WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK

Breastfeeding: The 1st Hour - Save ONE million babies!

This year's theme,"Breastfeeding:the 1st hour,earlyinitiationand exclusive breastfeeding can save more than ONE million babies" offers an excellent opportunity to draw global attention to the important role that breastfeeding plays in improving the health of infants.

Recently there has been some good news on rates of breastfeeding. An examination of 37 countries (covering some 60 per cent of the developing world population) has revealed an increase from 34 per cent to 41 per cent in the rates of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of children's lives. However some studies suggest an additional 1.3 million children would be saved if this rate were increased to 90 per cent, and that neonatal mortality is reduced by 22% when children are breastfed within an hour of birth.

The challenge we face is to find creative and convincing ways at the community level to encourage breastfeeding and to provide national authorities with solid evidence of the advantages of promoting breastfeeding at the national level.

World Breastfeeding Week also provides us with an opportunity to inform people of the benefits that early and exclusive breastfeeding provides to both families and nations. If we are successful, we will have saved lives thereby contributing to progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG-4) aims at reducing under-five child mortality by two thirds by 2015. According to global data, out of all 10.9 million under-five deaths,roughly 4 million babies die during the first month of life. This means that deaths will have to be brought down considerably within the first month to make a significant dent on the child mortality rates.

A recent study has shown that if ALL women began breastfeeding within the 1st hour it would save ONE million of the 4 million newborn deaths. This study from rural Ghana, based on 10,947 breastfed singleton infants, has shown that initiation of breastfeeding within the 1st hour
of birth reduced the infants’ risk of death1. On the other hand, there was a marked increase in risk with increasing delay in initiation. Overall late initiation (after day ONE) was associated with a 2.4-fold increase in risk. Giving pre-lacteal feeds, i.e. something other than mother’s milk before beginning to breastfeed also increased the risk of neonatal mortality. The study conducted on babies who survived day ONE, clearly showed that 41% of all babies who die during 2 to 28 days of life can be saved by this simple intervention: beginning breastfeeding within ONE hour of birth. When the deaths of day ONE were included, it showed 22% of all neonatal (0-28 days) deaths could be reduced.

In India, for example, this means 250,000 neonates can be saved from death annually by just this ONE act. Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth is thus, the first and most vital step towards reducing infant and under-five mortality.

World Population Day

11 July 2007

This year the focus of World Population Day is on young people.

In her statement the UNFPA Executive Director, Thoraya Obaid, remarks "All over the world, young people want to be heard and involved. They possess the ideas, determination and energy to accelerate effective action to reduce poverty and inequality....It is clear that the Millennium Development Goals will not be met unless young people are actively involved in policymaking and programming, their voices are heard, their needs are met and their human rights are respected".

Let me give you all the Full Statement:-

World Population Day is a time to focus on commitment and action to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. The theme of this year’s World Population Day is Men as Partners in Maternal Health.

Today too many women die needlessly from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Every minute, another woman loses her life. Every minute, the loss of a mother shatters a family and threatens the well-being of surviving children. And for every woman who dies, 20 or more women experience serious complications such as obstetric fistula.

World leaders have committed themselves to improving maternal health and advancing gender equality. And men can make a tremendous contribution by using their power for positive change. Men have power in wide-ranging situations from personal and family decisions to policy and programme decisions taken at all levels of Government.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, supports safe motherhood initiatives around the world. We work with governments and other partners to ensure that every woman has access to three reproductive health services that save women’s lives. These are voluntary family planning, skilled attendance at birth, and emergency obstetric care if complications arise during delivery.

In countries where these services are widely available, more mothers and babies are surviving.

Experience shows that men’s involvement and participation can make all the difference. By discouraging early marriage, promoting girls’ education, fostering equitable relationships, and supporting women’s reproductive health and rights, progress is made.

Today, on World Population Day, it is time for all men—as fathers, brothers, husbands, community and religious leaders, and government officials—to become partners in maternal health. Together we can make this the last day that 1,440 women died during pregnancy and childbirth. Let us go forward with the message: No woman should die giving life. And let us do all we can to promote the right of every woman to enjoy a life of health, dignity and equal opportunity.

Statement on the Occasion of World Population Day 2007
by Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA

World No Tobacco Day 2007

MAY 31

Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is well known that half the people who smoke regularly today – about 650 million people – will eventually be killed by tobacco. Equally alarming is the fact that hundreds of thousands of people who have never smoked die each year from diseases caused by breathing second-hand tobacco smoke.

There is no doubt: breathing second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) is very dangerous to your health. It causes cancer, as well as many serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in children and adults, often leading to death. There is no safe level of human exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.

Rigorous research says: More information

These are the indisputable conclusions reached by international and national health authorities, backed up by extensive rigorously reviewed and published research results, over many years. Three recent major publications remind us of these facts:

- The 2004 IARC Monograph 83: Tobacco Smoke and Involuntary Smoking

- The 2005 California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Environmental Health Hazard Assessment of Environmental Tobacco Smoke

- The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's Report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke

World Schizophrenia Awareness Day

MAY 24

Schizophrenia is a disease of the human brain. It can happen to anyone. But when it comes to this disease, the life of schizophrenics and their loved ones, could become better, safer even, if the truth of this illness were given the equal attention that is assigned to every other disease.

