International Day of Care and Support: October 29, When Care Becomes a Shared Responsibility
On October 29 each year, the world marks the International Day of Care and Support, a UN observance that highlights the people who provide care every day, in homes, hospitals, and community centers, and who often do not receive the recognition they deserve.
How did this day begin?
In July 2023, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating October 29 as the International Day of Care and Support. It was observed for the first time on October 29, 2023. Its aim is to recognize the importance of care and support work and to promote the rights of both those who provide care and those who need it.
What do we mean by care and support?
Care is every effort made to meet other people’s health, emotional, and daily needs. It includes looking after children, supporting older people, accompanying persons with disabilities, caring for the sick, and the household work that life depends on. Some of it is paid, such as the work of nurses, doctors, and care workers, and some is unpaid and carried out by families inside their homes.
Why does this day matter?
All societies are built on care, yet the work it requires often goes unacknowledged. International Labour Organization estimates indicate that women carry about three quarters of the world’s unpaid care hours, a burden that can affect their opportunities for education, work, rest, and participation in public life. Many paid care workers, meanwhile, work in difficult conditions with limited protection. This day invites a simple question: how can we make care a shared and fairer responsibility?
What does the International Day of Care and Support call for?
It calls for recognizing the value of both paid and unpaid care work, reducing the unequal burden carried by women and girls, providing good-quality and accessible care services, improving working conditions and protecting the rights of care providers, and respecting the dignity of care recipients by involving them in decisions that affect them.
Care at the heart of Alameen Organization’s work
At Alameen Organization, care is not a slogan we raise on an occasion; it is the very idea we started from. We began in 2012 as a volunteer community initiative launched by a group of doctors and academics in response to the needs of people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Since then, we have worked to support healthcare and the well-being of people in need and of crisis-affected communities, through health, education, and community programs. We also provide nutrition services, mental health and psychosocial support through specialized centers, and services for child protection and responding to gender-based violence. Among the initiatives we are proud of are one to fit advanced prosthetic limbs and a campaign of cochlear implant surgeries for children in several countries, with support from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center. For us, care is not only a medical service; it is a commitment to human dignity and the right to a safe life.
How can we take part?
Taking part does not require large initiatives. A word of thanks to someone who looks after a sick or elderly relative, fair sharing of household tasks among family members, or spreading awareness of this occasion is enough. Organizations and humanitarian groups can support caregivers through training, psychological support, and community services.
A final word
Care is not a marginal activity. It is what holds a society together and preserves human dignity. On October 29, we remember that those who look after others deserve to be looked after too.
