact the “largest domestic deportation operation in the history of our country.” He said he would also impose a naval blockade on cartels.

“We will stop the plunder, rape, slaughter and destruction of our American suburbs, cities and towns,” Trump said. “We will end deadly sanctuary cities immediately. I will shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement and we will impose a naval blockade on the cartels, and we will hit the cartels very hard.”

Trump said he wanted people to immigrate to the U.S. but to do so legally.

Related: Trump is using immigrant crime as ‘fake bogeyman,’ protesters say

In a virtual press conference prior to his speech, state and national Democratic leaders said Trump, not Biden, is to blame for an ongoing crisis at the southern border, because Trump sank the bipartisan Senate border security deal in February that was intended to cut back on a record number of illegal border crossings.

That bill included more than $20 billion for border security and, according to the Associated Press , would’ve provided faster and tougher immigration enforcement as well as required U.S. border authorities to turn back migrants if daily crossings reach a certain threshold.

2. Ruby Garcia

Trump’s visit came a little more than a week after Grand Rapids resident Ruby Garcia was slain allegedly by a Mexican citizen living in the U.S. illegally.

Garcia was in a dating relationship with her alleged killer, Brandon Ortiz-Vite, who police said admitted to shooting Garcia multiple times after an argument. Her body was dumped on U.S. 131.

Ortiz-Vite had been deported in September 2020 but returned to the U.S. illegally sometime after.

Related: Once shielded from deportation, man accused of Michigan killing sparks political fight

Trump pointed to Garcia’s death as an example of what he claims are the Biden Administration’s failed border policies.

“We threw him out of the country and crooked Joe Biden took him back and let him back in and let him stay in and he viciously killed Ruby,” Trump said. “Now Ruby’s loved ones and the community are left grieving for this incredible young woman, remembering what they called her. They said she had just this most contagious laughter and when she walked into a room she lit up that room.”

During the speech, the former president claimed he had spoken to “some of” Garcia’s family.

But Garcia’s sister told local TV station WOOD-TV 8 that Trump hadn’t spoken with her family and that she was angry her sister’s death was being politicized.

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, told reporters Tuesday it’s “shameful” that Trump is using Garcia’s slaying for his own political gain.

“Ruby Garcia’s death was a horrible tragedy,” Stabenow said, speaking during a virtual press conference. “But, unfortunately, Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are hellbent on exploiting Ruby’s death for their own politics.”

Related: Democrats call out Trump for ‘exploiting’ death of Grand Rapids woman

3. World War III

But “even bigger damage” than the Biden administration’s handling of the border could be World War III, Trump said.

Trump said Biden is dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un – “all people I know very well,” he said.

“We were under no threat from anybody until this guy got into office,” Trump said. “Now they’re talking nuclear all the time. We didn’t talk nuclear.”

Trump claimed the possibility of World War III is due to a lack of respect by those world leaders of the current administration.

“You had four safe years,” he said. “You were safe because they respected your president and they respected the United States of America, and now you’re not safe. I will tell you, we could end up in World War III with this lunatic.”

4. Electric vehicles

Trump also devoted part of his speech to expressing distrust in the performance of electric vehicles. He said he would overturn Biden’s electric vehicle “mandate” on his first day in office if reelected.

He said transitioning from gas-powered vehicles to electric ones is playing into China’s strengths, because America produces the most oil of any country.

“The first day – I promise you – I will sign where the electric vehicle mandate is gone,” he said. “If you want an electric car, you can buy it, but you’re going to be able to buy every other form of push, every other form of car and engine and motor that you want, and you’re going to have it.”

Trump didn’t specify what Biden administration mandate he was referring to.

Last month the Biden administration published a rule expected to make electric vehicles more available and affordable, according to The Hill , which also reported that some experts say the rule would make gas-powered cars more expensive and less available.

Earlier this year, the White House said electric vehicle ownership has been more affordable than ever under the Biden administration, that sales of electric vehicles have quadrupled since Biden took office and that electric vehicle chargers across the country are expected to number half a million by 2026.

5. Battleground state

Michigan, which Trump won in 2016 but lost in his 2020 reelection bid, is a key state in the 2024 presidential election.

CBS News reported a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll released last week showed Trump and Biden tied in the state with 45% of voters each.

Trump acknowledged the state’s importance to his reelection and promised to return before the November election. He said he believes the country is going to “cease to exist” if he loses.

“This is a very important state. You win Michigan; you win the election,” he said. “If we don’t win on Nov. 5, I think our country is going to cease to exist. It could be the last election we ever have. I actually mean that.

“If we don’t win, I think this could be the last election we ever have. That’s where our country is going.”

But Biden campaign officials said Tuesday that Trump is the threat to American democracy.