SCHIZOPHRENIA is one of the major disorders of the mind, affecting as it does 0.5-1 per cent of the population. It has been described as the “greatest disabler of youth”. Ubiquitous in its distribution throughout the world, it affects ali ke men and women, rich and poor, literate and illiterate. Although the ages 15-35 years are the high-risk age for schizophrenia, children and elderly also suffer from it. Migrants, those living in very deprived environments, some ethnic minorities, children with one or both parents afflicted by schizophrenia seem to be at a higher risk of developing schizophrenia.

A leading public health problem, the personal and economic costs of schizophrenia can be staggering. The disability produced by schizophrenia is all encompassing, affecting as it does personal care and hygiene, interpersonal relationships, social interactions, the ability to work, difficulty in attention, concentration and memory. In developing countries, where most persons with schizophrenia live with families, the human and economic burdens are huge.

There are still unfilled gaps in our understanding of schizophrenia. Though recent research is largely focused on establishing the genetic causes, all details of such genetic transmission are still not clear. Similarly, biological changes in the brain have been well documented to the extent that schizophrenia is now termed a “disorder of the brain”.

Symptoms

Hallucinations, delusions, disorders of thinking, neglect of self-care and personal hygiene, difficulties in socialisation are all hallmarks of schizophrenia. Their content and nature could vary among different cultures and societies. Aggression is reported to be more in western patients than those in developing countries.

Being male and single, unemployed, delayed and irregular treatment, family history of psychoses, poor social and work functioning before the illness, use of alcohol or other addictive drugs, unhealthy family environment all seem to work towards a poor outcome.

Availability of effective medicines, better community care, increasing awareness about the illness seem to have improved the outcome in a substantial number of persons with schizophrenia. Persons with schizophrenia die young compared to the general population. Infectious disease, heart ailments and death by suicides are common.

One in ten patients with schizophrenia has an affected family member. Increased number of birth complications, infections during pregnancy and use of addictive substances such as cannabis during adolescence have all been associated with schizophrenia.Disability and burden
Schizophrenia causes considerable disability in several areas of a person’s functioning. Self-care, care of personal space and environment, interpersonal relationships, ability to show emotions and carry on meaningful conversations, ability to find and keep jobs, faculties such as attention, concentration, memory and other cognitive functions may all be impaired.

The fact that mental disability is not visually apparent as in the case of other disabilities has resulted in its being marginalised among the disabilities themselves. Added to this is the fact that the mentally ill are not as articulate as the other disabled groups.

Schizophrenia still continues to be painfully stigmatised for several reasons. A host of stereotypes such as aggression, contagion, unpredictability and inevitable heritability exist. Compounding this is the reality that a small percentage of persons with schizophrenia do not improve and remain considerably disabled all through their lives, despite treatment.

For such disabling conditions, a network of services in the government, NGO and private sectors need to be in place and adequately linked. Only then can medical treatment, psychosocial rehabilitation and support, family support, housing, employment, stigma and human rights and discrimination be effectively dealt with. However utopian this may sound, it is mandatory for all developing countries to work towards this. Only then will comprehensive care for person with schizophrenia and their families become a reality.

UN PEACEKEEPERS DAY

The date, 29 May, was chosen because on that day in 1948, the first UN peacekeeping mission, the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations, with a group of unarmed military observers in Palestine.

In a videotaped message to be broadcast to peacekeepers around the world on the Day, Secretary-General Kofi Annan emphasized that the mission of UN peacekeeping remains vital. While “peacekeeping by itself cannot end a war … it can prevent a recurrence of fighting. Above all, it gives time and space for conflict resolution. It gives peace a chance”.

As this Day is being observed around the world, peacekeepers are fulfilling roles as military observers, trainers and disarmament experts, civilian police, civil administrators, judges and prosecutors, economists, human rights and humanitarian workers. Others perform the more traditional peacekeeping functions of monitoring ceasefires and buffer zones, in 14 missions on three continents.

for more details check out the link below

http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/index.asp

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

17 May 2007

17 May marks the anniversary of the signature of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union. World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated since 1969.

Following the World Summit on the Information Society, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/60/252 which identifies 17 May as World Information Society Day.

MOTHERS DAY

MAY13

Mother's Day is a time of commemoration and celebration for Mom. It is a time of breakfast in bed, family gatherings, and crayon scribbled "I Love You's."

The Story of Mother's Day

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter*), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England. *(For more information on Lent/Easter check out - Easter on the Net)

During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

World Family Day

MAY 15

The international day of family was founded by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993. The establishment of this Day draws attention of the public of various countries to numerous problems of family.

The family as a basic element of a society has been and remains a preserver of human values, culture and historical continuity of generations, the factor of stability and development, Jahon writes. Thanks to the healthy family the state gets stronger and develops and the well being of people grows.

At all times the level and character of development of the country has been judged o­n the attitude of the state to family, as well as its stand in a society. This is due to the fact that the happy union of family and the state is a necessary pledge of prosperity and well being of its citizens.

