Global Handwashing Day – Clean hands save lives!
2010-10-13
 |
| Millions of children around the world are getting ready for the third annual Global Handwashing Day (GHD) to be held globally on 15 October 2010. It will be the centrepiece of a week of activities that aim to mobilise millions of people to wash their hands with soap. Because more handwashing with soap means lower rates of infectious disease: Clean Hands Save Lives! |
 |
Fast facts about handwashingDid you know that handwashing with soap could actually save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention? It is one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent diarrhoeal and pneumonia, which together are responsible for the deaths of over 3.5 million children under the age of 5 every year.Handwashing with soap at critical times - including before eating or preparing food and after using the toilet - can reduce diarrhoea rates by more than 40 per cent, andthe incidence of acute respiratory infections by around 23 per cent. Several studies carried out during the 2006 outeak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) suggest that washing hands more than 10 times a day can even cut the spread of the respiratory virus by 55 per cent. |
Get started!Everyone can get involved in Global Handwashing Day celeations to support a global and local culture of handwashing with soap and raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap. Let’s spread the message of “Clean Hands Save Lives”! |
 |