“Now, he is pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one,’ claiming there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses in November,” said Alyssa Bradley, the Biden campaign’s Michigan communications director. “And he’s promising to pardon violent rioters who attacked law enforcement on Jan. 6.”

Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free “ 3@3 Grand Rapids ” daily newsletter.

Read more Grand Rapids news on MLive

• ‘Enough is enough’: Patrick Lyoya supporters upset by delays in ex-officer’s court case
• Police arrest alleged shooter 2 weeks after man found shot to death in Walker apartment
• Hotel tax-hike request — to fund amphitheater, soccer stadium — eyed for August ballot
• See the top 15 college destinations for Grand Rapids-area high schoolers
• Here are 4 road projects happening in Kentwood this summer

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Speech on World Health Day in simple and easy words

Table of Contents

Speech on World Health Day: Celebrated on 7 th April every year, the World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated under the funding and the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other similar organizations. We all know that health is the real wealth without which we cannot accomplish our goals in life; therefore the day is celebrated to highlight its importance.

Fill Out the Form for Expert Academic Guidance!

Please indicate your interest Live Classes Books Test Series Self Learning

Verify OTP Code (required)

I agree to the terms and conditions and privacy policy .

Fill complete details

Target Exam ---

However, it’s often observed that people face problem in delivering a speech on world health day, may be due to lack of information or inability to frame a coherent speech. But don’t you worry as you can go through our samples and examples on the world health day speech. We keep the language very simple yet standard; our short speech on world health day and long speech on world health day help students (may also help doctors/medical professionals, if required) to deliver speech on world health day.

Long and Short Speech on World Health Day

World health day speech – 1.

Good morning respected principal, teachers and my dear friends,

I am obliged that my class teacher has selected me to address you all for today’s assembly. On this world health day, my agenda is to create awareness amongst you all about this day.

This day is specifically celebrated to grab attention on the subject towards importance of the global health. This day is marked by the World Health Organization. Each year the agenda of celebrating this day is based on different criteria. Different varieties of events related to such particular themes are organized on the international and national level by the WHO. Emphasise of such special issues are taken care of annually with deep dedication. This day is celebrated each year to create awareness about the health issues and health concerns amongst the entire population.

We all should focus on adhering to good and healthy lifestyle. We should follow and promote healthy living style and healthy living habits. As compared to the past trends and decades the immunity level today has decreased a lot, this is majorly due to the natural climatic changes and the inherited not so healthy lifestyle of ours. For our safety and well being we all should monitor our activities like eating, sleeping, etc and ensure that we follow the standard desired healthy living habits throughout. We should work on creating awareness amongst others as well and must ensure to have a clean and healthy surrounding around for our well being and the well being of others.

The basic objective and agenda behind celebration of world health day is to increase the public awareness of various causes, to provide detailed knowledge of getting prevented from various diseases, to motivate the worldwide health authorities to make their own efforts in creating the healthy environments in their country and many more. Though, health is such a area that is to be taken care now and then and is not specifically dedicated to be addressed on one single day annually; but still many people out there deal with their health as not one on their priority list.

Two most common and easy modes of our health deterioration are our eating habits and the natural air or the surroundings that we inherit each second in us. Being healthy is not our goal it should be our living.

The most effective way of maintaining our health is having a regular habit of exercising. Exercise helps an individual to build themselves strong within with natural inherited things. A few basic things that help us in ensuring good health are: healthy eating habits, proper timely sleep, regular routine for exercise, ample drinking of water, safe urinary habits, daily washing habits, etc.

Please ensure to monitor each of your habit and create awareness amongst others as well. Thank you everyone for being my audience and I hope we all together will eventually enable the world be more aware and cautious about their healthy habits and wellbeing.

Thank you everyone!

World Health Day Speech – 2

Greetings of the day everyone. Our organization has specially organized this health check up campaign today. Before we all get busy with campaign, let me talk to you all about the reason behind arranging this.

Today this campaign is being arranged on the occasion of the World Health Day. This day just like today is always celebrated on 7th April. World Health Organization has necessarily declared this day as the World Health Day so as to make sure that people get to be aware about the health issues and concerns. We as individuals owe this responsibility to ourselves to ensure that we live a healthy life by adopting healthy lifestyle and healthy habits.

People nowadays don’t take their health and the related issues too seriously as they know how easy it is to visit a doctor and take one dose of medicine and get back to the perfect health. They should realise that this medication deep down deteriorates our level of immunity and makes it more prone to such diseases. Natural health and wellbeing is a very crucial thing to be maintained throughout.

With the changing trends, corporates have specifically established their NGOs and corporate associations so as to address one of the major issues of health that exists in the society at present. There is no age bar on whose health is more at the stake of being impacted by natural and personal deeds. Children, senior citizens, students, women, men, etc everybody has this concern at stake for themselves. We all should ensure the adoption of best healthy habits for ourselves and our near and dear ones.

