Reproductive health benefits are no longer just a 'nice to have', but a necessity. They have been proven to:

• Improve employee wellbeing, with 90% of those affected by reproductive health concerns also experience mental health challenges.
• Drive significant ROI for organisations, with considerable savings made through employee retention, boosted productivity and a healthier, happier workforce.
• Attract and retain the top talent and build a diverse workforce with inclusive benefits that give you a competitive edge.

Whether you have reproductive health support in place, or you're just starting to think about this, educating your HR team and your employees is the best, and most cost effective, place to start.

Awareness days can be a great opportunity to provide your employees with educational resources that drive awareness of important health conditions and challenges. However, as an HR professional, it’s not always easy to stay on top of the many health and wellbeing awareness events that take place throughout the year.

To make things a little easier, we've put together a breakdown of each health and wellbeing awareness day for every month of 2024, so that you know exactly what’s coming up in 2024 and you can add these into your internal calendar.

Awareness months in April

Stress awareness month

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 to raise awareness of the causes and cures of stress in society today. This month aims to open conversations around stress both inside and outside the workplace, and help remove the guilt, shame, and stigma that still exists around mental health.

To discover more about Stress Awareness Month and some strategies on how you and your employees can better manage it, be sure to check out this guide created by the Stress Awareness Society.

Bowel Cancer Awareness month

Bowel cancer is the second biggest killer cancer in the UK, and so raising awareness around the signs, symptoms and impacts is crucial. April marks Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, a fantastic annual event set aside to do just this as well as raise funds towards treating this condition. It is driven by various charitable organisations including Beating Bowel Cancer and Bowel Cancer UK.

This article written by the team at Bowel Cancer UK offers some great suggestions on how you can get involved this April

Testicular Cancer Awareness Month 

Every April marks Testicular Cancer Awareness Month and an opportunity to talk about the life-changing challenges and impacts testicular cancer has on people around the world It also allows us to celebrate the progress made towards prevention, diagnosis and breakthroughs in research.

Each year around 2,400 men in the UK are diagnosed with testicular cancer. That is more than six diagnosed cases every day.

Testicular cancer is statistically the most common type of cancer to affect men between the age of 15 to 34, with the highest incidence rate being in males in the 30 to 34 age group.

April's awareness days and weeks  

World autism awareness day – 2^nd April

Every April Autism Speaks celebrates World Autism Month, beginning with the United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on April 2. During April, organisations like Autism Speaks work to raise understanding and acceptance of people with autism around the world. 

World Health Day – 7^th April

World Health Day is celebrated every year on the anniversary of the founding day of the World Health Organisation. It’s a day to focus on and raise awareness around health issues that affect people all over the globe.

The theme for World Health Day2024 is 'My health, my right’. According to the WHO, this year’s theme was chosen to champion the right of everyone, everywhere to have access to quality health services, education, and information, as well as safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions, and freedom from discrimination.

Parkinson's Awareness week - 14^th-20^th April

As there is no cure for Parkinson’s, Parkinson’s Awareness week is an annual opportunity to raise awareness and much needed funds to support people with living with the condition, improve their quality of life and help ensure that individuals suffering live better, for longer. 

Up to 50% of people with Parkinson’s will suffer from Anxiety or Depression at some point during their illness.

Multiple sclerosis awareness week - 22^nd-28^th April

MS Awareness Week 2024 will run from 22 - 28 April. It's a chance for us to raise awareness and speak up together about the realities of life with MS.

Be sure to check out this page to discover how some of the country’s largest MS organisations are teaming up to tackle the condition.

Allergy awareness week - 22nd-28th April

Allergy Awareness Week is a chance to raise awareness about all allergies whilst highlighting the difficulties people with allergies experience.

This year, the topic will be on childhood food allergy, with a focus on the weaning journey for parents of babies with food allergies.

Lesbian visibility week - 22^nd-28^th April

Lesbian Visibility Week aims both to celebrate lesbians and show solidarity with all people in the lesbian community

On your feet Britain - 29th April

The national activity awareness day when 2 million desk-based workers across Britain participate in a variety of fun and simple activities to sit less and move more at work.

Get in touch to discover more!

If you're looking for more information on how we support HR professionals, book in a call with our team and we can talk you through how to work with Fertifa 💜