• Foster and support a global culture of handwashing with soap.
• Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in every country.
• Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap.
Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year. Together, they are responsible for the majority of all child deaths. Yet, despite its lifesaving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practiced and difficult to promote.
Turning handwashing with soap before eating and after using the toilet into a habit could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter. A vast change in handwashing behavior is critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing deaths among children under the age of five by two-thirds by 2015.
Global Handwashing Day focuses on children because they suffer the most from diarrheal and respiratory diseases and deaths, but research shows that children can also be powerful agents for changing behaviors like handwashing with soap in their communities.
When should you wash your hands?
· Before, during, and after preparing food
· Before eating food
· Before and after caring for someone who is sick
· Before and after treating a cut or wound
· After using the toilet
· After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
· After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
· After touching an animal or animal waste
· After touching garbage
The Global Handwashing Day's theme video with
instructions for children on how to wash their hands properly.
instructions for children on how to wash their hands properly.
It’s In Your Hands
Resources and References
1. CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Handwashing:Clean Hands Save Lives
3. Partnership
for Food Safety Education, Fight BAC!
4. The Scrub Club. A fun, interactive
and educational Web site that teaches children the proper way to wash their
hands. The site contains interactive games, educational music, downloadable
activities for kids, educational materials for teachers and program information
for parents.
5. Healthy Schools, Healthy People, It’s a SNAP! (School Network for
Absenteeism Prevention) program is a joint initiative of the CDC and American
Cleaning Institute. This program seeks to improve hand hygiene habits to help
prevent the spread of infectious disease and reduce related absenteeism. This
grassroots, education-based effort can help improve health by making hand
cleaning an integral part of the school day. Without proper hand
cleaning, a single infection can quickly spread among students, teachers,
family and friends.