A healthy diet and regular exercise routine is the best combination that one can adhere to for leading a healthy and well versed life. Proper nutritional habits of eating should be adopted since childhood for children so that since starting they have a strong immune system for being future life.

World Health Day dedicatedly provides us all with an opportunity to come together for one day every year to focus on actions that can improve the health of all our people and side by side address all the key concerns of the health taking the verge of majority of people at present.

We all should make it our habit to everyday, think about the habits that we opted for that day; from how much water we drank to did we exercise to the urinary habit that we adopted, etc. It is only in our hands to make our life healthy and have a great immune system.

To all those who at present consume medicines for high blood pressure or any other disease should focus on how to get rid of them through natural work and natural deeds for healthy life.

Now let’s get started and see our improvement areas and focus on how can be better our health and lead a well versed healthy life for ourselves and our near and dear ones. Healthy lifestyle and healthy surrounding is the key aspect of World Health Day.

Speech on World Health Day – 3

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen – I warmly welcome you all to the 7 th health program organized by our managing committee.

This day is not only special because of the successful completion of 6 years of our NGO that work towards spreading health awareness amongst the masses, but also because it’s the World Health Day today. Since many of you perhaps not be knowing anything or much about this day, I would like to address this topic in the speech ceremony of today. The World Health day, ladies and gentlemen, is a national health awareness day which is observed on 7 th April every year. It is the World Health Organization (WHO), including other such organizations that lend its support in celebrating this important day.

Since health should be of paramount importance for all of us and nothing should be prioritized over or above it because it is said that a sound mind lies in a health body and in the absence of good health and hence a sound mind he/she cannot build empires or contribute towards the economic development of a nation-state. Therefore, with this realization the WHO in the year 1948 organized the first World Health Assembly. It is this assembly which decided to observe 7 th April of every year from 1950 onwards as the World Health Day.

The World Health Day is organized to commemorate the founding of WHO and is also perceived as an opportunity by the organization to draw the attention of people from all over the world towards this crucial subject matter of global health year after year. There are various global, national as well as local events being organized by the WHO based on a particular theme. It is perceived by different governmental as well as non-governmental organizations with interest in issues related to public health. On this day, such organizations as Global Health Council, also organize different activities with complete support from the media. World Health Day is one of the eight official campaigns of global health observed by WHO, in addition to

• World Tuberculosis Day
• World Immunization Week
• World Malaria Day
• World No Tobacco Day
• World AIDS Day
• World Blood Donor Day
• World Hepatitis Day

As with every year there are different captivating themes to attract people’s attention, I would also like to draw your attention towards these. In the year:

• 2006: It was “Working together for health
• 2007: Invest in health, build a safer future
• 2008: Protecting health from the adverse effects of climate change
• 2009: Save lives. Make hospitals safe in emergencies
• 2010: Urbanization and health
• 2011: Antimicrobial Resistance
• 2012: Ageing and Health
• 2013: Healthy Blood Pressure
• 2014: Small Bite, Big Threat
• 2015: Food Safety
• 2016: Diabetes
• 2017: Depression: Let’s talk

So as you can realize from the themes that an emphasis has been laid down on the overall health and in fact mental issues, efforts have been put in by the WHO to help people combat them so that they can build a good physical as well as mental health. In fact, we should also contribute towards this cause as much as we can and try to build a disease-free society.

Speech on World Health Day – 4

Dear Society Members and Lovely Children – Warm Greetings to one and all!

As you all know why we have assembled here, i.e. to observe this great day called World Health Day which is gaining a huge importance with every passing year amongst the people worldwide. As we know the times are changing and life has become really fast-paced, especially in the metropolitan cities. The desire to outdo others, to earn more money and to become the most influential in society is what deriving people crazy due to which they have failed to achieve a work-life balance in their lives.

Due to this imbalance and deteriorating food eating habits, people are becoming divorced from a healthy, normal life and are living a mechanical lifestyle where work and even excessive work load has replaced everything. In the day to day schedule, people don’t even have time to look after their health, exercise and indulge in healthy food eating habits. As a consequence of which they are becoming prone to severe health conditions. Even worse, due to overriding ambitions and the constant struggle to realize those ambitions, people are living under excessive mental pressure. Their inability to adapt to the highly competitive environment, thwarted efforts is making them feel depressed and succumb to chronic mental conditions.

As this has become a global phenomenon which every country is grappling with, the need to draw people’s attention towards World Health Day has become of paramount importance. Friends, World Health day is celebrated every year on 7 th of April under the aegis of World Health Organization (WHO). In fact, this year’s World Health Day marks the 70 th anniversary of the WHO.

