World Thyroid Day takes place on 25th May each year, aiming to increase public awareness of thyroid diseases, namely the importance of their timely diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

Thyroid disorders are very common worldwide, they affect people of all ages and have a large range of symptoms.

The most common thyroid disorders include hyperthyroidism (abnormally increased thyroid activity), hypothyroidism (abnormally decreased thyroid activity), thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland) and thyroid cancer and are often caused by iodine deficiency.

“Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disorder in Australia, affecting around 1 in 33 Australians¹.”

Get involved this May by:

• Raising awareness on social media
• Organising a fundraiser
• Making a donation

For more information, visit: 
https://thyroidfoundation.org.au/World-Thyroid-Day

National Palliative Care Week is an initiative to mark the importance of palliative care in the Australian community.

Palliative care is person and family-centred care provided for a person with an active, progressive, advanced disease, who has little or no prospect of cure and who is expected to die, and for whom the primary goal is to optimise the quality of life.

For help and information ask your:

• Doctor
• Aboriginal Health Worker
• Hospital Liaison Officer
• Nurse

Get involved this May by:

• Joining a twitter conversation
• Getting a conversation going in the community
• Volunteering with the foundation
• Donating

For more information, visit: https://palliativecare.org.au/

There’s no one cause for heart disease. However, there are risk factors that increase your chance of developing it. The more risk factors you have, the more likely you are to develop heart disease. More than two-thirds of Australian adults have three or more risk factors for heart disease. Yet many people don’t know they’re at risk.

• It’s never too early or late to manage your risk of heart disease and improve your heart health 
• You can help reduce your risk of heart disease by making positive changes to your lifestyle 
• Some risk factors for heart disease are beyond your control, such as: age, gender, ethnicity, and family history  
• High blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes can increase your chance of developing heart disease 
• Understand your risk by seeing your GP for a Heart Health Check.  

For more information, visit: https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/heart-health-education/are-you-at-risk-of-heart-disease

Kiss Goodbye to MS is a day to recognise the prevelance of MS in society. MS is the result of damage to myelin – a protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres of the central nervous system. When myelin is damaged, this interferes with messages between the brain and other parts of the body.

‘The average age of diagnosis with MS is just 30, and 3 out of 4 Australians with MS are women.’

There are 25,600 Australians living with MS currently.

Get involved this May by:

• Raising awareness on social media
• Volunteering
• Making a donation

For more information, visit:
https://kissgoodbyetoms.org/

International Nurses Day takes place on 12 May every year and provides an opportunity to recognise nurses around the world for their contribution to health care. The day is celebrated on 12 May as this is the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, the founder of modern nursing.  This year the theme for International Nurses Day is Nurses: “A vision for future healthcare”.

“Nurses are consistently named one of the most trusted professions, year after year. Taking care of people during times of vulnerability allows nurses to form a special bond with their patients.”

Get involved by:

• Donating
• Showing your appreciation to the nurses in your local community
• Volunteering
• Raising awareness on social media

For more information, visit:
https://www.icn.ch/what-we-do/campaigns/international-nurses-day

Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month is held during May each year to raise community awareness and promote a clear message that domestic and family violence will not be tolerated in our communities.

To get involved this May:

• Raise awareness on social media
• Volunteer with domestic violence oriented foundation
• Donate
• Organise an event

For more information, visit: https://domesticviolence.com.au/

World Asthma Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world.

Around 2.7 million Australians (one in nine or 11.2% of the total population) had asthma in 2017-18. Over the last 10 years, the prevalence of asthma increased in the Australian population from 9.9% in 2007-08 to 11.2% in 2017-18.

Get involved this May by:

• Volunteering with the foundation
• Donating
• Raising awareness on social media

For more information, visit:
https://ginasthma.org/wad/

Miracle Month of May is a chance to raise awareness and funds for premature and sick newborns, their families and the hospitals that care for them.

Did you know that 132 babies are born each day in Australia requiring specialised care?  Each year, more than 48,000 babies require specialised care.

To get involved:

• Donate to the foundation
• Raise awareness on social media
• Host an event
• Volunteer

For more information, visit: https://www.miraclebabies.org.au/

World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an international campaign to promote safe and healthy work ethics. These are crucial in moving ahead in our fast paced society to maintain quality of life and working standards.

“According to the ILO estimates, every year over 2.3 million women and men die at work from an occupational injury or disease.”

Get involved this April by:

• Learning about the safety and healthy protocols
• Donating to the foundation
• Raising awareness on social media
• Informing family and friends of the risks

For more information, visit: https://www.un.org/en/observances/work-safety-day

World Malaria Day is a chance to shine a spotlight on the global effort to control malaria. It highlights the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control. Malaria remains both a major cause and a consequence of global poverty and inequity.

According to the World Malaria Report released in December 2019, there were 228 million cases of malaria in 2018 compared to 231 million cases in 2017.

Fight against malaria this April by:

• Raising awareness on social media using #EndMalaria
• Donating to the foundation
• Organising your own fundraiser
• Educating family and friends on the dangers of malaria

For more information, visit:
https://www.who.int/news-room/campaigns/world-malaria-day