Important Dates for Healthcare Awareness Days

A national or international awareness day is a date usually set by a major organisation or government to commemorate a public health or ethical cause of importance on a national or international level.


World Alzheimer’s Day, September 21st of each year, is a day on which Alzheimer’s organizations around the world concentrate their efforts on raising awareness about Alzheimer’s and dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a group of disorders that impairs mental functioning. Every 68 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s disease. At current rates, experts believe the number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s will quadruple to as many as 16 million by the year 2050.

The International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 each year. The holiday is celebrated by raising awareness about issues affecting the elderly, such as senescence and elder abuse. It is also a day to appreciate the contributions that older people make to society.

World Stroke Day is observed on October 29 to underscore the serious nature and high rates of stroke, raise awareness of the prevention and treatment of the condition, and ensure better care and support for survivors. On this day, organizations around the world have facilitated events emphasizing education, testing, and initiatives to improve the damaging effects of stroke worldwide. 

For World Parkinson’s Day on April 11th to encourage everyone to get behind the cause and raise funds for a cure.

World Diabetes Day is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes world and is held on November 14 each year.

On 12 October, World Arthritis Day will be celebrated around the globe. World Arthritis Day aims to raise awareness of the condition and make sure that sufferers and caregivers know all the support and help that is available to them.

World Heart Day takes place on 29 September every year and is a chance for people across the globe to take part in the world's biggest intervention against cardiovascular disease (CVD).

World Cancer Day is marked on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. World Cancer Day was founded by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, written in 2008

The Breast Cancer Awareness Month, marked in countries across the world every October, helps to increase attention and support for the awareness, early detection and treatment as well as palliative care of this disease.

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year. It raises awareness across the world and in the community about the issues surrounding HIV and AIDS.