Established in the year 1950, every annual celebration has a theme to draw people’s attention towards the current global health concern. Interestingly, the WHO on this day puts together local, regional as well as international events in connection with the chosen theme. Local governments also try to be a part of this band-wagon because after all global health implies each and every one! On this day, people are urged to walk a few extra miles out of concern for their health and start a healthy diet or start the intake of multi-vitamins or consider going to the gym.

Even better, you can volunteer in our local events or may organize one in our society. You can also contribute to this day by simply spreading the word around about the importance of good health and ill-effects of an unbalanced lifestyle. With every year, the WHO comes with a different and compelling theme, but has always made sure to cover the most important issues, such as Staying active while ageing, Global Polio Eradication, including even road safety. Every such issue is deemed to be extremely important form the point of view of global health and so they deserved a special limelight of their very own on this day.

In the end, all I want to say on this World Health Day is that I would like to urge my society members to adopt a healthy lifestyle and also encourage others to do so because this is the way we can bring if not big but at least some glimpse of change in our immediate surroundings.

Helpful Resources on Health and Fitness

Related content

Talk to our academic expert!

Language --- English Hindi Marathi Tamil Telugu Malayalam

Get access to free Mock Test and Master Class

Register to Get Free Mock Test and Study Material

Offer Ends in 5:00

Trump calls migrants 'animals,' intensifying focus on illegal immigration

TUESDAY'S WISCONSIN PRIMARY

Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.

Reporting by Tim Reid and Nathan Layne, additional reporting by Nandita Bose; editing by Ross Colvin, Mary Milliken, Howard Goller and Cynthia Osterman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Thomson Reuters

Washington-based correspondent covering campaigns and Congress. Previously posted in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Santiago, Chile, and has reported extensively throughout Latin America. Co-winner of the 2021 Reuters Journalist of the Year Award in the business coverage category for a series on corruption and fraud in the oil industry. He was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College.

Helicopter rescues Taiwan miners, stranded hotel guests confirmed safe

A helicopter plucked to safety on Thursday six people stranded in a mining area after Taiwan's worst earthquake in 25 years, and rescue workers reached 400 people cut off in a hotel in a mountainous national park by air, and confirmed all were safe.

A Russian drone attack overnight damaged equipment at energy facilities in Ukraine's southern Odesa region, the national grid company Ukrenergo said on Friday via the Telegram messaging app.

• Share full article

For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio , a new iOS app available for news subscribers.

Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen

The story behind the pioneering aid group and how it mistakenly came under attack..

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

The Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers delivering food in Gaza has touched off outrage and condemnations from across the world. Today, Kim Severson on the pioneering relief crew at the center of the story, and Adam Rasgon on what we’re learning about the deadly attack on the group’s workers. It’s Thursday, April 4.

Kim, can you tell us about the World Central Kitchen?

World Central Kitchen started as a little idea in Chef José Andrés’ head. He was in Haiti with some other folks, trying to do earthquake relief in 2010. And his idea at that point was to teach Haitians to cook and to use solar stoves and ways for people to feed themselves, because the infrastructure was gone.

And he was cooking with some Haitians in one of the camps, and they were showing him how to cook beans the Haitian way. You sort of smash them and make them a little creamy. And it occurred to him that there was something so comforting for those folks to eat food that was from their culture that tasted good to them. You know, if you’re having a really hard time, what makes you feel good is comfort food, right? And warm comfort food.

So that moment in the camp really was the seed of this idea. It planted this notion in José Andrés’ mind, and that notion eventually became World Central Kitchen.

And for those who don’t know, Kim, who exactly is Chef José Andrés?

José Andrés is a Spanish chef who cooked under some of the Spanish molecular gastronomy greats, came to America, really made his bones in Washington, DC, with some avant-garde food, but also started to expand and cook tapas, cook Mexican food. He’s got about 40 restaurants now.

Yeah. And he’s got a great Spanish restaurant in New York. He’s got restaurants in DC, restaurants in Miami.

Come with me to the kitchen. Don’t be shy.

He’s also become a big TV personality.

Chef, are you going to put the lobster in the pot with the potatoes?

We’re going to leave the potatoes in.

Leave the potatoes in!

He’s one of the most charismatic people I’ve ever been around in the food world.

He’s very much the touchstone of what people want their celebrity chefs to be.

So how does he go from being all those things you just described, to being on the ground, making local comfort food for Haitians? And how does this all go from an idea that that would be a good idea, to this much bigger, full-fledged humanitarian organization?

So he started to realize that giving people food in disaster zones was a thing that was really powerful. He helped feed people after Hurricane Sandy, and he realized that he could get local chefs who all wanted to help and somehow harness that power. But the idea really became set when he went to Houston in 2017 to help after Hurricane Harvey.