Human life commences with family. Here its formation as citizen takes place. Supporting the institute of family, strengthening its authority and educational function, the development of base family values is among the main priorities of policies.

ANTI-TERRORISM DAY

MAY 20

The 21st of May is being observed every year as "Anti-Terrorism Day". The purpose is to wean the people, especially the youth, away from the cult of terrorism and violence. The Union Home Ministry has requested State Governments and the Union Territory administration to organize appropriate programmes to observe the Anti-Terrorism Day in a befitting manner.

An important feature of the observance of this day is the Anti-Terrorism Pledge administered to employees and the people. The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri I.D. Swami administered the Pledge to the employees of the Home Ministry at a function in the North Block premises today. The pledge reads as follows:

"We, the people of India, having abiding faith in our country’s tradition of non-violence and tolerance, hereby solemnly affirm to oppose with our strength, all forms of terrorism and violence. We pledge to uphold and promote peace, social harmony, and understand among all fellow human beings and fight the forces of disruption threatening human lives and values".

World Press Freedom Day 2007

“The rights to life and to liberty and integrity and security of person and also to freedom of expression are fundamental human rights that are recognized and guaranteed by international conventions and instruments.” (UNESCO Resolution, General Conference 1997)

The murder of Guillermo Cano, director of the Colombian daily newspaper “El Espectador,” is significant as regards unpunished crimes against journalists. Guillermo Cano Isaza was assassinated on December 17, 1986 in front of the newspaper’s exit in Bogota by two hired killers. Cano was a victim of drug trafficking mafias, which he fearlessly denounced and about whose harmful effects on Colombian society he cautioned. The magistrates in charge of the investigation became the objects of threats and bribes, with some being murdered for rejecting such bribes. The life of Guillermo Cano, his courage, his commitment to independent journalism and the tenacity with which he fought for his country are an example for the rest of the world to follow.

Today, 21 years after the death of Guillermo Cano, violence against media professionals and their institutions remains one of the greatest threats to freedom of expression and press freedom. According to Reporters Without Borders, 75 journalists and 32 media staff have been killed last year making 2006 the deadliest year on record. “Journalism today is more dangerous than ever. More than 500 journalists have been killed in the past decade, often for simply doing their jobs. These murders are a direct attack not only on individuals, but also on society as a whole. Yet few of the killers are ever brought to justice” Timothy Balding, CEO of the World Association of Newspapers stated in October 2006.

At this year’s World Press Freedom Day celebration, UNESCO invites all participants to discuss the rising challenges to the safety of media professionals, identify the specific dangers journalists face when working in conflict areas, consider the problem of impunity with regard to attacks on journalists, and explore measures that can be taken to improve the safety of journalists.

World Press Freedom Prize 2007

UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2007 has been awarded posthumously to a Russian reporter Anna Politkovskaya.

Accepting the recommendation of an independent international jury of media professionals, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today designated Anna Politkovskaya, the late Russian journalist, as the laureate of the 2007 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World PressFreedom Prize.

Kavi Chongkittavorn, President of the UNESCO/Guillermo World Cano Press Freedom Prize jury of fourteen professional journalists and editors from all over the world, explained the jury's choice:

"Anna Politkovskaya showed incredible courage and stubbornness in chronicling events in Chechnya after the whole world had given up on that conflict. Her dedication and fearless pursuits of the truth set the highest benchmark of journalism, not only for Russia but for the rest of the world. Indeed, Anna's courage and commitment were so remarkable, that we decided, for the first time, to award the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize posthumously."

May Day - the Real Labor Day

May 1st, International Workers' Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world, and is recognized in every country except the United States, Canada, and South Africa. This despite the fact that the holiday began in the 1880s in the United States, with the fight for an eight-hour work day.

In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a legal day's work from and after May 1, 1886. The resolution called for a general strike to achieve the goal, since legislative methods had already failed. With workers being forced to work ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day, rank-and-file support for the eight-hour movement grew rapidly, despite the indifference and hostility of many union leaders. By April 1886, 250,000 workers were involved in the May Day movement.

The heart of the movement was in Chicago, organized primarily by the anarchist International Working People's Association. Businesses and the state were terrified by the increasingly revolutionary character of the movement and prepared accordingly. The police and militia were increased in size and received new and powerful weapons financed by local business leaders. Chicago's Commercial Club purchased a $2000 machine gun for the Illinois National Guard to be used against strikers. Nevertheless, by May 1st, the movement had already won gains for many Chicago clothing cutters, shoemakers, and packing-house workers. But on May 3, 1886, police fired into a crowd of strikers at the McCormick Reaper Works Factory, killing four and wounding many. Anarchists called for a mass meeting the next day in Haymarket Square to protest the brutality.

The meeting proceeded without incident, and by the time the last speaker was on the platform, the rainy gathering was already breaking up, with only a few hundred people remaining. It was then that 180 cops marched into the square and ordered the meeting to disperse. As the speakers climbed down from the platform, a bomb was thrown at the police, killing one and injuring seventy. Police responded by firing into the crowd, killing one worker and injuring many others.

