World Evidence-Based Healthcare Day: Five Years of Global Connection and Collective Action

When we launched World Evidence-Based Healthcare Day in September 2020, the world was grappling with an unprecedented global pandemic. Policymakers, healthcare providers and researchers faced major challenges in translating a rapidly evolving body of new evidence into tangible response efforts, with health policy decisions receiving unprecedented public attention. Physical distancing had become the norm, conferences were cancelled, and the usual mechanisms for the global evidence community to connect, debate, and collaborate had all but disappeared. Ironically, this was precisely when evidence-informed decision-making was thrust into the spotlight like never before, and collective action was needed most.

The power of human connection

One of the most powerful tools we have to address ongoing global health challenges is human connection. This is why awareness days matter – they rally us around a common cause, creating space to spread awareness, debate ideas, share experiences, and show solidarity. In the words of António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, the pandemic was "above all, a human crisis that calls for solidarity."

World EBHC Day emerged from this recognition. Seven global organisations in evidence-based healthcare – JBI, Cochrane, Campbell Collaboration, NICE, GIN, CEBHC, and the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare – came together to create a platform where our diverse, multidisciplinary community could unite around a shared agenda: using evidence to improve lives. Despite the chaos of the pandemic, the question we posed then was simple yet urgent: "If not now, when?".

The inaugural World EBHC Day on 20 October 2020 exceeded our expectations. Almost 200 organisations across 98 countries engaged through social media, blogs, websites, podcasts, and videos. The hashtag #WorldEBHCDay generated over 5,000 tweets, reaching an estimated 3.74 million people. Perhaps most importantly, it created space for meaningful conversation when we needed it most.

Evolution through campaigns

Each year, World EBHC Day has tackled timely, pressing issues facing the global evidence community:

• 2020: From Evidence to Impact – Our inaugural theme asked individuals and organisations to share how their evidence-based healthcare work achieved real-world impact, highlighting achievements and lessons learned.
• 2021: The Role of Evidence in an Infodemic – Responding to the WHO's call for action for infodemic management support, we explored how the global evidence community could combat the tsunami of misinformation accompanying the pandemic.
• 2022: Partnerships for Purpose – We examined how partnerships within and across the evidence ecosystem bridge research, policy, and practice, with particular focus on equity, integrity, and overcoming challenges.
• 2023: Evidence and Global Health Equity – At the midpoint of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we challenged the community to foster equity within evidence ecosystems themselves, recognising that evidence is a prerequisite for achieving global health equity.
• 2024: Health and Beyond: From Evidence to Action – Acknowledging the unprecedented global polycrisis, we called for intersectoral collaboration and multisectoral action to build resilient evidence support systems.

Growing impact, expanding reach

The numbers tell part of the story. By 2024, World EBHC Day reached over 80 million people across 125 countries in 23 languages – a remarkable expansion from our first year. But the true impact goes beyond metrics.
Over five years, we have published more than 200 blogs from authors in 50+ countries, covering everything from guideline collaboration and AI in healthcare to Indigenous knowledge systems and community-centred research. We have featured short videos in multiple languages, hosted webinars with thousands of participants, and supported hundreds of events globally – from Twitter chats to symposia.
Most meaningfully, we have created a platform where physiotherapists in Ghana, Nurses in Brazil, policymakers in Canada, and patient partners in Australia can all share their voices and experiences. We have celebrated impact stories that might otherwise have remained within institutional walls, and fostered connections that transcend geography and discipline.

Voices from the Global Evidence Community

Time and again, contributors tell us that the process of developing their submissions – whether blogs, vlogs, or events – has been transformative in unexpected ways.
100% of blog authors surveyed in 2020 (n=32) found the process of developing their impact story useful for reflection. They spoke of reconnecting with the partnerships that made their work possible, understanding how research was being implemented in practice, and charting future steps. As one author put it: "I really appreciate this initiative and I think it helps us to strengthen our profession and work. I'm proud to be part of World EBHC Day."
Beyond personal reflection, contributors consistently report tangible outcomes. Their stories have been celebrated in hospital and university newsletters, featured on government social media pages, and sparked new collaborations. Nurses in China discovered that sharing their evidence-based practice blogs via WeChat empowered others in their field. Researchers were contacted by international colleagues about new opportunities. Authors found that their work gained recognition not just from peers, but from leadership within their own organisations.
Perhaps most powerfully, World EBHC Day has provided visibility to work happening in settings that might otherwise go unnoticed globally. From low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to remote communities, from early-career researchers to patient advocates, the platform has amplified voices that deserve to be heard. As one Evidence Ambassador shared: " For my colleagues and I, it was an opportunity to share with the world what we have been doing to drive change in EBHC from a LMIC setting."
What strikes me most is how World EBHC Day has become more than an annual event; it has become a movement of people who believe deeply in the power of evidence to improve lives and who are eager to connect with others who share that vision. The connections forged through the initiative extend far beyond 20 October, creating networks of collaboration, mutual support, and shared learning that persist throughout the year.

Looking Forward

As we approach our sixth year, World EBHC Day continues to evolve. The 2025 campaign focuses on Collaborative Knowledge Communication, a timely topic in an era where how we communicate knowledge matters as much as the knowledge itself.
We are living through times when public trust in science is fragile, when algorithms shape what information people see, and when misinformation spreads faster than fact. Yet we are also seeing innovation: researchers collaborating with artists and communities, Indigenous knowledge systems gaining recognition, open science movements demanding transparency, and digital platforms reaching previously excluded audiences.

An invitation

World EBHC Day belongs to all of us. Whether you are a clinician reflecting on practice, a researcher eager to share findings, a policymaker navigating complex decisions, or a patient partner advocating for change, there is space for your voice.
The beauty of this initiative is its simplicity. On and around 20 October each year, people worldwide pause to celebrate, debate, and advance evidence-based healthcare. Some write blogs, others create videos, many host events, and thousands engage on social media. Each contribution, no matter how small it might seem, strengthens the collective tapestry of our global evidence community.
Five years in, one thing is crystal clear: we cannot simply power down, become siloed, or halt progress when facing global challenges. Instead, we must find new ways to work together and mobilise as a global evidence community. World EBHC Day provides that space, a platform for connection, celebration, and collective action. Because ultimately, the challenges are ours, but so are the solutions. And addressing them requires all of us, working together, to harness the power of human connection to use evidence to improve lives.

Join us this October 20. Share your story. Amplify voices. Together, we are stronger.