<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">


















<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">
<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">November<span>  </span>6,<span> 
</span>2021<span>  </span></span>

<br><br>His Excellency Dr.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus<span>                                               </span></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span>     </span><br>
<span style="color:black"><br>Director-General, World Health
Organization (WHO)</span><span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Dear Director General<span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">The mortality and morbidity due to COVID-19
pandemics and its several devastating complications presents us with yet more
evidence that “Politics” is the most important determinant of human health and
wellbeing. As you and other public health experts well know, Rudolph Virchow
(1821–1902), the father of modern </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathology" title="Pathology" style="color:blue;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black;text-decoration:none">pathology</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">,
said: “All diseases have two causes, one pathological, the other political.”<span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Considering your excellent idea: “Health is a
political choice that all countries can make.”,<br>
<br>
</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Considering the very
important role of deliberative democracy, participatory policy making and
participatory legislation in the citizens' health and wellbeing,<span>  </span><span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Considering
the growing evidence on the Political Determinants of Health, <span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">I
suggest that the WHO: <span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">To add
“political well-being” as an important aspect of health to the WHO's definition
of health: Health is a state of complete physical, mental, social <b><u>and
political </u></b>well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity.<span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">To
define Political Health,<span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">To
define Political Determinants of Health,<span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">To
encourage researchers to develop valid and reliable tools for measuring
Political Health and Political Determinants of Health<br>
<br>
My preliminary definition of Political Health is as follows: As a human right,
Political Health is a citizen’s ability and skill to participate in driving the
“Political Will” toward “Governance for Health”.<span>  </span><br>
<br>
The governments may promote Political Health by investing in deliberative
democracy, participatory policy making and participatory legislation.<br>
<br>
Best regards, <span></span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Mohammad Zakaria Pezeshki, M.D., M.P.H.<br>
Associate Professor<br>
Department of Community and Family Medicine,<br>
Tabriz Medical School, Golgasht Avenue, Tabriz, Iran,<br>
Tel:  ++ 98 413  336 46 73<br>
Fax: ++ 98 413 336 46 68<br>
Email: <a href="mailto:zakaria.pezeshki@gmail.co" target="_blank">zakaria.pezeshki@gmail.co</a><span></span></span></p>





</div>
</div><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><b>Mohammad Zakaria Pezeshki, M.D.,M.P.H.<br>Associate Professor<br>Department of Community and Family Medicine,<br>Tabriz Medical School, Golgasht Avenue, Tabriz, Iran,<br>Tel:  ++ 98 413  336 46 73<br>Fax: ++ 98 413 336 46 68</b></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>