And that’s when he saw that getting local chefs to tap into their resources, borrowing kitchens, using ingredients that chefs might have had on hand or are spoiling in the fridge because the power is out and all these restaurants needed something to do with all this food before it rotted — harnessing all that and putting it together and giving people well-cooked, delicious — at least as delicious as it can be in a disaster zone — that’s when World Central Kitchen as we know it today sort of emerged as a fully formed concept.

The first pictures now coming in from Puerto Rico after taking a direct hit — Hurricane Maria slamming into the island. And as you heard, one official saying the island is destroyed.

Shortly after that, he flew to Puerto Rico, where Hurricane Maria had pretty much left the entire island without water and in darkness.

He flew in on one of the first commercial jets that went back in. He got a couple of his chef buddies whose kitchens were closed, and they just decided to start cooking. They were basically just serving pots of stew, chicken stew, in front of the restaurants.

The lines got longer. And of course, chefs are a really specific kind of creature. They really like to help their community. They’re really about feeding people.

So all the people who were chefs or cooks on the ground in Puerto Rico who could wanted to help. And you had all these chefs in the States who wanted to fly down and help if they could, too. So you had this constant flow of chefs coming in and out. That’s when I went down and followed him around for about a week.

And what did you see?

Well, one of the most striking things was his ability to get food to remote places in ways the Salvation Army couldn’t and other government agencies that were on the ground couldn’t. You know, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, doesn’t deliver food. It contracts with people to deliver food.

So you have all these steps of bureaucracy you have to go through to get those contracts. And then, FEMA says you have to have a bottle of water and this and that in those boxes. There’s a lot of structure to be able to meet the rules and regulations of FEMA.

So José doesn’t really care about rules and regulations very much. So he just got his troops together and figured out where people needed food. He had this big paper map he’d carry around and lay out. And he had a Sharpie, and he’d circle villages where he’d heard people needed food or where a bridge was out.

And then he would dispatch people to get the food there. Now, how are you going to do that? He was staying in a hotel where some National Guard and military police were staying to go patrol areas to make sure they were safe. He would tuck his big aluminum pans of food into the back of those guys’ cars, and say, Could you stop and drop these off at this church?

During that time in Puerto Rico, he funded a lot of it off of his own credit cards or with cash. And then he’s on the phone with people like the president of Goya or his golf buddies who are well-connected, saying, hey, we need some money. Can you send some money for this? Can you send some money for that?

So he just developed this network, almost overnight. I mean, he is very much a general in the field. He wears this Orvis fishing vest, has cigars in one pocket, money in the other. And he just sets out to feed people.

And there were deliveries that were as simple as he and a couple of folks taking plastic bags with food and wading through a flooded parking lot to an apartment building where an older person had been stuck for a few days and couldn’t get out, to driving up to a community that had been cut off. There was a church that was trying to distribute food.

We drive through this little mountain road and get to this church. We start unloading the food, and the congregation is inside the church. José comes in, and the pastor thanks him so much. And the 20 people or so who are there gather around José, and they begin praying.

And he puts his head down. He’s a Catholic. He’s a man who prays. He puts his head down. He’s in the middle of these folks, and he starts to pray with them. And then, pulls out his map, circles another spot, and the group is off to the next place.

And when Russia invades Ukraine, he immediately decided it was time for World Central Kitchen to step into a war zone. You know, so many people needed to eat. So many Ukrainians were crossing the border into Poland.

There are refugees in several countries surrounding Ukraine. So a lot of the work that they did was feeding the refugees. They set up big operations around train stations, places where refugees were coming, and then they were able to get into cities.

One of their operations did get hit with some armaments early on. Nobody was hurt badly. But I think that was the first time that they realized this was an actually more dangerous situation than perhaps going in after there’s been an earthquake.

But the other thing that really made a difference here is, José Andrés and World Central Kitchen would broadcast on social media, live from the kitchens. In the beginning, he’d be holding up his phone and saying, we put out 3 million meals for the people of Puerto Rico, chefs for Puerto Rico. It was very infectious.

And now, one of the standard operating procedures for people who are in the World Central Kitchens is to hold up the phone like that — you can see the kitchen, busy in the back — and talk about how many meals they’ve served. They have these kind of wild meal counts, which one presumes are pretty accurate. But they’re like, we served 320,000 meals this morning to the people of Lviv.

I mean, that scale seems important to note. This is not the kind of work that feeds a few people and a few towns. When you’re talking about 300,000 meals in a morning, you’re talking about something that begins, it would seem, to rival the scope and the reach of the groups that we tend to think of as the most important in the disaster-relief world.

Absolutely. And the meals — there are lots and lots and lots of meals. But also, World Central Kitchen hires local cooks. They’ll hire food truck operators, who obviously have no work, and pay them to go out and deliver the meals. They’ll pay local cooks to come in and cook. That’s what they do with a lot of their donations, which is very different than other aid organizations. And this then helps the local economy. He’s trying to buy as much local food as he can. That keeps the economy going in the time of a disaster. So that’s a piece of his operation that is a little different than traditional aid operations.

