[Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/newborn-toolkit-5-celebrate-us-world-pr... ]
Hi Tobias
This year World Prematurity Day will be held on 15th November
Key Details
New Date: World Prematurity Day is now officially observed on November 15 (moved from November 17 to align with the WHO calendar and avoid overlaps). [1, 2]
Origin: First initiated in 2008 by the EFCNI (European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants, now operating as the Global Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants - GFCNI) together with European parent organizations. [1]
WHO Status: Officially added to the World Health Organization calendar by the World Health Assembly. [1]
Symbols: The color purple (symbolizing sensitivity and uniqueness) and the sock line (one pair of tiny purple baby socks next to nine full-sized socks). [1]
2026 Theme: "Small babies, big potential. Invest in follow-up care to protect their future!" [1]
Judy Hitchcock (COINN)
CHIFA profile: Judy Hitchcock is a Registered nurse and board member of the Council of International Neonatal Nurses. She is based in New Zealand. Her neonatal experience has been gained from working in tertiary, provincial and remote rural settings in NZ and Australia. These experiences have been shared regularly through reflective journaling in the UK Journal of Neonatal Nursing and in NNCA newsletters (Neonatal Nursing College Aotearoa); she has been a member of the UKJNN editorial committee for the past seven years. She attends and presents at international and national conferences on topics that promote family engagement and has a particular interest in using informatics to teach parents and students effectively. She is keen to see greater use of social media to engage with neonatal nurses around the world and currently promotes topical neonatal news feeds on behalf of COINN on Facebook and Twitter. She can see the potential to promote endorsed apps that enhance neonatal nursing education, provide support for neonatal families and could assist in furthering the Sustainable Development Goals.