Events

World Rabies Day

World Rabies Day is celebrated annually to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this horrifying disease. 28 September also marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur's death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine.

World Heart Day

In May 2012, world leaders committed to reducing global mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25% by 2025. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is accountable for nearly half of all NCD deaths; making it the world’s number one killer. World Heart Day is, therefore, the perfect platform for the CVD community to unite in the fight against CVD and reduce the global disease burden.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The international Breast Cancer Awareness Month, marked in countries each October, to raise awareness about the disease. Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors resulting from abnormal growth of breast cells. It is by far the most common cancer among women of different ages. The breast cancer awareness campaigns and research funding have enhanced the speed of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, survival rates have improved, and death toll has decreased; due to early breast screening and new therapies.

International Day of Older Persons

The older persons have various contributions to the community, through their volunteer activities and knowledge transfer to other generation, based on their accumulated experiences in life. The International Day of Older Persons is an opportunity to highlight the important contributions that older people make to society and raise awareness of the joys and challenges of aging in today’s world. In 2012, the number of people aged 60+ exceeded 600 million. By 2062, their number is expected to be 2 billion.

World Sight Day

Comprehensive eye care aims to ensure that people have access to eye care services that meet their needs at every stage of life. This includes not only prevention and treatment services, but also vision rehabilitation. Comprehensive eye care also aims to address the full spectrum of eye diseases.

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health. The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.

World Obesity Day

Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A crude population measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI), a person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in metres). A person with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese. A person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight.

Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Once considered a problem only in high income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings.

World Food Day

Food safety and Nutrition are inextricably linked, particularly in places where food supplies are insecure. When food becomes scarce, hygiene, safety and nutrition are often ignored as people shift to less nutritious diets and consume more 'unsafe foods' — in which chemical, microbiological, zoonotic and other hazards pose a health risk.

AHO works to promote the availability of safe, healthy and wholesome food for everyone to improve food and nutrition security. AHO strongly promotes the integration of food safety into nutrition and food security programmes.

World Polio Day

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

Africa Polio Week

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.