So walk us up to October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel. What does Chef José Andrés and the World Kitchen do?

Well, he had had such impact in Ukraine. And I think the organization itself thought that they had the infrastructure to now take food into another war zone. Gaza, of course, was nothing like Ukraine. But World Central Kitchen shows up. They’re nimble. They start to connect with local chefs.

Right now, they have about 60 kitchens in the areas around Gaza, and they’ve hired about 400 Palestinians to help do that. But getting the food into Gaza became the difficulty.

How do you actually get the food into the Gaza Strip? Large amounts of food that require trucks? You’ve got to realize, getting food into Gaza right now requires going through Israeli checkpoints.

And that slows the operation down. You might get eight trucks a day in, and that is such a small amount of food. And this has been incredibly difficult for any aid operations.

So World Central Kitchen, playing on the experience that they had in a war zone and working with government entities and trying to coordinate permissions — they took that experience from Ukraine and were trying to apply it in the Gaza Strip. Now, they had worked for a long time with Israeli officials. They wanted to make sure that they could get their food in.

And they decided that the best way to do it would be to take food off of ships, get it in a warehouse, and then get that food into Gaza. It took a long time to pull those permissions through, but they were able to get the permissions they needed and set this system up, so they could move the food fairly quickly into North Gaza.

And once they get those permissions, how big a player do they become in Gaza?

World Central Kitchen became a kind of a fulcrum point for getting food aid in to Gaza in a way that a larger and more established humanitarian aid operations couldn’t, in part because they were small and nimble in their way. So the amount of food they were moving maybe wasn’t as large as some of the more established humanitarian aid organizations, but they had so much goodwill. They had so much logistical knowledge.

They were working with local Palestinians who knew the food systems and who understood how to get things in and out. So they were able to find a way to use a humanitarian corridor to have permissions from the Israeli government, to be able to move this food back and forth. And that’s always been the secret to World Central Kitchen — is incredibly nimble. So —

Just like in Puerto Rico, they seemed to win over just about everybody and do the seemingly impossible.

Right. And World Central Kitchen says they delivered 43 million meals to Gazans since the start of the war. And I don’t think there was any other group that could have pulled this off.

Hey, this is Zomi and Chef Olivier. We’re at the Deir al-Balah kitchen. And we’ve got the mise en place. Tell us a little bit about it, Chef.

And then, this caravan, this fairly efficient caravan of armored vehicles, labeled with World Central Kitchen logo on the roof, on the sides — the idea was they head on — this humanitarian quarter, they head on this road. The seven people who went all in vests — three of whom are security people from Great Britain — you have another World Central Kitchen employee who has handled operations in Asia, in Central America. She’s quite a veteran of the World Central Kitchen operation.

And you have a young man who someone told me was like the Michael Jordan of humanitarian aid, who hooked up with World Central Kitchen in Poland. He was a hospitality student and had just become an indispensable make-it-happen guy. And you have a Palestinian guy who’s 25, a driver.

So this is the team. They have all the clearances. They have the well-marked vehicles. It seemed like a very simple, surgical kind of operation. And of course, now, as we know, it was anything but that.

After the break, my colleague Adam Rasgon on what happened to the World Central Kitchen workers in that caravan. We’ll be right back.

So Adam, what ends up happening to this convoy that our colleague Kim Severson just described from World Central Kitchen?

So what we know is that members of the World Central Kitchen had been at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah in the Central Gaza Strip. They had just unloaded about 100 tons of food aid that had been brought via a maritime route to the coast of the Gaza Strip. When they departed the warehouse, they were in three cars.

Two of the cars were armored cars, and one was a soft-skinned car, according to the organization. When the cars reached the coastal road, known as Al Rashid Street, they started to make their way south.

And what do we know about how much the World Central Kitchen would have told the Israeli military about their plans to be on this road?

Yeah. So the World Central Kitchen said that its movements were coordinated. And in military speak or in technical speak, people often refer to this as deconfliction. So basically, this process is something that not only the World Central Kitchen but the UN, telecommunications companies going out to repair damaged telecommunications infrastructure, others would use, where they basically provide the Israeli military with information about the people who are traveling — their ID numbers, their names, the license plate numbers of the cars they’ll be traveling in.

They’ll sort of explain where their destination is. And the general process is that the Israelis will then come back to them and say, you’re approved to travel from this time, and you can take this specific route.

And do we know if that happened? If the IDF said, you’re approved, use this route on this night?

So we heard from the World Central Kitchen that they did receive this approval. And the military hasn’t come out and said that it wasn’t approved. So I think it’s fair to assume that their movements were coordinated and de-conflicted.

