Consumer support group Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s plans for their annual awareness-raising Food Allergy Week, previously scheduled for 24-30 May 2020. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, they are instead focusing on the additional need for advocacy and support for families living with allergic disease at this time.
The World Allergy Organization (WAO) has announced World Allergy Week 2020 will occur 28 June – 4 July 2020 and will be on the topic of “Anaphylaxis”.
World Allergy Week is an annual initiative of the WAO and its Member Societies. World Allergy Week aims to raise awareness of allergic disease and related disorders and to advocate for the provision of training and resources in the diagnosis, management, and prevention of these diseases and asthma, which are rising in prevalence around the world.
Historically, WAO hosted World Allergy Week in association with the biennial World Allergy Congress. However, this year, the Congress has been postponed from 23-25 April 2020 to 16-18 July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More details and information to support the 2020 World Allergy Week and the topic of Anaphylaxis will be released in due course. The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) (a WAO member society) and Allergy and Immunology Foundation of Australasia (AIFA) will highlight new and updated anaphylaxis resources on the ASCIA Anaphylaxis Resources. The latest research on food, drug and insect allergies, which are the most common causes of anaphylaxis, will be posted on AIFA Research Projects.
