July is National Cord Blood Awareness Month! Celebrate by spreading awareness about cord blood and its benefits. Cord blood is the term used for the blood collected from the umbilical cord and placenta (afterbirth) when a healthy baby is born.

Today is World Vitiligo Day, with its first observance in 2011 and has since become an annual, global event. The campaign was born from the determination of non-profit organizations VR Foundation (USA) and VITSAF (Nigeria) and their supporters across the world to bring this “forgotten” disease into the public eye and to shine a light on challenges faced by those suffering from vitiligo.

World Sickle Cell Day is a United Nations recognized day to raise sickle cell awareness nationally and internationally. On December 22, 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that acknowledges sickle cell disease as a public health problem and “one of the world’s foremost genetic diseases.”

Every year countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD). The event serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.

World Brain Tumor Day is observed on 8 June to raise awareness and educate people about brain tumors and pay tribute to brain tumor patients and their families.

Each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) holds World No Tobacco Day on May 31. Their goal is to spread awareness about the risks of tobacco use and how we can make the world tobacco-free. 

Please join us in recognizing World Asthma Day. World Asthma Day (WAD) (May 5, 2021) is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma, (GINA) (www.ginasthma.org), a World Health Organization collaborative organization founded in 1993.  WAD is held each May to raise awareness of Asthma worldwide.