Health day

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness month, an important time to educate ourselves about this disease and take steps to prevent it. As procurement agent for Defeat NCD (DNCD), IDA Foundation is committed to increase access to medication and diagnostics aimed at different NCDs including cancer.

On Universal Health Coverage Day we raise awareness of the importance to leave no one behind. At IDA Foundation, it is our mission to bridge the gap in access to medicines and we have adopted Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as one of our long-term goals.

Today is World AIDS Day, a day where we spread awareness of the status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and we encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Worldwide, over 38 million people are living with HIV. While testing, treatments and prevention methods have come a long way, the work continues to end the epidemic that at first generated stigma, misinformation and miscommunication. It was through the work of activists and researchers that lifesaving treatments emerged, allowing people living with HIV to live long and healthy lives – something they never imagined would transpire. This World AIDS day’s theme is ‘Equalize’, a slogan and call-to-action to address inequalities worldwide when it comes to awareness and education, but also healthcare globally.

Today is the kick-off of the annual World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW). This week aims to create awareness around the accelerated threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and stop responding to medicines, increasing the risk of diseases and severe illnesses.

This day marks World Patient Safety Day, which calls for global solidarity and action to improve patient safety worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has put unprecedented pressure on health systems and health workers globally, both highly important for patient safety. This year’s campaign theme is ‘Medication Safety’, emphasising the need to adopt a systems approach and promote safe medication practices to prevent medication errors and to reduce medication-related harm.

On this day awareness is raised for those people helping others around the globe. For example by supporting refugees who are fleeing from political conflict or by reaching out to victims of natural disasters. Humanitarian aid workers provide life-saving assistance to suffering people all over the world. Those workers who live in conflict zones or in areas devastated by natural disasters are especially vulnerable, just like the people they serve.

Today is World Hepatitis Day! On this day we raise awareness about the impact and long-term effects of viral hepatitis. Besides causing acute inflammation and illness, chronic hepatitis infection increases the risk of developing liver cancer. Cancer-causing infections, such as hepatitis and human papillomavirus (HPV) account for approximately 30% of cancer cases in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Lifestyle appears to be a risk factor for developing liver cancer and as alcohol-induced hepatitis is on the rise in LMICs, it is important to emphasise a healthy and balanced lifestyle (WHO, 2022).

On World Blood Donor Day we raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products. Worldwide, blood donors are very much needed and thus we thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their live-saving gifts of blood. In addition we support the availability of quality-assured products derived from blood.

On May 23 we raise awareness of obstetric fistula and its disastrous consequences. Obstetric fistula is one of the most serious injuries that can occur during childbirth, where an opening forms between the birth canal and bladder and/or rectum. Obstetric fistula is caused by prolonged, obstructed labour without access to high-quality and timely medical treatment. It leaves women with incontinence problems, and often leads to chronic medical problems, social isolation, and depression. Obstetric fistula is a preventable complication with the right medical assistance, and it can be cured with surgery.

Every year on the 25th of May, we recognise global efforts to fight malaria. Globally, over 3 billion people in 106 countries are at risk of malaria. Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease that continues to have a devastating impact on the health and livelihood of people around the world. In 2020, there were an estimated 241 million new cases of malaria and 627.000 malaria-related deaths in 85 countries. Still, more than 2/3 of deaths were among children under the age of five living in the WHO African Region (WHO, 2022). This year’s World Malaria Day campaign is marked under the theme ‘Harness innovation to reduce malaria disease burden and save lives.’

Every year on the 7th of April, World Health Day, we celebrate the founding of the World Health Organization. World Health Day 2022’s theme is ‘Our planet, our health’, highlighting the impact of the environment on our health.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world’s most common and life threatening diseases, with over 95% of TB deaths occurring in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 2019, an estimated 10 million people were diagnosed with TB worldwide and there are estimates that indicate that one third of the world’s population is infected with TB.

On International Wheelchair Day wheelchair users around the world celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has on their lives. Access to wheelchairs can give people with mobility impairments the opportunity to live healthy, productive and independent lives. IDA Foundation recognises the need for assistive technologies such as wheelchairs, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where resources are low and there is often no access to these essential health products.

International Childhood Cancer Day is a global collaborative campaign aimed to raise awareness about childhood cancer, and to express support for children and adolescents suffering from cancer, the survivors of childhood cancer and their families. IDA Foundation wants to bridge gaps in access to essential medicines. We believe that regardless of where children live in the world, they should have access to cancer treatment, care and support.

Cancer treatment and palliative care remain out of reach for many people in low- and middle-income countries, while 70% of cancer-related deaths occur in these countries. IDA Foundation has been expanding and building its oncology range in the past decades, making sure to bridge the gap in access to these essential treatments. 

This World Aids Day (1 December) marks forty years after the first five cases of AIDS were first identified in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), in June 1981. Today, 38 million people are living with HIV.

This week marks the beginning of the annual World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW), aiming to create awareness around the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR occurs when bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites that cause disease stop responding to existing medicines.

Today is Global Handwashing Day. On this day the Global Handwashing Partnership raises awareness on the importance of hand hygiene. At IDA Foundation we underline the importance of practicing hand hygiene, to prevent sickness and the spread of infectious diseases.

On World Hepatitis Day we raise awareness about viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that can have severe consequences. Every thirty seconds a person is dying from hepatitis-related illness, and many who have it are unaware. This is why early diagnosis and effective treatment are essential when it comes to elimination of viral hepatitis. The tools to eliminate viral hepatitis exist, but without an urgent upscaling of needed services, the opportunity to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030 will be lost.

On World Health Day, we celebrate the founding of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on April 7 in 1948. This year’s campaign is ‘building a fairer, healthier world’, emphasising the importance of equality in access to healthcare.

Just over a year after the start of the corona pandemic it is clear that covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the progress of existing tuberculosis (TB) programmes. For latent and progressive infectious diseases, such as TB, early diagnosis and treatment are essential.

While coronavirus (COVID-19) dominates the news, we need to remember that another respiratory disease kills 1.5 million people per year: tuberculosis (TB). This is an opportunity to unite forces in the fight against TB and coronavirus.

Each year we recognise World TB Day on March 24 to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic impact of TB and urge acceleration of efforts to end the global TB epidemic.