The practice of handwashing with soap tops the international hygiene agenda this year with the first-ever Global Handwashing Day, slated for Wednesday 15 October 2008. With 2008 as the UN International Year of Sanitation, the Global Handwashing Day will echo and reinforce its call for improved hygiene practices.

The agencies leading the Global Handwashing Day efforts are part of the Global PPPHW and include (but are not limited to) the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP/World Bank), UNICEF, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USAID through the Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP), Procter and Gamble and Unilever.

The guiding vision of Global Handwashing Day is a local and global culture of handwashing with soap. Although people around the world wash their hands with water, very few wash their hands with soap at the critical occasions.

Global Handwashing Day is a campaign to motivate and mobilize millions around the world to wash their hands with soap. The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention. The initiative was made at the annual World Water Week 2008, which was held in Stockholm from August 17 to 23 and initiated the Public Private Partnership for Handwashing (PPPHW). The Global Handwashing Day will take place for the first time on October 15, 2008, the date appointed by UN General Assembly in accordance with year 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation. Handwashing helps prevent you from getting germs.

The theme for Global Handwashing Day’s inaugural year is “Focus on School Children”. The members have pledged to get the maximum number of school children handwashing with soap in more than 30 countries: Columbia, India, Peru, Nicaragua, Mexico, Madagascar, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan, the Philippines, the U.S., and the U.K.

What UNICEF Says about Handwashing

Children are among the most vulnerable to the consequences of the lack of access to clean water improved sanitation and hygiene. More than 5,000 children under five die every day as a result of diarrhoeal diseases, caused in part by unsafe water, lack of access to basic sanitation facilities and improved hygiene. Simple behavioural changes, such as hand washing with soap, can help reduce mortality rates related to diarrhoeal diseases by almost 50 per cent.

Global Handwashing Day, which will be celebrated this year on 15 October will provide an opportuntity to motivate and mobilize millions around the world to wash their hands with soap. Global Handwashing Day is an initiative of the Public Private Partnership for Handwashing (PPPHW). More information about the Day can be found on their website at http://www.globalhandwashing.org/.

In addition to the health costs, the lack of adequate sanitation facilities in schools also has an impact on access to education, with girl’s school attendance often falling off when they reach puberty where school sanitation facilities are inadequate.

Access to clean water and sanitation are fundamental to every aspect of children’s lives– including their health, their survival and their dignity – and providing all children with clean drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene in schools would make an important contribution to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The announcement of Global Handwashing Day was made at the annual World Water Week 2008, which was held in Stockholm from August 17 to 23.

This year’s theme; Progress and Prospects on Water: For a Clean and Healthy World included a special focus on sanitation and hygiene. 2008 is the International Year of Sanitation (IYS).

For further information on World Water Week:http://www.worldwaterweek.org/

Handwashing in India

In September and October, a mass media campaign is being held in India with the support of Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvrag Singh, two hugely popular cricket celebrities.

Almost 1 million school teachers are receiving training courses to execute the campaign and to reach out to about 100 million school children. Materials developed include: posters, teacher training module on handwashing, pamphlet with pledge for students, TV spots and radio jingles, all including 25 seconds central song on the 5 steps for correct handwashing.

The concerned ministers at national and state levels will launch the campaign on 15th October by participating in the handwashing activities with children in rural schools. Activities in schools include; children pledging towards hygiene, organized handwashing games and washing hands in a giant waterfall.

What WHO Says about Hand Washing Day

Global Handwashing Day

The first-ever Global Handwashing Day will take place on Wednesday, October 15, 2008. The UN General Assembly has designated 2008 the International Year of Sanitation, and Global Handwashing Day will echo and reinforce its call for improved hygiene practices. Global Handwashing Day will be the centerpiece of a week of activities that will mobilize millions of people in more than 20 countries across five continents to wash their hands with soap.

The First Global Patient Safety Challenge, Clean Care is Safer Care, is happy to support the ethos of this Day. WHO’s Clean Care is Safer Care programme is concerned with improving hand hygiene everywhere in the world where health care is delivered. In particular, in health care we recommend the use of alcohol-based handrub as the preferred means for routine hand antisepsis in clinical situations, unless hands are visibly dirty or soiled with body fluids or in case of exposure to potential spore-forming pathogens, including outbreaks of Clostridium difficile. We welcome any related initiative which advocates for better hand hygiene beyond health care, including the pioneering work of the Global Public Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap.

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References

Other link

• (English) Official site for Global Handwashing Day
• (English) World Bank Sanitation Program
• (English) UNICEF
• (English) Unilever
• (English) P&G
• (English) Hygiene Central

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