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Bridging the gap: access to menstrual products
World Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed on May 28th each year, serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of menstrual hygiene management and the significant impact it has on the lives of women and girls worldwide. The day aims to raise awareness, break stigmas, and foster a supportive environment where women and girls can confidently manage their menstrual health. By shedding light on this fundamental aspect of women's well-being, we can work towards a more equitable and inclusive society. Access to menstrual products is key to improving menstrual health and hygiene. However, millions of women and adolescent girls worldwide do not have access to these products or simply can’t afford them.
IDA team celebrates WMD with fun and learning
Last week, on World Malaria Day, the Vector Control team organised an internal teambuilding activity for the occasion. Over 70 employees came together to learn, engage and have fun.
From prevention to treatment: our impact
On this World Malaria Day, we would like to highlight our impact in the battle against malaria. Malaria is a severe illness caused by the Plasmodium parasite and transmitted through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
Partnership to overcome supply chain challenges
IDA Foundation and Kuehne+Nagel have partnered to ensure continuous delivery of essential health goods in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) despite disruptions of supply chains and other logistical challenges.
Supporting World TB Day
The past decades IDA has been working together with several partners to ensure the delivery of essential anti-TB medication to high-burden countries. We have built an extensive TB portfolio over the years and gathered much knowledge about the nature of the disease and how to build sustainable networks and infrastructure that help eradicate this disease globally.
Cervical cancer: prevention is key
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.
How achieving Universal Health Coverage motivates us
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.
Increasing access to HIV/AIDS products
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.
The fight against AMR
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.
Medication safety is key for IDA quality
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.
IDA honours world humanitarian day
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.
Battling viral hepatitis and related illness
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).
IDA underlines the importance of access to safe blood products
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.
IDA supports efforts to end obstetric fistula
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.
Partnerships drive innovation in the fight against malaria
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.’
Celebrating World Health Day
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.
Investing to end TB
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.
International Wheelchair Day: creating access to assistive technology
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.
IDA supports ICCD 2022
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.
IDA supports World Cancer Day 2022
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.
World AIDS Day 2021
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.
Preventing antimicrobial resistance
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.
IDA underlines the importance of hand hygiene
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.
IDA underlines importance of eliminating viral hepatitis
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.
Building a Fairer, Healthier World
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.
World TB Day 2021
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.
World TB Day: United in the fight against COVID-19 and TB
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.
It's Time to End TB
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.