Although it was never determined who threw the bomb, the incident was used as an excuse to attack the entire Left and labor movement. Police ransacked the homes and offices of suspected radicals, and hundreds were arrested without charge. Anarchists in particular were harassed, and eight of Chicago's most active were charged with conspiracy to murder in connection with the Haymarket bombing. A kangaroo court found all eight guilty, despite a lack of evidence connecting any of them to the bomb-thrower (only one was even present at the meeting, and he was on the speakers' platform), and they were sentenced to die. Albert Parsons, August Spies, Adolf Fischer, and George Engel were hanged on November 11, 1887. Louis Lingg committed suicide in prison, The remaining three were finally pardoned in 1893.

It is not surprising that the state, business leaders, mainstream union officials, and the media would want to hide the true history of May Day, portraying it as a holiday celebrated only in Moscow's Red Square. In its attempt to erase the history and significance of May Day, the United States government declared May 1st to be "Law Day", and gave us instead Labor Day - a holiday devoid of any historical significance other than its importance as a day to swill beer and sit in traffic jams.

Nevertheless, rather than suppressing labor and radical movements, the events of 1886 and the execution of the Chicago anarchists actually mobilized many generations of radicals. Emma Goldman, a young immigrant at the time, later pointed to the Haymarket affair as her political birth. Lucy Parsons, widow of Albert Parsons, called upon the poor to direct their anger toward those responsible - the rich. Instead of disappearing, the anarchist movement only grew in the wake of Haymarket, spawning other radical movements and organizations, including the Industrial Workers of the World.

By covering up the history of May Day, the state, business, mainstream unions and the media have covered up an entire legacy of dissent in this country. They are terrified of what a similarly militant and organized movement could accomplish today, and they suppress the seeds of such organization whenever and wherever they can. As workers, we must recognize and commemorate May Day not only for it's historical significance, but also as a time to organize around issues of vital importance to working-class people today.

As IWW songwriter Joe Hill wrote in one of his most powerful songs:

Workers of the world, awaken!

Rise in all your splendid might

Take the wealth that you are making,

It belongs to you by right.

No one will for bread be crying

We'll have freedom, love and health,

When the grand red flag is flying

In the Workers' Commonwealth.

WORLD ASTHMA DAY also falls on this day <---click here to know more

World Asthma Day

World Asthma Day is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world. World Asthma Day 2007, organized around the theme "You Can Control Your Asthma," will be held on Tuesday, May 1.

What is World Asthma Day?

World Asthma Day is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) in collaboration with health care groups and asthma educators to raise awareness about asthma and improve asthma care throughout the world.

Each year GINA chooses a theme and organizes preparation and distribution of World Asthma Day materials and resources. World Asthma Day activities are organized in each country by health care professionals, educators, and members of the public who want to help reduce the burden of asthma.

The first World Asthma Day, in 1998, was celebrated in more than 35 countries in conjunction with the first World Asthma Meeting held in Barcelona, Spain. Participation has increased with each World Asthma Day held since then, and the day has become one of the world's most important asthma awareness and education events.

view MAY DAY on this DAY

World Intellectual Property Day - April 26

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.

Intellectual property is divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs. For an introduction to IP for non-specialists see:

Understanding Copyright and Related Rights
Understanding Industrial Property

On World Intellectual Property Day this year, WIPO celebrates the link between intellectual property (IP) and creativity under the theme - Encouraging Creativity.

Promotional materials on this theme, including an IP Day message from WIPO Director General, Kamil Idris, have been despatched to IP offices in Member States, and are available here for downloading:

Message from the Director General
Poster [ Print-ready PDF, 3.5 Mb]
IP Day postcard [ Print-ready PDF, 270 Kb]

Transgender Day Of Empowerment (TDOE)

APRIL 6

TDOR is an important day set aside to annually memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. TDOE, on the other end of the spectrum, is a day set aside for transpeople and significant others, friends, families, and allies to celebrate transgender history and future, as well as celebrate our transseniors and our transyouth.

The transgender community is filled with a rich diversity of individuals; of every age, race, faith, identifiable gender, and socioeconomic background. The next generation of transpeople can look forward to less discrimination than the generations of transgender people past.

One day the idea of a day of celebration of transgender diversity will catch on as an idea for the broader transgender community -- for all of transpeople, significant others, friends, families, and of course wonderful allies.

World Book and Copyright Day

23 April is a symbolic date for world literature for on this date in 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.

It was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference, held in Paris in 1995, to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.

By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.

23 April: a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. It was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.

The idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia where on 23 April, Saint George's Day, a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold. The success of the World Book and Copyright Day will depend primarily on the support received from all parties concerned (authors, publishers, teachers, librarians, public and private institutions, humanitarian NGOs and the mass media), who have been mobilized in each country by UNESCO National Commissions, UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations, Associated Schools and Libraries, and by all those who feel motivated to work together in this world celebration of books and authors.

Download the poster of the Day in high-resolution PDF for your printing and reproduction needs:
Poster with text in English and French
Poster without text (for you to add text in your language)

World Earth Day

Earth Day - April 22 each year marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

Among other things, 1970 in the United States brought with it the Kent State shootings, the advent of fiber optics, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Apollo 13, the Beatles' last album, the death of Jimi Hendrix, the birth of Mariah Carey, and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear plant near Aiken, South Carolina -- an incident not acknowledged for 18 years.

