Page 14 - Retail Pharmacy March 2021

12 NEWS EVENTS ON THIS MONTH National Epilepsy Awareness Month - 1-31 March You can wear purple in support of National Epilepsy Awareness Month, throughout which community activities, media campaigns and events will help spread awareness, including Purple Day on 26 March. epilepsy.org.au/fundraise/purple-day/ The Bloody Long Walk - 1-10 March The Bloody Long Virtual Walk challenges you to walk or run 35km during the first 10 days of March, to help cure mitochondrial disease (‘mito’). Regardless of age, location or fitness level, you can join the ‘Mito Movement’ to get active, maintain a healthy lifestyle and achieve your fitness goals. bloodylongwalk.com.au/ Hearing Awareness Week - 1-7 March This annual event helps bring hearing impairments to the attention of local communities. hearingawarenessweek.org.au/ March into Yellow - 5 March This challenge raises the profile and awareness of endometriosis, encouraging people to wear yellow and raise funds to help find a cure and to support those suffering from the disease that affects one in 10 Australian women. marchintoyellow.org.au/ World Glaucoma Week - 7-13 March World Glaucoma Week builds awareness of glaucoma and raises funds to advance research on the leading cause of irreversible blindness. worldglaucomaweek.org/ National Day of Women Living with HIV - 9 March The National Network of Women Living with HIV (Femfatales) launched this awareness day in 2016 to help highlight and bring attention to women suffering from the disease. positivelife.org.au/events-calendar/national-day-of-women-living-with-hiv-in-australia/ World’s Greatest Shave - 10-14 March This event has raised more than $120 million since 1998. Funds raised go to support individuals and their families living with lymphoma, myeloma or leukaemia and helps support blood cancer research. worldsgreatestshave.com/ World Kidney Day - 11 March This global campaign focuses its attention on raising awareness for chronic kidney disease, helping people learn more about how to prevent and treat the disorder. worldkidneyday.org/ Coeliac Awareness Week - 13-20 March This annual event raises awareness of how to spot the symptoms of coeliac disease. It also provides insight into diagnosis, prevention and treatment. coeliac.org.au/s Multiple Birth Awareness Week - 21-28 March A week that celebrates families raising twins, triplets and beyond also looks at the challenges that come with raising young children. amba.org.au/mbaw/mbaw-2021 FND Australia Awareness Day - 20 March Functional neurological disorder (FND) affects motor, movement and sensory functions of the body. It is the second most common reason for referral to neurology departments worldwide. Support services aim to unite voices across oceans and borders in raising #Voices4FND. fndaus.org.au/2020/02/04/australia-and-uk-fnd-awareness-day/ World Down Syndrome Day - 21 March Down syndrome is a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement and has always been a part of the human condition. This Day helps raise awareness of how important access to healthcare, intervention programs and inclusive education is to the wellbeing of someone with the condition. dsrf.org/events/events-calendar/world-down-syndrome-day World Tuberculosis Day - 24 March This is about educating and making people aware of how common tuberculosis is and the several million deaths from the disease every year. The day also raises funds to help eliminate tuberculosis as a public health issue in developing countries. sdg.iisd.org/events/world-tuberculosis-day-2021/ APP2021: RECONNECTING WITH CARE Pharmacists, pharmacy staff and other members of the industry looking forward to reconnecting with colleagues at this year’s APP can rest assured event organisers are doing all they can to ensure the event is Covid-Safe for attendees. With a theme of ‘reconnecting with care’, the event will run under the guidelines of a Covid-Safe event plan approved by the Queensland government’s Public Health Unit. In addition, conference venues the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and The Star Gold Coast are operating under approved Covid- Safe site-specific plans, which were developed in consultation with the Queensland government. Below are some of the Covid-Safe protocols to be put in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of attendees: • Physical distancing – staggered registration and lunch times, separate entry and exit points, one-way traffic flow, controlled queuing, designated seating, monitored capacity limits in meeting rooms and the trade exhibition, staggered concurrent session start and finish times, and staff monitoring of traffic flow and distancing are some of the measures taken to facilitate physical distancing during the event. Hygiene – increased hygiene measures including hand sanitising and hand washing stations throughout the venue, increased cleaning of venue spaces and restrooms, and disinfection of seating and frequent- use touchpoints. Face masks – delegates will be encouraged to wear masks at any time they can’t physically distance themselves from other attendees. • • For a more complete overview of Covid-Safe event procedures, visit the Covid-Safe page on the APP website at: appconference.com/app-covid- information APP2021 will take place from 20 May to 23 May at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Early bird registration is open until 29 March. For full event details and to register, go to: appconference.com RETAIL PHARMACY • MAR 2021