Upcoming Health Events

The organ and tissue sector has an exciting opportunity to raise public support for organ and tissue donation for transplantation to a new level by participating in DonateLife Week.

March is National Epilepsy Awareness Month, which includes a range of events, community activities and media campaigns around Australia to raise awareness and an improved understanding of epilepsy. Events will culminate in Purple Day for Epilepsy Awareness March 26 when everyone is encouraged to wear purple for epilepsy.

International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.

Glaucoma is a worldwide epidemiological challenge affecting approximately four percent of the global population with an estimated 50 percent of glaucoma cases remaining undiagnosed. World Glaucoma Week seeks to raise awareness of this ‘silent’ eye condition.

A week where the Coeliac Society and the Coeliac Research Funds work with the media, medical and dietry industry and other organisations to raise awareness of the coeliac disease and the gluten free diet.

The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

World TB Day raises awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease. One-third of the world's population is currently infected with TB. The Stop TB Partnership, a network of organizations and countries fighting TB, organizes the Day to highlight the scope of the disease and how to prevent and cure it. The annual event on 24 March marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch detected the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus. This was a first step towards diagnosing and curing tuberculosis. WHO is working to cut TB prevalence rates and deaths by half by 2015.

"Integrated Perspective of Pain" will be the overriding theme of the Australian Pain Society’s Annual Scientific Meeting, to be held on the banks of the Yarra at the newly completed Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, from 1 - 4 April 2012. Keynote speakers will explore the evolving issues in pain management, with a view to updating modern pain practice. Of note, topics will include how to engage people in their health care, improve patient and staff education, and be informed of the policy debates regarding pain management service delivery. International speakers from France, Canada and the U.S, with expertise in neuropathic pain assessment and management will update us with their knowledge, including the benefits of involvement in national collaborations. Integrating research and staff education into a busy practice will be addressed.

World Autism Awareness Day aims to increase people's awareness about people, especially children, with autism. The day often features educational events for teachers, health care workers and parents, as well as exhibitions showcasing work created by children with autism.

World Hemophilia Awareness Day is an international observance held annually on April 17 by the WFH. It is an awareness day for hemophilia and other bleeding disorders, which also serves to raise funds and attract volunteers for the WFH.