It was into such a world that the very first Earth Day was born.

Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest "to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda. " "It was a gamble," he recalls, "but it worked."

At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

Earth Day 1970 turned that all around.

On April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

Sen. Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest honor given to civilians in the United States -- for his role as Earth Day founder.

As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the status of environmental issues on to the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. Earth Day 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. For 2000, Earth Day had the Internet to help link activists around the world. By the time April 22 rolled around, 5,000 environmental groups around the world were on board, reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. Events varied: A talking drum chain traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa, for example, while hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., USA.

Earth Day 2000 sent the message loud and clear that citizens the world 'round wanted quick and decisive action on clean energy.

Now, the fight for a clean environment continues. We invite you to be a part of this history and a part of Earth Day. Discover energy you didn't even know you had. Feel it rumble through the grass roots under your feet and the technology at your fingertips. Channel it into building a clean, healthy, diverse world for generations to come.

World Heritage Day

18 April

World Heritage is the shared wealth of humankind. Protecting and preserving this valuable asset demands the collective efforts of the international community. This special day offers an opportunity to raise the public's awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it, as well as draw attention to its vulnerability.

On 18 April 1982 on the occasion of a symposium organised by ICOMOS in Tunisia, the holding of the "International Day for Monuments and Sites" to be celebrated simultaneously throughout the world was suggested. This project was approved by the Executive Committee who provided practical suggestions to the National Committees on how to organise this day.

The idea was also approved by the UNESCO General Conference who passed a resolution at its 22nd session in November 1983 recommending that Member States examine the possibility of declaring 18 April each year ?International Monuments and Sites Day?. This has been traditionally called the World Heritage Day.

ICOMOS, the International Council for Monuments and Sites makes a number of suggestions on how to celebrate the World Heritage Day:

Visits to monuments and sites, and restoration works, possibly with free admission

Articles in newspapers and magazines, as well as television and radio broadcasts

Hanging banners in town squares or principal traffic arteries calling attention to the day and the preservation of cultural heritage

Inviting local and foreign experts and personalities for conferences and interviews

Organising discussions in cultural-centres, city halls, and other public spaces

Exhibitions (photos, paintings, etc)

Publication of books, post-cards, stamps, posters

Awarding prizes to organisations or persons who have made an outstanding contribution to the conservation and promotion of cultural heritage or produced an excellent publication on the subject.

Inaugurate a recently restored monument

Special awareness raising activities amongst school children and youth

Promotion of ?twinning? opportunities between organizations, defining areas for co-operation; exchange of speakers; organisation of meetings and seminars, or the editing of joint publications.

World Health Day 2007- international health security

World Health Day on 7 April marks the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO). It is an occasion to raise awareness of key global health issues. This year's theme is international health security. The aim of the Day is to urge governments, organizations and businesses to "Invest in health, build a safer future".

The theme of World Health Day and of the World Health Report 2007 is “international health security” – the need to reduce the vulnerability of people around the world to new, acute or rapidly spreading risks to health, particularly those that threaten to cross international borders.

In a globalized world, health issues present new challenges that go far beyond national borders and have an impact on the collective security of people around the world.

Increased collaboration among developed and developing countries will enable the international community to be better prepared to strengthen national capacities to detect and respond to disease outbreaks. This will provide a global safety net to deal with key cross-border public health issues and in turn help to make the world more secure.

Key discussion points:

• The lessons learned from SARS and other disease outbreaks should be used to strengthen national and global preparedness for the next emergency caused by an infectious disease.
• Capacity-building in developing countries must be practical, based on the needs of the country, and collaborative.
• The strength of multiple stakeholders – governments, international organizations, the corporate sector, civil society – must be leveraged to improve global response capacity.

Resources for more information:
http://www.who.int/topics/emerging_diseases/en/
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/en/

WORLD FOOLS DAY

April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day,holiday of uncertain origin, known for practical joking and celebrated on the first of April. Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1564, the date was observed as New Year's Day by cultures as varied as the Roman and the Hindu. The holiday is considered to be related to the festival of the vernal equinox, which occurs on Mar. 21. The English gave April Fool's Day its first widespread celebration during the 18th cent.

Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays, the history of April Fool's Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, is not totally clear. There really wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring.

The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.

However, communications being what they were in the days when news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as "fools" by the general populace. They were subject to some ridicule, and were often sent on "fools errands" or were made the butt of other practical jokes.

This harassment evolved, over time, into a tradition of prank-playing on the first day of April. The tradition eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the English and French. April Fool's Day thus developed into an international fun fest, so to speak, with different nationalities specializing in their own brand of humor at the expense of their friends and families.

In Scotland, for example, April Fool's Day is actually celebrated for two days. The second day is devoted to pranks involving the posterior region of the body. It is called Taily Day. The origin of the "kick me" sign can be traced to this observance.

Mexico's counterpart of April Fool's Day is actually observed on December 28. Originally, the day was a sad remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by King Herod. It eventually evolved into a lighter commemoration involving pranks and trickery.

