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International Overdose Awareness Day

Also: IOAD · Overdose Awareness Day · #OverdoseAware · #EndOverdose

“Overdose is preventable.”

Annual global campaign on 31 August to remember people who died of overdose without stigma, acknowledge grieving families and friends, and promote overdose prevention such as naloxone. It began in 2001 as a remembrance barbecue at a Salvation Army needle exchange in Melbourne and has been led since 2012 by Australia's Penington Institute, which supplies yearly themes and resources; governments, health departments and community groups worldwide hold events and light landmarks purple.

Years
2001–now
Country
Australia
Topic
DrugsHarm reductionOpioids
Asks people to
RecognizeReduce stigmaSupport a policy
Strategy
Brand symbolMulti level communityStigma reductionTestimonial
Channel
EventsSocial (organic)Website
Audience
General public
Global; Penington reports 1,000+ events in 40+ countries each year. Many government health departments (e.g. Saskatchewan 2021) time their own overdose campaigns to 31 August.

Evidence

Self-reportedUnknown

No outcome evaluation. Organiser reports scale (1,000+ events, 40+ countries yearly) and publishes an annual partners' report.

Sponsor (who paid)

  • Penington Institute NGO, organiser (since 2012)
  • The Salvation Army (Melbourne) NGO, founding host (2001)

Credits (who made it)

Not recorded yet.

Executions (individual ads)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. About International Overdose Awareness Day (Penington Institute) sponsor
  2. International Overdose Awareness Day 2026: 25 Years On. Still Needed (overdoseday.com) sponsor · 2026

Research notes

Discovered 2026-10-22 for #17. Credits: none beyond the organiser. Country set to AU (origin and organiser); the campaign is global. Silver/purple badge symbol and 'light up a landmark' are recurring devices. Executions are Penington/IOAD YouTube uploads (oEmbed-confirmed; years from listing ages). Annual themes and partners' reports on overdoseday.com should be added per year. Related national campaigns timed to IOAD: Scottish Drugs Forum #StopTheDeaths, Saskatchewan 2021, AQPSUD/Moms Stop the Harm 'opération Illumination' in Quebec.

Record cases/international-overdose-awareness-day.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign