Every month there is a range of national health promotion campaigns in the UK. In December there are initiatives for ‘big picture’, deeply ethical areas which represent health and social challenges across the world. There are no remarkable month-long initiatives but a series of days, particularly at the beginning of the month. Here is a synopsis of the campaigns should you want to learn more or join in:
- World Aids Day, 01 December: founded in 1988, World Aids Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education
- World Pollution Prevention Day, 02 December: pollution is intrinsically linked to poor health. Harmful emissions cause respiratory problems in many countries across the world; contaminated water causes severe, sometimes lethal, gastro-intestinal disease for many in developing countries. Diarrhoea is a major killer of the young and elderly in the Third World
- International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 02 December: marks the anniversary of the UN Convention on the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, passed in 1949
- International Day of People with Disabilities, 03 December: this year’s theme is ‘Not All Disabilities Are Visible’ and focusses on spreading awareness and understanding of disabilities that are not immediately apparent. This day was instituted by the United Nations in 1992. It comes in the middle of Disability History Month, 18 November-18 December. Kent Union has put together a series of online events to mark this
- Human Rights Day, 10 December: this annual day marks the anniversary of when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The theme for this year, ‘Recover Better – Stand Up For Human Rights’, is related to recovery across the world from the Covid 19 pandemic, by focussing on the need to build back better by ensuring Human Rights are central to recovery efforts
- International Migrants Day, 18 December: another United Nations initiative, marking the adoption of a convention in 1990 protecting the rights of migrant workers and their families. The focus this year is on social cohesion, the commonalities that all humans share rather than those aspects which mark them as different from each other
- And finally, a reminder that Dry January starts on New Year’s Day 2021, as inevitably as New Year’s Eve follows Christmas! Alcohol Change UK encourages everyone to take a month off the booze after the excesses of the Festive Season
There are many initiatives to stimulate you to learn more, get involved and possibly change your health profile and habits in the short or long term.