Pranks performed on April Fool's Day range from the simple, (such as saying, "Your shoe's untied!), to the elaborate. Setting a roommate's alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, "April Fool!"

Practical jokes are a common practice on April Fool's Day. Sometimes, elaborate practical jokes are played on friends or relatives that last the entire day. The news media even gets involved. For instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool's Day was a fairly detailed documentary about "spaghetti farmers" and how they harvest their crop from the spaghetti trees.

April Fool's Day is a "for-fun-only" observance. Nobody is expected to buy gifts or to take their "significant other" out to eat in a fancy restaurant. Nobody gets off work or school. It's simply a fun little holiday, but a holiday on which one must remain forever vigilant, for he may be the next April Fool!

INDIAN Symbol of Revolution

Bhagat Singh, 23 years of age when hanged by the British on 23rd March 1931, remains to this day a model for the youth of India and the world. The accomplishments and heroism of his short life are worthy not only of our remembrance, but of our homage.

MARCH 23 this year marks the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev who, along with their comrades, challenged the might of the British empire and set before their countrymen an example of supreme sacrifice for the cause of the country’s independence. On their part, our people too have no doubt always cherished the memories of these and countless other martyrs. But the fact is that remembering the sacrifice of these martyrs has never been of so crucial significance in the history of independent India as it is today when US imperialists are seeking to dominate us and draw India into their global hegemonic designs.

This is the reason that our party, the CPI(M), has given a call to all its units to observe the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and his comrades on March 23 this year, and to utilise the occasion to propagate their message of anti-imperialism, secularism and socialism.

Here we will do well to recall the fact that when Bhagat Singh went to the gallows in a cheerful, singing mood, he was hardly 23 years and a half. Yet, he came to symbolise the best of aspirations of a nation that was struggling for independence and for a worthy life for all its members. In fact, no other national revolutionary (“terrorist” in British imperialist parlance) of the earlier generations identified himself so closely with the Indian masses on the move, as did Bhagat Singh, and in the process he himself became the symbol of revolution, insofar as the Indians are concerned. Just to take one example, while our national liberation movement produced numerous slogans, ranging from “Do or Die” to “Delhi Chalo,” none of these proved as enduring as the slogan of “Inqilab Zindabad” (Long Live Revolution) that was upheld by Bhagat Singh and his comrades-in-arms. Even today, almost every political meeting through the length and breadth of the country starts and concludes with this slogan.

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World TUBERCULOSIS Day

TB is preventable and curable.

ROBERT KOCH discovered the TB bacillus more than 100 years ago but the disease is still far from being controlled.TB spreads by AIR,and commonly affects the LUNGS.

TB is contagious and spreads through the air; if not treated, each person with active TB infects on average 10 to 15 people every year.

2 billion people, equal to one third of the world’s total population, are infected with TB bacilli, the microbes that cause TB.

1 in 10 people infected with TB bacilli will become sick with active TB in their lifetime; people with HIV are at a much greater risk.

TB is a disease of poverty; affecting mostly young adults in their most productive years; the vast majority of TB deaths are in the developing world with more than half of all deaths occurring in Asia.

1.6 million people died from TB in 2005, equal to an estimated 4400 deaths a day. • TB is a leading killer among HIV-infected people with weakened immune systems; about 200 000 people with HIV die from TB every year, most of them being in Africa.

There were 8.8 million new TB cases in 2005 and 80% of them were in 22 countries.Per capita, global TB incidence rates are now stable or falling in all six WHO regions and have peaked globally; however the total number of cases is still rising in the African, Eastern Mediterranean and South East Asia regions.

TB is a worldwide pandemic; though the highest rates per capita are in Africa (28% of all TB cases), half of all new cases are in 6 Asian countries (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia,Pakistan, the Philippines).

Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is a form of TB that does not respond to the standard treatments using fi rst line drugs; MDR-TB is present in virtually all countries recently surveyed by WHO and partners.

450 000 new MDR-TB cases are estimated to occur every year; the highest rates of MDR-TB are in countries of the former Soviet Union and China.

Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) occurs when resistance to second-line drugs develops; it is extremely diffi cult to treat, and cases have been confi rmed worldwide.

The Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015

Full funding and implementation will:

Achieve the Millennium Development Goal to have halted and begun to reverse the incidence of TB by 2015.

Expand access to high-quality TB diagnosis and treatment for all.

Save an additional 14 million lives.

Treat 50 million people for TB.

Treat all diagnosed MDR-TB patients.

Put 3 million TB patients coinfected with HIV onto antiretrovirals.
Produce the fi rst new anti-TB drug in 40 years by 2010.

Develop a new vaccine by 2015.

Provide rapid and inexpensive diagnostic tests at the point of care.

World Meteorological Day

MARCH 23

Every year, on 23 March, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), its 187 Members and the worldwide meteorological community celebrate World Meteorological Day. This Day commemorates the entry into force, on that date in 1950, of the WMO Convention creating the Organization. Subsequently, in 1951, WMO was designated a specialized agency of the United Nations System.

In 2005, on the occasion of its fifty-seventh session, the WMO Executive Council decided that the theme for the year 2007 would be “Polar meteorology: understanding global impacts”, in recognition of the importance of, and as a contribution to, International Polar Year (IPY) 2007‑2008, which is being co-sponsored by WMO and the International Council for Science (ICSU). To ensure that researchers can work in both polar regions during the summer and winter months, the event will actually be held from March 2007 to March 2009. The fundamental concept of the IPY is an intensive burst of internationally coordinated, interdisciplinary scientific research and observations focused on the Earth’s polar regions and their far-reaching global effects.

The International Polar Year 2007-2008 will, therefore, be addressing a wide range of physical, biological and social issues, closely or indirectly linked to the polar regions. The urgency and complexity of the changes being observed in the polar regions will demand a broad and integrated scientific approach. Enhanced international collaboration and open partnerships resulting from this landmark scientific effort will, no doubt, stimulate and facilitate unrestricted data access and cross-cutting research initiatives. Through an ample outreach effort, IPY will also represent a major step forward in making scientific knowledge available and accessible to the general public. At the same time, a foremost concern will be the fact that the impacts derived from the polar regions are also important to the global climate system as a whole, so that many changes detected at the higher latitudes will also be found to have significant impacts on the sustainable development of all societies, regardless of geographic latitude.

Meteorology has long been recognized as a paradigm of a science without frontiers and polar meteorology is perhaps the ultimate example of this principle. Therefore, as the international meteorological community celebrates World Meteorological Day 2007, it is my hope that all Members of the World Meteorological Organization will recognize the importance of polar meteorology and its potential global impacts on their lives, their security and their prosperity. Moreover, it is also my expectation that the outcomes of this endeavour will contribute to a better understanding of climate variability and climate change, as well as to the development of much needed climate applications to address some of the major challenges of the 21st century.

WORLD WATER DAY

MARCH 22

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.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/47/193 of 22 December 1992 by which 22 March of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in 1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) contained in Chapter 18 (Fresh Water Resources) of Agenda 21. States were invited to devote the Day, as appropriate in the national context, to concrete activities such as the promotion of public awareness through the publication and diffusion of documentaries and the organization of conferences, round tables, seminars and expositions related to the conservation and development of water resources and the implementation of the recommendations of Agenda 21.

'Coping with Water Scarcity' is the theme for World Water Day 2007, which is celebrated each year on 22 March. This year's theme highlights the increasing significance of water scarcity worldwide and the need for increased integration and cooperation to ensure sustainable, efficient and equitable management of scarce water resources, both at international and local levels.

Equity and rights, cultural and ethical issues are essential to be addressed when dealing with limited water resources. Imbalances between availability and demand, the degradation of groundwater and surface water quality, intersectoral competition, interregional and international disputes, all center around the question of how to cope with scarce water resources.

The theme was decided among all members of UN Water at the World Water Week in Stockholm in August 2006. FAO acts as coordinator, on behalf of all the UN Agencies and Programmes members of UN-Water for the celebration of World Water Day 2007. It is assisted by the Secretariat for UN-Water, which is based at UN DESA in New York, and which is serving as point of contact within the UN system for freshwater-related issues.

WORLD KIDNEY DAY

MARCH 8

Also comes WORLD WOMEN'S DAY on this day March 8th

Chronic, non-communicable diseases (particularly cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease) have now replaced the communicable diseases as the leading threat to public health and health budgets worldwide.

Deaths claimed by infectious diseases will decline by 3% over the next decade. In marked contrast, chronic diseases that already account for 72% of the total global burden of disease in people over 30 will increase by 17%. Much of this in developing countries.

The cost of treating these chronic diseases, already 80% of many health care budgets, represents a leading threat to public health and healthcare resources worldwide.

The only feasible global response to this pending health and socio-economic crisis is chronic disease prevention.

THE CASE FOR EARLY DETECTION AND PREVENTION
The kidney, too often overlooked as part of global public health efforts, has now emerged as central to prevention efforts.

The cost of renal replacement therapy (RRT) for total kidney failure weighs heavy on many health care budgets. Over 1.5 million individuals around the world receive dialysis or have had a kidney transplant.

Even more importantly, kidney disease is a “disease multiplier”. It causes death in many people with diabetes and hypertension and predicts the development of a cardiovascular event.
If detected early CKD can be treated, thereby reducing other complications.

Abnormalities in kidney function often represent an early window into the state of the general vascular system. This window facilitates early disease detection before patients develop more devastating problems such as a stroke, peripheral vascular disease, coronary heart disease and kidney failure.

This new information now demands that kidney assumes a central role in global health and prevention efforts, because increased awareness of kidney disease has the immediate potential to dramatically reduce the growing burden of deaths and disability from chronic cardiovascular disease worldwide.

Promoting early detection and prevention of CKD will be an important step towards achieving the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended goal of reducing death rates related to chronic disease in the world by 2% per year over the next decade.
Chronic kidney diseases and cardiovascular diseases will kill 36 million people by the year 2015.

