Join us as we observe International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, 2025.
International Overdose Awareness Day seeks to raise awareness about overdose and challenge the stigma surrounding drug-related deaths. It also serves as a platform to encourage conversation about evidence-based prevention strategies and effective drug policy. The day honors the grief of families and friends who have lost loved ones or seen them suffer permanent injury from an overdose. Its message is clear: drug overdose is a preventable tragedy.
According to Penington Institute, the organization responsible for this international initiative:
“This International Overdose Awareness Day, we come together as one big family to take action on overdose. The overdose crisis doesn’t just shatter our families, it fractures our communities. The losses go deeper than one person, one family or one neighborhood. They ripple out into classrooms, workplaces and the spaces we all share. They cross borders between cities, states and nations. But in a time when people are searching for connection and safety, overdose also reminds us that our lives are deeply intertwined… This International Overdose Awareness Day let’s imagine a new meaning of what family can be. A family driven by hope, love and action. We are one big family – not just because we share in the pain of loss, but because we share in the power to change what comes next.”
Overdose Facts
- In 2024, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yielded an estimate of 80,391 drug overdose deaths in the United States (Penington Institute).
- In Georgia in 2021, there were 2,390 drug overdose deaths; 71% were attributed to opioids and 57% were attributed to fentanyl (Georgia DPH).
Get to know more facts and figures from NIDA and Georgia Overdose Prevention.
How to Participate in International Overdose Awareness Day
Penington Institute offers several resources to guide you through observing International Overdose Awareness Day:
- Overdose Facts and Statistics
- Support Kit for Planning Your Event
- Campaign Resources (Social media graphics, posters, fact sheets, etc.)
- Register Your Event
You can get additional resources and see what people across the globe are doing to raise awareness and reduce stigma by searching #EndOverdose, #OverdoseAware and #IOAD on social media.
For an informative one-page reference guide on the signs of a drug overdose and how you should respond in an emergency situation to save a life, review our Inspired newsletter on Overdose Prevention. Additional resources include our materials on Prescription Drug Misuse, Cleaning Out the Medicine Cabinet and Prescription Medication Storage & Disposal.