Science World Vancouver lit up blue for World Parkinson’s Day
Wherever you are in the world, you can join in with other people with Parkinson’s and raise awareness for World Parkinson’s Day 2024 by taking part in one of the special events on 11 April.
Find out what’s happening near you by consulting our handy interactive Parkinson’s map or take a look at the highlights around the UK, Europe and the world below.
There’s plenty happening online, too – you could take part in a Sit ’n Stand challenge, turn your world blue, or keep up with the latest developments in Parkinson’s treatments with a webinar.
At Parkinson’s Europe, we’re getting active for World Parkinson’s Day and beyond by focusing on all the benefits exercise can bring people with Parkinson’s. Find out more about our #SummerOfSport and our new Sports and Exercise Hub (coming soon!) that’s sure to keep you motivated and inspired to live well with the condition.
World Parkinson’s Day 2024 events: Europe
All of Europe
Spark the Night
US-based advocacy organisation the PD Avengers is holding a Spark the Night event that will see landmarks lit up all over the world on the night of 11 April. Partnering with Abbott and AbbVie, the event will see over 300 iconic buildings, bridges and towers lit up in blue as a powerful symbol of hope, solidarity and visibility for the Parkinson’s community. In the US, this will include The Empire State Building and the New York Stock Exchange, while in Europe, the Mole Antonelliana in Turin, Italy, the Sophienkirche in Berlin, the Waldstadion and Deutsche Bank Park Futbol Stadium in Frankfurt, and the Petřín Tower in Prague will be lit up in blue.
Belgium
World Parkinson’s Day 2024 conference
Action Parkinson will hold a World Parkinson’s Day conference on 19 April in Ixelles, Brussels. It will include a talk by neurologist Matthieu Rutgers on the benefits of exercise, as well as new developments in treatment. There will also be workshops on sophrology and rhythm. Find out more here.
Czech Republic
Go bowling
Parkinson’s association Společnost Parkinson, z.s. is celebrating World Parkinson’s Day and its 30th anniversary with a lunch and bowling tournament for people with Parkinson’s and their families. Find out more here.
France
Get involved
To commemorate World Parkinson’s Day, the committees of the France Parkinson Association are organising over 60 events throughout France from now until 31 May 2024. Find out what’s happening near you here.
German Parkinson’s association Kubia in Dusseldorf is marking World Parkinson’s Day with a conference on the benefits of dance for people with Parkinson’s at the city’s Tanzhaus NRW. Find out more here.
Ireland
Virtual Education Conference
Discover the latest about Parkinson’s, plus diet tips and the condition’s cognitive and emotional aspects by logging onto Parkinson’s Ireland’s Virtual Education Conference on 13 April. Guest speakers include Professor Graham Hughes, consultant physician in geriatric and general medicine in Dublin; Richelle Flanagan, dietitian and woman with Parkinson’s; Professor Iracema Leroi, consultant geriatric psychiatrist at St James’ Hospital, Dublin; and Parkinson’s Nurse Specialist Kathy Foley. For more information, visit the Parkinson’s Ireland website.
Norway
Parkinson’s Week
To mark World Parkinson’s Day and the 40th anniversary of the Norwegian Parkinson’s Association, it is starting a Parkinson’s Week on 9 April, which will be launched that evening with a special concert by Bjørn Eidsvåg followed by presentations on Parkinson’s at the Hotel Norge in Bergen. Registration is essential. You can also watch the Parkinson’s presentations online. Find out more here.
The Netherlands
World Parkinson’s Day 2024 Symposium
Parkinson Vereniging is holding a World Parkinson’s Day Symposium: ‘Good care, my care’ in Nieuwegein on 13 April, with Professor Bas Bloem, neurologist at Radboud University, among the guest speakers. Topics include self-management and finding the right care. There will also be a parallel afternoon programme for people with Young-Onset Parkinson’s. For more information and to register, visit the Parkinson Vereniging website.
