World Arthritis Day, or WAD, is an annual awareness event that takes place on October 12. Rheumatic and musculoskeletal illnesses, or RMDs for short, exist and have an impact on people all over the world. WAD seeks to increase awareness of these issues among all audiences. Arthritis and Rheumatism International (ARI) founded WAD in 1996. RMDs—of which there are more than 200—have crippling consequences that are rarely understood, but their impacts are felt widely and subtly.

Rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease patients: 

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With an RMD, far too many people in the EU alone remain untreated. An estimated 100 million people attempting to manage symptoms that are commonly ignored and misdiagnosed while currently going undetected. Diseases that influence people's quality of life and ability to participate in society, particularly access to the workforce, affect a significant portion of the global population. 

The inability to work lowers a person's self-esteem and increases their reliance on public assistance, the healthcare system, and their family and friends. As a result, people with RMDs are kept in the dark about their symptoms, avenues for diagnosis and treatment, as well as how to create and carry out a career plan in order to become independent.

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On World Arthritis Day (WAD), which is scheduled for Tuesday, October 12, a variety of perspectives will be heard. Organizations and patient advocates will raise awareness of the symptoms associated with arthritis and emphasise the value of early diagnosis to have access to the best medical care as soon as possible through activities all across the world.