March National Health Observances: Colorectal Cancer, Kidney Disease, Nutrition, and Tuberculosis

Each month, we feature select National Health Observances (NHOs) that align with our priorities for improving health across the United States. The NHOs in our February roundup help raise awareness about low vision, heart health, and teen dating violence.

 Check out the resources below for the March NHOs — and join us in helping everyone live a healthier life. 

• National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
  Every March since 1999, the Prevent Cancer Foundation has sponsored National Colorectal Cancer Month to promote colorectal cancer screening. Encourage people to talk with the doctor about colorectal cancer screening and get screened for colorectal cancer with our easy-to-understand MyHealthfinder resources. And don’t forget to check out objectives related to colorectal cancer in the Healthy People 2020 Cancer topic area.
• National Kidney Month
• The National Kidney Foundation promotes kidney disease awareness, prevention, and treatment during National Kidney Month. Help spread the word with these promotional resources from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). And be sure to take a look at the Healthy People 2020 Chronic Kidney Disease topic area to learn about national objectives to reduce rates of kidney disease.
• National Nutrition Month®
• Sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, National Nutrition Month® encourages everyone to make informed food choices and develop positive eating habits. You can join the conversation using Academy's toolkit, MyPlate’s messaging toolkit, or our very own promo kit. Finally, read about national nutrition-related objectives from Healthy People 2020.
• World Tuberculosis Day
• The World Health Organization celebrates World Tuberculosis Day on March 24 to raise awareness about the significant health, social, and economic effects of tuberculosis. The Healthy People 2020 Immunization and Infectious Diseases topic area has national objectives related to tuberculosis, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a digital media toolkit to help you spread the word. You can also share this MyHealthfinder resource to encourage people to talk with the doctor about testing for latent tuberculosis.

We hope you’ll use these resources to promote important NHOs on your channels and with your networks. Together, we can take steps to improve the nation’s health.