International Snakebite Awareness Day Monday, September 19, 2022

Date: Monday, September 19, 2022

Observed By: World Health Organization (WHO)

International Snakebite Awareness Day is celebrated on September 19 with the aim of raising awareness of the global incidence of snakebite injuries. In addition, we also want to make the population aware of how to prevent snake bites.

The World Health Organization estimates that between 81,000 and 138,000 people worldwide die each year from snake bites and up to 400,000 are permanently disabled or disfigured as a result of being bitten by venomous snakes. These people are often discriminated against and ostracized. In addition, many of them cannot work, they lose their income, they acquire debts and they carry mental health problems and a poor quality of life.

In 2017, the World Health Organization added snakebite to its list of top priority neglected tropical diseases and in May 2018, unanimously adopted a resolution urging world governments and the WHO to address the problem.