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International Overdose Awareness Day 2026: 25 Years On. Still Needed
International Overdose Awareness Day 2026
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Every August 31, International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) brings a global community together to take action on overdose. Hold an event, spread the message, take action today.

This year the theme for IOAD is 25 Years On. Still Needed.

For 25 years, International Overdose Awareness Day has brought people together to remember those we’ve lost and to take action to save lives. 

 The truth is, we shouldn’t still need this day.  But we do. 

 Overdose continues to affect every community. Yet it can be prevented. We know how to reduce risk and keep people safe. By speaking openly, learning from one another, and treating each other with care and respect, we build a world where fewer lives are lost. 

 Because while this day is still needed, it doesn’t have to be forever. 

#IOAD2026 #OverdoseAware #EndOverdose 

Overdose is preventable – when we act

What we stand for

International Overdose Awareness Day is driven by the following principles...
Overdose can and must be prevented
Overdose prevention solutions exist – let’s use them.
Criminalizing drug use hasn’t worked. Compassionate alternatives must be pursued.
Policy and legislation must exist to protect individuals and communities, and ensure basic human rights and needs are met.
Everyone has a right to respectful and comprehensive health care.
Only a community-wide effort can end overdose.
Join us to take action on overdose today.

Ways to get involved

Hold an event

Host or attend an International Overdose Awareness Day event to remember those lost to overdose, learn more about overdose, or advocate for change to end overdose.

Get resources

Download our campaign, advocacy and education resources and share messages about overdose and overdose prevention in your community or workplace today.

Post a tribute

Post a tribute to a loved one who has passed away from an overdose on the International Overdose Awareness Day tribute page. 

Get merchandise

Buying and wearing merchandise is a great way to show your support and spread the messages of International Overdose Awareness Day.

2025 IOAD Partners' Report

Download our 2025 report now to find out more about the impact of our collective efforts to end overdose.

Tributes from the community

Terry Wilson

Terry was a good friend of mine, like an older brother I never had, he would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need, he had awesome sense of humor, very intelligent; I miss him dearly, more than words can say

... Jennifer Epsilantis

Brian

I once knew a man named Brian. He was tall and shy he dressed nice and was respectful. One day me and Brian fell in love. He took me to a Mexican Restaurant and told me I was beautiful. I went home with him to talk and be closer to him. His family didn’t approve of me, and he deeply valued the family that he had because he didn’t have his have his mom or dad. I felt the weight of this, and I broke up with him for his betterment. We stayed in touch through the years and we watched each other fall into our own addictions. Several addictions. The one we had in common was fentanyl. I texted him one day to see if he wanted to smoke with me. He told me he had been clean or was trying to get clean or was trying to get clean but that he would find some dope for me. I never heard back from him, so I found my own. The next day or really the next few hours he was found dead of a fentanyl overdose August 31st, 2025. My heart shattered because I knew that I’d set him back in his addiction. I knew that he found the dope but kept it for himself instead. It should’ve been me not him. I lost the kindest most loving man I’d ever met, and I played a part in it. I’m now in a recovery program to change my life and to live the life he never got to live I know he’s in heaven at peace with God, but I still carry the burden of his death.

... Haylie

Hazel "Danielle" Maness-Perry

Danielle, My one and only child. My sweet, loving, giving and beautiful daughter. You left me way to soon. It’s not supposed to be this way. You absents has made this world cold and lonely. You had such a light about you. You lit up every room you entered. Always there to help anyone that needed it. I know that God wanted you because you were already an angel on earth. I wish we all could have seen the woman you were becoming. Your girls could have seen how great you could be. I know they would have been proud. I know I am. I miss you more than words can express. I know the day I got the phone call to come home to Georgia that you were on life support my world stopped and it hasn’t moved since that second. I hope and pray that you know how much you mean to me , your daddy and all of us who love you. . I carry you with me always not a second goes by that your not in my heart and on. My mind. I feel if I had stayed in Georgia our reality would be different. That you would still be here with me and your 2 girls. I wish I could change things. I love you my baby girl always and forever to the moon and back. I wait for the day to see your smiling face again and hold you in my arms and never let you go again.

... “Momma ” Dawn

Johnathan Lloyd

My husband taken far to soon on June 17th, 2026. He wasn’t just my husband he was my best friend and my soul mate. He was also a father, a brother, a son and a really great friend to everyone he met. He will be forever missed and eternally loved….R.I.P John…

... Nicole

Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa

Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa Inoa oh my G_d Inoa, Inoa, Inoa. Oh. Oh oh oh. No no no. My heart my heart my heart, a million pieces each in a million pieces each in a million pieces, each weeping, weeping, weeping. My G_d Inoa, no, no, no, i love you i love you i love you still. Oh G_d i wish i understood, why, why, why didn’t you wake me. I could have kept you safe, you could have been here with me now, we could have been side by side for years and years and years, warming each other’s toes and soothing each other’s shoulders, making each other laugh and waking each other alive, alive, alive. Oh i wish i knew did you do this on purpose, did you want to go away, or were you just hoping for a moment’s relief? Oh, G_d, Inoa, i will love you for ever and ever and ever. I hope you are safe, i hope you are free, i hope you are warm, i hope you are happy. I hope you know how much you were loved. I wonder will i see you again. Don’t wonder that i loved you, please know that i love you still. I always will.

... Timothy

My Uncle Pernell's Girlfriebd Jeanette

My uncle pronoun out and his girlfriend Jeanette. We’re homeless, needed a place to sleep for the night. I allowed them to come to my house. They had both been clean for a while. However, she just got a big student. Check from going to school and a fresh prescription of her suboxin. Apparently they decided to get high and my uncle now woke me up in the middle of the night she had overdosed passed away. Rest in Heaven. My condolences to her children and family.

... Sanceia