World Prematurity Day 2025

This year’s theme echoes WHO’s Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures campaign. It reminds us that every child deserves a fair chance at life, starting from their very first moments. A strong start isn’t just about survival – it’s about honouring the promise of every tiny life. It’s about giving these babies the chance not only to survive but to thrive and one day, transform the world.

Monday, 17 November

World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day

The world marks the first-ever World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day on 17 November, a pivotal moment in the global fight to eliminate a preventable cancer. This day arrives amid a powerful surge of country-level action. For more info.

17 - 22 November

Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)

A rising wave of nicotine addiction, particularly among young people, tobacco control and the environment and innovative measures on how to combat the global tobacco epidemic will be addressed in the coming week by over 1400 delegates representing governments, international organisations and civil society.

These urgent concerns, as well as highlighting the importance of criminal and civil liability to comprehensive tobacco control, will be among the issues on the agenda of biennial meeting of the governing body of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) - the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO and one of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in United Nations history. Further information can be found here.

Tuesday, 18 November

New WHO Report on Violence Against Women

Violence against women remains a public health crisis and one of the most pervasive human rights violations worldwide, with millions of women experiencing physical or sexual violence, mostly by their intimate partner, at least once in their lifetime. The latest WHO report will give global, regional and national estimates on intimate partner violence and for the first time, also on non-partner sexual violence. The report underscores the urgent need for action to end violence against women.
A press conference will take place on Tuesday 18 November at 2 pm CET. Details will be shared soon.

18 – 24 November

World AMR Awareness Week

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widespread and increasing, threatening decades of medical progress. Antibiotics that once reliably cured common infections are rapidly losing effectiveness, putting the health of people, animals, plants and ecosystems at risk.

World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) is a global campaign that is marked annually from 18 – 24 November to improve awareness and understanding of AMR and encourage best practices among the public, One Health stakeholders and policymakers, who all play a critical role in combatting AMR. This year’s theme, “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future”, calls for strengthening surveillance, improving access to quality medicines and diagnostics, spurring innovation, and building resilient health and food systems.

Various events will take place throughout the week and the public is encouraged to ‘Go Blue’.

Wednesday, 19 November

Embargoed WHO press conference on global progress toward measles elimination

WHO will hold an embargoed virtual press conference on 19 November 2025 at 15:00 CET (Geneva) to launch the publication, Progress toward measles elimination – worldwide, 2000–2024. The publication includes the latest global and regional estimates on measles cases and deaths and progress towards global measles elimination targets outlined in the Immunization Agenda 2030 and the Measles and Rubella Strategic Framework 2021–2030.

The publication is embargoed until Friday, 21 November 2025 at 11:30 CET (Geneva), when it will be published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record. An embargoed copy of the report will be available from Wednesday morning by emailing chriscadenk@who.int.

An additional media advisory for joining the press conference will be sent in due course.

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World Toilet Day

The theme of World Toilet Day 2025, on 19 November, is ‘Sanitation in a changing world’.

Across the world, ageing infrastructure is failing. Investment hasn’t kept pace with demand. And climate change is reshaping our world – with glaciers melting, weather worsening, and sea levels rising. The World Toilet Day 2025 campaign calls for toilets that are: accessible to all; resilient to floods, droughts and other climate shocks; minimize greenhouse gas emissions; and supported by strong systems and sustained investment.

Learn more, download shareable resources and take action here and Learn more about WHO’s work on sanitation here.

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