International Day of Care and Support
A/RES/77/317
A/RES/77/317
This authority record treats the observance as a fixed annual date. The same month and day can be reused unless a stronger source changes the rule. Public-holiday or government status is never inferred from the observance name alone.
Overview
The International Day of Care and Support is observed on 29 October to recognize the importance of paid and unpaid care and support and the systems that make dignified care possible.
The UN framing connects care with gender equality, disability inclusion, ageing, children, decent work, social protection and the rights of both people providing and people receiving care and support.
Why it matters
Care work is essential but is often unevenly distributed and undervalued. Strong care systems therefore involve more than appreciation: they include services, labour rights, accessibility, social protection and policies that recognize and redistribute care responsibilities.
The observance should not romanticize unpaid caregiving or assume every family can absorb care needs privately. Safety, consent, respite, professional support and the rights of care workers and recipients all matter.
History
In July 2023, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/77/317 proclaiming 29 October as the International Day of Care and Support.
The first observance was held on 29 October 2023; the International Labour Organization explicitly referred to it as the first International Day of Care and Support.
The resolution calls attention to resilient, gender-responsive, disability-inclusive and age-sensitive care and support systems and recognizes the importance of decent work for paid care workers.
A/RES/77/317 explicitly invites UN Women, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Labour Organization to facilitate the observance in collaboration with other relevant organizations.
How the observance developed
This timeline is assembled only from verified provenance fields. Missing stages are omitted rather than inferred.
United Nations General Assembly
UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/77/317
First documented observance
The International Labour Organization’s statement dated 29 October 2023 explicitly refers to the first International Day of Care and Support.
UN Women, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and International Labour Organization (ILO)
A/RES/77/317 explicitly invites UN Women, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Labour Organization to facilitate the observance in collaboration with other relevant organizations.
What the evidence establishes
Verified institutional roles and milestones are shown first. Fields that the reviewed sources do not establish remain fail-closed and are available below without competing with the confirmed record.
4 fields not established in reviewed sources
Ways to observe
Map the formal and informal care services available in a community and identify practical access gaps.
Discuss how workplaces, public services and social protection can support people with care responsibilities.
Recognize paid care workers and unpaid caregivers without treating overwork or unsafe conditions as inevitable.
Include the perspectives and autonomy of people receiving care or support rather than discussing them only through caregivers.
Useful facts
The International Day of Care and Support is observed on 29 October.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed the day in 2023 through A/RES/77/317.
The UN frames care as connected with gender equality, human rights and decent work.
The first observance was held on 29 October 2023.
The observance covers both people providing care and support and people receiving it.
UN Women, OHCHR and the ILO are explicitly invited by A/RES/77/317 to facilitate the observance.
Topic and context
What this page does not assume
- Keep the source-defined country, community, organizer or institutional scope; do not silently broaden it.
- Do not treat the title alone as proof of government recognition or public-holiday status.
- Do not add a creator, founding story or origin claim unless the supporting evidence establishes it.
Evidence & sources
Repeated links from the authority record, institutional provenance and editorial guide research are consolidated here. Badges show how each source is used; a contextual source is never treated as proof of establishment on its own.
International Labour Organization — first International Day of Care and Support, 29 October 2023 (opens in a new tab)
United Nations Digital Library — A/RES/77/317 action record (opens in a new tab)
United Nations General Assembly — A/RES/77/317 (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — International Day of Care and Support (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — List of International Days and Weeks (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — Observances: who chooses them and how (opens in a new tab)
Understand it, compare it, then explore further
Start with the most common factual questions, then use reviewed distinctions and related authority records to understand where this observance fits.
Frequently asked questions
When is International Day of Care and Support?
29 October The stored recurrence guidance is: 29 October.
Does International Day of Care and Support fall on the same date every year?
The authority record classifies it as fixed annual, so its month and day are reusable unless stronger evidence changes the rule.
Is International Day of Care and Support an official public holiday?
The authority record verifies it within this scope: United Nations / international observance. That recognition does not by itself make it a statutory public holiday; the site only makes public-holiday claims when the supporting authority record explicitly does so.
Who established or recognizes International Day of Care and Support?
The reviewed provenance layer identifies United Nations General Assembly as the proclaiming or establishing body. Current facilitation or coordination is recorded as UN Women, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and International Labour Organization (ILO).
Is International Day of Care and Support international or country-specific?
The record has international or global institutional scope: United Nations / international observance. That does not mean every country treats the date as a public holiday or observes it in the same way.
How is this page verified?
The factual layer is source-backed and keeps its date rule, scope, provenance and editorial guardrails attached to the authority record. This record was checked on 2026-09-05.
When was the International Day of Care and Support established?
The UN General Assembly proclaimed it in 2023 through resolution A/RES/77/317.
Why is it on 29 October?
The resolution establishes 29 October as the annual date, but the reviewed institutional evidence does not provide a strong origin story for that exact date.
Is the day only about family caregivers?
No. It covers paid and unpaid care and support, care workers, care recipients, public systems, social protection and the distribution of care responsibilities.
How this differs from closely related observances
These distinctions are separately reviewed and source-backed. They clarify scope; they do not change either authority record.
Is International Day of Care and Support the same as Global Day of Parents?
The International Day of Care and Support covers paid and unpaid care, care workers, care recipients and care systems across the life course. Global Day of Parents specifically recognizes parents and parenting responsibilities.
Open Global Day of Parents →Distinction sources
Other observances on October 29
These records also resolve to October 29, 2026 under the current authority data.
National Cat Day
Founder Colleen Paige’s current holiday list places National Cat Day on October 29; U.S. public institutions also recognize the date in programming and resolutions.
National Indigenous Peoples Thanksgiving Day
Philippine Proclamation No. 486, s. 2003 declares October 29, 2003 and every year thereafter as National Indigenous Peoples Thanksgiving Day; the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples i…
National Oatmeal Day
Quaker Oats / PepsiCo repeatedly identifies October 29 as National Oatmeal Day in first-party campaigns across multiple years.
Republic Day
The Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs identifies October 29 as Republic Day and links the date to the proclamation of the Republic on October 29, 1923.
World Coding Day
Designated by UNESCO Member States; first celebrated in 2024
World Psoriasis Day
International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA)