International Day of Epidemic Preparedness
Next: December 27, 2026
Ready before the next outbreak.
The story
Where it comes from
The UN General Assembly proclaimed 27 December the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness on 7 December 2020, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, adopting without a vote a resolution introduced by Viet Nam with Canada, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal and Spain. Introducing it, Viet Nam's ambassador told the Assembly: 'The pandemic caught us off guard, but it also has served as a wake-up call.' The day stresses prevention, preparedness and partnership, so that the world is better ready before the next outbreak arrives.
How it's celebrated
The resolution invites the World Health Organization to facilitate the day and asks governments, schools, businesses and individuals to mark it through education and awareness. For most of us, preparedness is a handful of small habits: washing hands with soap, staying home or wearing a mask when unwell, getting health news from reliable sources, and thanking the health workers who kept going when it mattered.
Did you know
- It was the first resolution proposed by Viet Nam to be adopted by the UN General Assembly.
- Singapore's colour-coded outbreak alert system, DORSCON, grew out of the alert phases first used during the SARS outbreak of 2003.
- The UN calls for a 'One Health' approach to epidemics, treating human, animal and plant health and the environment as connected.
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