Also comes WORLD WOMEN'S DAY on this day March 8th

WORLD FORESTRY DAY

MARCH 21

The other Day Which falls on this March 21st is

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

In November 1971, at the request of the European Confederation of Agriculture, FAO'S member governments supported the annual observance of 21 March as World Forestry Day. Since then many nations have adopted this practice.

This day commemorates the contribution and value of forests and forestry to the community.

The need to explain

Forestry, more than other branches of agriculture, is an activity which needs to be brought before the public, as is well noted in the article entitled "Explaining forestry to forest users". But to make the practices and benefits of forestry comprehensible to the public is not as simple as it may at first seem. This is partly because of the long time scale involved in forest management compared to the increasingly rapid pace which modern man has come to accept as normal in so many other activities. In some countries there is also a residue of public suspicion of foresters as the "policemen of the woods" and this has to be overcome.

Every forester appreciates and understands the value of the forest as a source of raw material, as a provider of local employment and national income, as the great sponge which gathers and releases water, as the habitat for flora and fauna that otherwise would become extinct, and as the environment and atmosphere in which man feels uniquely at home with nature. If foresters and forest services talk in plain language about that which they know best, people will listen, understand and be with them.

"Man is weaned of the forest, and yet the forest is still very much a part of us." This is at the root of the concern of so many people today for the preservation of forests and other natural environments.

Preventing forest destruction

At a time where there is an awareness throughout the world of the serious imbalance between food production and distribution and population increases, there should be much more research and practical work on agri-silviculture for tropical countries. As foresters we should also spread an awareness of the imbalance between the vast areas of the tropics which are being devastated by unchecked slash-and-burn cultivation and the relatively small areas where agri-silviculture is being practiced, and in good part successfully practiced. The latter can and should be greatly increased. Forest services in tropical countries and university faculties specializing in tropical forestry should concentrate more resources and efforts in these directions.

The other Day Which falls on this March 21st is
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

MARCH 21

WORLD FORESTRY DAY also falls on this Day, March 21st

Since 1966, the 21st of March has been recognized by the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

UNESCO wishes to mark 21 March,the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in a truly exceptional manner. This will be the second International Day to be celebrated by UNESCO since the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance was held in 2001, in Durban, South Africa. This Conference, which marked the United Nations Third Decade (1993-2003) to combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, lends a second wind to the long and patient fight against the plague of racial discrimination.

Why 21 March?

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was established in 1966, following a tragic event that shocks the conscience: the massacre of young students peacefully protesting against apartheid laws, adopted by the South African government, a brutal regime that applied the theory of inequality between races, regardless of humanity’s moral and ethical advances. Proclaiming the International Day, the United Nations General Assembly called upon the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination

Forty-six years ago, on 21 March 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa, who were peacefully demonstrating against apartheid’s “pass laws.” The United Nations General Assembly subsequently declared that day –- 21 March -- the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (resolution 2142 (XXI). The Assembly called on the international community not only to commemorate that tragedy, but also to work together to combat racism and racial discrimination wherever they exist.

Canada was one of the first countries to support the UN declaration and, in 1989, the Department of Canadian Heritage launched its annual March 21 Campaign.

Youth are the heart and soul of the annual March 21 Campaign. They have the energy, commitment and creativity to advance the struggle against racism. They are the voice of the present and the future. They are among the most exposed to racism in their schools and on the streets. In villages, towns and cities across the Globe, the March 21 Campaign engages youth to transcend the boundaries of race, ethnicity and religion and to embrace diversity.

WORLD FORESTRY DAY also falls on this Day, March 21st

World Consumer Rights Day

MARCH 15

World Consumer Rights Day was introduced in 1983 by Consumers International (CI) and is observed every year on March 15. World Consumer Rights Day activities focus on the eight (8) basic consumer rights: access to basic goods and services, to safety, to choose, to information, to representation, to redress, to consumer education and to a healthy environment. By co-ordinating and promoting World Consumer Rights Day, Consumers International helps to ensure that these rights are given high priority by all governments at the international level.

The Consumer Affairs Division joins over two hundred and fifty (250) consumer organizations in one hundred and fifteen (115) countries in the celebration of this day. The Consumer Affairs Division, Ministry of Legal Affairs is a member of Consumers International (CI) which selects the theme for each year’s observance.

The mission of the Consumer Affairs Division is to improve the quality of life of consumers by promoting consumer awareness and assertiveness. The major objective in observing World Consumer Rights Day continues to be to facilitate discussions among the public and to collaborate and hold discussions with other relevant agencies and stakeholders. These discussions have resulted in the past in recommendations for action to be taken by government and other consumer protection agencies for the general good of the economy and society.

World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD)2007:

Consumers are largely unaware of how their drug consumption choices are being shaped by corporate motives for gargantuan profits.

For WCRD 2007, Consumers International and its member organisations around the world are calling on national governments to put an end to unscrupulous marketing practices by the pharmaceutical industry.

WCRD 2007 is part of our long-term campaign to tackle Unethical Drug Promotion. The purpose of this global campaign is to :

Hold industry accountable for compliance with global codes for ethical drug promotion

Hold governments accountable for rigorous enforcement of regulations on drug promotion

in order to uphold consumer rights to safety and information

Improve consumer access to credible, reliable and transparent drug and health information.