town hall meetings, clean-up campaigns, or closing off portions of streets to motorized vehicles. 1000 lives: to collect 1000 stories of urban health champions who have taken action and had a significant impact on health in their cities. 2011: Antimicrobial Resistance The theme of World Health Day 2011, marked on 7 April 2011, was "Antimicrobial resistance and its global spread" and focused on the need for governments and stakeholders to implement the policies and practices needed to prevent and counter the emergence of highly resistant microorganisms. When infections caused by resistant microorganisms fail to respond to standard treatments, including antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines – also known as drug resistance – this may result in prolonged illness and greater risk of death. On World Health Day 2011, WHO called for intensified global commitment to safeguard antimicrobial medicines for future generations. The organization introduced a six-point policy package to combat the spread of antimicrobial resistance: Commit to a comprehensive, financed national plan with accountability and civil society engagement. Strengthen surveillance and laboratory capacity. Ensure uninterrupted access to essential medicines of assured quality. Regulate and promote rational use of medicines, including in animal husbandry, and ensure proper patient care; reduce use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals. Enhance infection prevention and control. Foster innovations and research and development for new tools. 2012: Ageing and Health World Health Day 2012 was marked with the slogan "Good health adds life to years". Life expectancy is going up in most countries, meaning more and more people live longer and enter an age when they may need health care. Meanwhile, birth rates are generally falling. Countries and health care systems need to find innovative and sustainable ways to cope with the demographic shift. As stated by John Beard, director of the WHO Department of Ageing and Life Course, "With the rapid ageing of populations, finding the right model for long-term care becomes more and more urgent." Different activities were organized by WHO as well as non-governmental and community organizations around the world to mark World Health Day 2012. 2013: Healthy Blood Pressure The theme of World Health Day 2013, marked on 7 April 2013, was the need to control raised blood pressure (hypertension) as a "silent killer, global public health crisis". The slogan for the campaign was "Healthy Heart Beat, Healthy Blood Pressure”. The WHO reports hypertension – which is both preventable and treatable – contributes to