Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Awareness Ribbons ... how many do you know?



Many of us working in the health sector (and also those who are not) know of the red ribbon because of the high Prevalence of HIV AIDS in India and the extensive awareness campaigns by various Governmental and Non Governmental organizations. But how many of us know that there is a gray ribbon for Diabetes awareness or a pink ribbon for Breast Cancer awareness? Not many I presume. Sadly though,  these are only examples of 2 ribbons of more than 85 ribbons that you are probably unaware of ... blame it on the sheer quantity of the causes and the ribbons or the usage of the same color for the various causes or the inadequate marketing/ awareness generation of each of the diseases/causes.

Here's a list of Awareness Ribbons from across the world (Source: www.wikipedia.org) . I am sure there are more but try figuring out if you can even remember half of them - you must be a genius if you have such a good memory. 



RibbonColorMeanings
White ribbonWhite ribbon
  • Multiple Hereditary Exostoses
  • Gender violence ("men working to end men's violence against women") 
  • International End of Violence Against Women
Yellow ribbonYellow ribbon
  • Deployed soldiers ("support our troops") 
  • Suicide awareness and prevention 
  • Australian 2009 Victorian Bushfire Campaign* 
  • "Help unlock the second prison" Assistance for ex-convicts 
  • Spina Bifida
  • Sarcoma and Bone Cancer Awareness
  • Endometriosis awareness 
Puzzle ribbonPuzzle ribbon
  • Autism Awareness 
Blue ribbonBlue ribbon
  • Tuberous Sclerosis awareness (blue) 
  • Sex trafficking and slavery awareness (navy blue) 
  • "Bring Home Our Troops" campaign 
  • Child abuse awareness 
  • Prostate cancer awareness (sky blue) 
  • Electronic Frontier Foundation's Online Free Speech 
  • Canada's anti-tobacco, anti-second hand smoke 
  • Spain's campaign for the release of Basque terrorists' kidnap victims 
  • "Responsible use of public lands for the benefit of all recreationists" 
  • International No Diet Day
  • Hydranencephaly awareness
Jade ribbonJade Ribbon
  • Jade Ribbon Campaign spreads information about hepatitis B and liver cancer in Asian and Pacific Islander (API)communities (and some times in America) 
Purple ribbonPurple ribbon
  • Sarcoidosis 
  • Lupus 
  • Fibromyalgia 
  • Show religious tolerance 
  • Promoting remembrance and awareness of violence against women 
  • Domestic violence awareness 
  • Childhood stroke awareness 
  • Cystic fibrosis awareness 
  • Alzheimer's disease awareness 
  • Pancreatic cancer awareness 
  • Workers' Memorial Day
  • Epilepsy awareness (lavender) 
Periwinkle ribbonPeriwinkle ribbon
  • Pulmonary hypertension awareness 
  • Eating disorder awareness 
  • Stomach cancer awareness 
Pink and Blue ribbonPink and blue ribbon
  • Pro-life 
  • Genital integrity 
  • Inflammatory breast cancer awareness 
  • Infertility awareness 
  • Infant loss awareness 
  • Pregnancy loss awareness 
Orange ribbonOrange Ribbon
  • Leukemia And Lymphoma Awareness
  • Energy awareness in Nigeria 
  • Animal protection awareness 
  • Self-injury awareness 
  • Multiple Sclerosis awareness
  • Anti-racism (Harmony Day in Australia) 
  • Symbol of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution of 2004
  • Kidney cancer survivorship and awareness 
  • ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) 
  • I'm with Coco awareness. The war against NBC and Jay Leno
Red ribbonRed ribbon
  • AIDS awareness 
  • Substance abuse awareness (Red Ribbon Week is commonly held in American schools) 
  • Vasculitis awareness
Gray ribbonGray ribbon
  • Diabetes awareness 
  • Brain cancer awareness 
  • Asthma awareness 
Red ribbonBlack ribbon
  • Anarchist Black Ribbon Campaign
  • Mourning and remembrance of the Virginia Tech massacre
  • Melanoma
Pink ribbonPink ribbon
  • Breast cancer awareness 
Green ribbonGreen ribbon
  • Lyme Disease 
  • Organ transplantation and donation awareness 
  • Environmental protection
  • Mitochondrial disease awareness
  • 2009 Iranian Election Protests
Teal ribbonTeal ribbon
  • Polycystic Kidney Disease
  • Gynecological cancer including Uterine, Endometrial, Ovarian, Falopian, Cervical and Vulval Cancers
  • Ovarian cancer 
  • Sexual assault 
  • Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia 
  • Batten Disease 
  • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome 
Violet ribbonViolet ribbon
  • Hodgkin's lymphoma 
Gold ribbonGold ribbon
  • Childhood cancer awareness 
Cloud ribbonCloud ribbon
  • Congenital diaphragmatic hernia 
Silver ribbonSilver ribbon
  • Brain disorders 
  • Ovarian cancer (Australia) 
  • Congenital cytomegalovirus 
Indigo ribbonIndigo ribbon
  • Kooks aka "Targeted Individuals" 
Red and Blue RibbonRed and Blue Ribbon
  • Haiti Recovery and Restoration Awareness Ribbon 


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