Created by the World Heart Federation, World Heart Day informs people around the globe that CVD, including heart disease and stroke, is the world’s leading cause of death claiming 18.6 million lives each year, and highlights the actions that individuals can take to prevent and control CVD.

World Lung Day (WLD), September 25th, is a day for lung health advocacy and action, an opportunity for us all to unite and promote better lung health globally.

Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) is the most common autoimmune bleeding disorder affecting 10 times as many people as hemophilia, yet is unknown to most. Beginning September 20th and ending on September 24th —Sport Purple for Platelets Day — ITP patient support organizations from around the world will observe the third annual Global ITP Awareness Week. 

September 18 National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, launched by the AIDS Institute in 2008. It aims to raise awareness of the challenges faced by aging populations who live with HIV, which include: HIV prevention, treatment, and care; and HIV-related comorbidities, coinfections, and other complications (CCC).

Prepare yourself — because September 16 is Get Ready Day. Established in 2006 by the American Public Health Association (APHA), the goal of Get Ready Day is to arm individuals, families, and communities with knowledge that will help them cope with crises such as natural disasters, infectious diseases, and pandemic illnesses. 

One in every 100 deaths worldwide is the result of suicide. It can affect every one of us. Each and every suicide is devastating and has a profound impact on those around them. However, by raising awareness, reducing the stigma around suicide and encouraging well-informed action, we can reduce instances of suicide around the world. World Suicide Prevention Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of suicide and to promote action through proven means that will reduce the number of suicides and suicide attempts globally.

Each year, the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) celebrates World Sexual Health Day on September 4th. This year’s theme is “Turn it on: Sexual health in a digital world”, which inspires the need to awaken awareness of sexual health rights, while also recognizing the harms and violations of sexual rights in the digital sphere.

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from August 1st to the 7th to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, WHO, UNICEF, and other organizations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. Since 2016, WBW is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Today is World Lung Cancer Day, providing an opportunity to raise awareness about the risk factors and patients’ outcomes of this deadly and debilitating disease and review the prevention measures and treatment options that help reduce the global burden. And since severe respiratory symptoms mark Covid-19, lung cancer is an aggravating factor for the virus.

World Hepatitis Day (WHD) is recognized every July 28th, the birth date of Dr. Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967, and developed the first vaccine in 1969. These achievements led up to Dr. Blumberg winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976.