Steps for Stapril
Parkinson NL wants people with Parkinson’s to join in with its fundraising step challenge of 10,000 steps a day throughout April, with the money being invested in Parkinson’s research and innovations. You can even convert other activities – such as a yoga class – into steps using its conversion tool. Find out more on the Parkinson’s NL website.
Portugal
Live well with Parkinson’s
Focus on your wellbeing with Parkinson’s at the National Congress of Parkinson’s Disease on 13 April in Leiria. A choir performance will open the event, which will feature talks about nutrition and non-pharmacological therapies, as well as Pilates sessions. Find out more from Association Parkinson Portugal.
Sweden
Parkinson’s symposium
On World Parkinson’s Day, MultiPark and Parkinson Skåne will be running a free afternoon symposium in Lund with medical experts giving presentations on Parkinson’s therapies. The deadline to register is Sunday 7 April. Find out more here.
UK
Go blue with Parkinson’s UK
Help Parkinson’s UK raise awareness by joining in with its ‘Make It Blue’ campaign – whether that’s lighting up buildings with blue lights, wearing blue for a day, dyeing your hair blue or holding a blue bake sale! Download their Make It Blue guide for more information.
Sign the Parky Charter
Parkinson’s UK, Spotlight YOPD and Cure Parkinson’s have joined forces with the presenters of the popular Movers and Shakers podcast to call on the UK government to adopt a 5-point Parky Charter to improve the lives of people with Parkinson’s. You can support the Parky Charter by signing the petition, which will be presented to No. 10 Downing Street on World Parkinson’s Day.
Get moving with PD Warriors
Living with Parkinson’s in Bristol, UK? PD Warrior is an exercise programme specially designed for people with Parkinson’s and these sessions (plus shadow-boxing) are free all week to mark World Parkinson’s Day.
Join a Parkinson’s Nordic walk
If you’re based in Nottingham, why not join other people with Parkinson’s for a Nordic walk in the green surrounds of the University of Nottingham on World Parkinson’s Day 2024?
World Parkinson’s Day 2024 events: rest of the world
Africa
Online Parkinson’s webinar
Join Adewunmi Desalu Parkinson’s Foundation online on World Parkinson’s Day for a webinar packed with the latest insights about navigating Parkinson’s care and diagnosis, as well as practical tips on accessing Parkinson’s specialists and support services.
America
Parkinson’s Educational Day
The American Parkinson Disease Association Virginia is holding a Parkinson’s Educational Day on World Parkinson’s Day in association with The Parkinson’s Activity and Resource Center, and the University of Virginia’s neurology department. Learn about advance surgical treatment options, the future of medications and treatments, and how you can take control of your Parkinson’s. Attend in person or watch on Zoom. Registration is required.
Baseball in Detroit
Watch the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on the afternoon of World Parkinson’s Day and celebrate the work of the Kirk Gibson Foundation in improving the quality of life for people with Parkinson’s with its exercise-based programmes.
Australia
Parkinson’s Queensland
Take part in Parkinson’s Queensland’s Really Big Walk, turn buildings purple for World Parkinson’s Day, or join Laps for Parkinson’s.
Canada
Sit ’n Stand Challenge
Be part of Parkinson’s Association Alberta’s Sit ’n Stand Challenge as they collectively aim to perform 100,000 Sit ’n Stands across Canada in 24 hours, and a million in the month of April, to stand up to Parkinson’s for World Parkinson’s Day. Attend in person or register online and join in from home.
India
Bangalore Parkinson’s event
Bangalore’s Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Clinic is running a World Parkinson’s Day event on 6 April, with talks by medical experts about the latest research and treatments, first-hand accounts from people living with Parkinson’s, and panel discussions on a range of topics. Find out more here.
Find out more about World Parkinson’s Day 2024, plus the history of World Parkinson’s Day and why it’s so important, on our World Parkinson’s Day page
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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