In March 2022, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted resolution A/RES/76/256, designating 12 May as the International Day of Plant Health, an initiative led by Zambia and co-sponsored by several other countries, building on the legacy of the International Year of Plant Health observed in 2020-2021. The Food and Agriculture Organization, working with the International Plant Protection Convention, facilitates the annual observance. FAO estimates that plant pests and diseases destroy up to 40 percent of global food crops each year, worsening hunger and threatening the livelihoods of millions of farmers, particularly in developing economies that depend heavily on agriculture. These threats also affect plant biodiversity and forest ecosystems, making plant health as much an environmental concern as a food security one. The day is marked through farmer-focused awareness campaigns on early pest detection and prevention, scientific forums on sustainable agricultural practices, and calls for stronger international cooperation in monitoring cross-border plant diseases before they spread.