OK. So what happens as this seemingly pre-approved and coordinated convoy trip is making this leg of the journey?

They started to make their way south towards Rafah. And the three cars suddenly came under fire. The Israeli army unleashes powerful and devastating strikes on the three cars in the convoy, most likely from a drone. The strikes rip through the cars, killing everyone inside.

Shortly thereafter, ambulances from the Palestine Red Crescent are dispatched to the location. They retrieve the dead bodies.

They bring those bodies to a hospital. And at the hospital, the bodies are laid out, and journalists start to report to the world that indeed, five members of the World Central Kitchen staff have been killed. And the Palestine Red Crescent teams were continuing to search for other bodies and eventually brought back two more bodies to the hospital for a total of seven people killed in these airstrikes.

And when the sun comes up, what does it end up looking like — the scene of these struck trucks from this convoy?

So early in the morning when the sun comes up, a number of Palestinian journalists headed out to the coastal road and started taking pictures and videos. And I received a series of videos from one of the reporters that I was in touch with, essentially showing three cars, all heavily damaged. One had a World Central Kitchen logo on top of it, with a gaping hole in the middle of the roof.

A second car was completely charred. You could barely recognize the structure of the car. The inside of it had been completely charred, and the front smashed.

And do we know if the strike on this convoy was the only strike happening in this area? In other words, is it possible that this convoy was caught in some kind of a crossfire or in the middle of a firefight, or does it appear that this was quite narrow, and was the Israeli army targeting these specific vehicles, whether or not they realized who was in it?

We don’t have any other indication that there was another strike on that road around that time.

What that suggests, of course, is that this convoy was targeted. Now, whether Israeli officials knew who was in it, whether they were aid workers, seems like a yet-unresolved question. But it does feel very clear that the trucks in this convoy were deliberately struck.

Yes. I do think the trucks in this convoy were deliberately struck.

What is the reaction to these airstrikes on this convoy and to the death of these aid workers?

Well, one of the first reactions is from the World Central kitchen’s founder, José Andrés.

Chef José Andrés, who founded World Central Kitchen, calling them angels.

He said he was heartbroken and grieving.

And adding the Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing.

And then, he accused Israel of using food as a weapon.

What I know is that we were targeted deliberately, nonstop, until everybody was dead in this convoy.

And he just seemed devastated and quite angry.

And so what is the reaction from not just World Central Kitchen, but from the rest of the world to this airstrike?

There’s, frankly, fury and outrage.

The White House says it is outraged by an Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, including one American.

President Biden, who has been becoming increasingly critical of Israel’s approach to this war — he came out and said that he was outraged and heartbroken.

Certainly sharper in tone than we have heard in the past. He says Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel also has not —

And we’re seeing similar outrage from foreign governments. The British Foreign Secretary David Cameron —

The dreadful events of the last two days are a moment when we should mourn the loss of these brave humanitarian workers.

— said that the airstrikes were completely unacceptable. And he called on Israel to explain how this happened and to make changes to ensure that aid workers could be safe.

So amid all this, what does Israel have to say about the attack — about how it happened, about why it happened?

The response from Israel this time was much different, compared to other controversial airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Often, when we’re reporting on these issues, we’ll hear from the army that they’re investigating a given incident. It will take days, if not weeks, to receive updates on where that investigation stands.

There are instances where Israel does take responsibility for harming civilians, but it’s often rare. This time, the Prime Minister —

[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

— Benjamin Netanyahu comes out with a video message —

— saying that Israel had unintentionally harmed innocent civilians. And that was the first indication or public indication that Israel was going to take responsibility for what had happened.

The IDF works together closely with the World Central Kitchen and greatly appreciates the important work that they do.

We later heard from the military’s chief of staff. Herzi Halevi issued a video statement in English.

I want to be very clear the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming aid workers. It was a mistake that followed a misidentification.

And he said this mistake had come after a misidentification. He said it was in the middle of a war, in a very complex condition. But —

This incident was a grave mistake. We are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK.

He was clear that this shouldn’t have happened.

I want to talk about that statement, because it seems to suggest — that word, “misidentification”— that the Israeli army believed that somebody else was in this convoy, that it wasn’t a bunch of aid workers.

That’s possible, although it’s extremely vague and cryptic language that genuinely is difficult to understand. And it’s a question that us in the Jerusalem Bureau have been asking ourselves.

I’m curious if the Israeli government has said anything in all of its statements so far about whether it noticed these markings on these three cars in the convoy. Because that, I think, for so many people, stands out as making misidentification hard to understand. It seems like perhaps a random pickup truck could be misidentified as perhaps a vehicle being used by a Hamas militant. But a group of World Central Kitchen trucks with their name all over it, driving down a known aid corridor — that becomes harder to understand as misidentification.

Yeah, it’s an important question. And at this moment, we don’t know exactly what the Israeli reconnaissance drones could see, and whether or not they were able to see, in the darkness of the night, the markings of the World Central Kitchen on the cars. But what is clear is that when the cars were found in the morning, right there was the big emblazoned logo of the World Central Kitchen.

Mm-hmm. I’m curious how you think about the speed with which Israel came out and said it was in the wrong here. Because as you said, that’s not how Israel typically reacts to many of these situations. And that makes me think that it might have something to do with the nature of the aid group that was the target of these airstrikes — the World Central Kitchen — and its story.

I think it does have to do with this particular group. This is a group that’s led by a celebrity chef, very high-profile, who is gone around the world to conflict zones, disaster areas, to provide food aid. And I also think it has to do with the people who were killed, most of who were Western foreign aid workers. Frankly, I don’t think we would be having this conversation if a group of Palestinian aid workers had been killed.

Nor, perhaps, would we be having the reaction that we have had so far from the Israeli government.

I would agree with that.

Adam, at the end of the day, what is going to be the fallout from all of this for the people of Gaza? How do we think that this attack on World Central Kitchen is going to impact how food, medicine, aid is distributed there?

So the World Central Kitchen has said that it’s suspending its operations across Gaza. Because it essentially seems that they don’t feel they can safely operate there right now. And several ships that carried aid for the organization, which were sort of just on the coast — those ships ended up turning back to Cyprus, carrying more than 200 tons of aid.

So aid that was supposed to reach the people of Gaza is now leaving Gaza because of this attack.

Yes. And it’s also had a chilling effect. Another aid group, named INARA, has also suspended its operations in Gaza. And it seems that there is concern among humanitarians that other aid groups could follow.

So in a place where people are already suffering from severe hunger, poor sanitation, the spread of dangerous disease, this is only going to make the humanitarian situation, which is already dire, even worse.

Well, Adam, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Thanks so much for having me.

We’ll be right back.

Here’s what else you need to know today. The magnitude-7.4 earthquake that struck Taiwan on Wednesday has killed nine people, injured more than 1,000, and touched off several landslides. It was Taiwan’s strongest quake in the past 25 years. But in a blessing for the island’s biggest cities, its epicenter was off the island’s east coast, relatively far from population centers like Taipei.

And the first patient to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig has fared so well that he was discharged from a Massachusetts hospital on Wednesday just two weeks after surgery. Two previous transplants from genetically modified pigs both failed. Doctors say the success of the latest surgery represents a major moment in medicine that, if replicated, could usher in a new era of organ transplantation.

Today’s episode was produced by Lynsea Garrison, Olivia Natt, and Carlos Prieto, with help from Asthaa Chaturvedi. It was edited by Marc Georges, with help from Paige Cowett, contains original music by Marion Lozano and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

• April 5, 2024   •   29:11 An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth
• April 4, 2024   •   32:37 Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen
• April 3, 2024   •   27:42 The Accidental Tax Cutter in Chief
• April 2, 2024   •   29:32 Kids Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate
• April 1, 2024   •   36:14 Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem
• March 29, 2024   •   48:42 Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband
• March 28, 2024   •   33:40 The Newest Tech Start-Up Billionaire? Donald Trump.
• March 27, 2024   •   28:06 Democrats’ Plan to Save the Republican House Speaker
• March 26, 2024   •   29:13 The United States vs. the iPhone
• March 25, 2024   •   25:59 A Terrorist Attack in Russia
• March 24, 2024   •   21:39 The Sunday Read: ‘My Goldendoodle Spent a Week at Some Luxury Dog ‘Hotels.’ I Tagged Along.’
• March 22, 2024   •   35:30 Chuck Schumer on His Campaign to Oust Israel’s Leader

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Kim Severson and Adam Rasgon

Produced by Lynsea Garrison ,  Olivia Natt ,  Carlos Prieto and Asthaa Chaturvedi

Edited by Marc Georges and Paige Cowett

Original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

The Israeli airstrike that killed seven workers delivering food in Gaza has touched off global outrage and condemnation.

Kim Severson, who covers food culture for The Times, discusses the World Central Kitchen, the aid group at the center of the story; and Adam Rasgon, who reports from Israel, explains what we know about the tragedy so far.

On today’s episode

Kim Severson , a food correspondent for The New York Times.

Adam Rasgon , an Israel correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading

The relief convoy was hit just after workers had delivered tons of food .

José Andrés, the Spanish chef who founded World Central Kitchen, and his corps of cooks have become leaders in disaster aid .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Kim Severson is an Atlanta-based reporter who covers the nation’s food culture and contributes to NYT Cooking . More about Kim Severson

Adam Rasgon reports from Israel for The Times's Jerusalem bureau. More about Adam Rasgon

Advertisement