Did you know that three billion people or 40% of the world’s population do not have access to handwashing facilities and 75% of them belongs to the world’s poorest countries? This situation puts these individuals at risk of diseases especially now that we are facing a pandemic.
With the theme “Hand Hygiene for All,” The Global Handwashing Day was celebrated on October 15 to promote universal access to hand hygiene, making it a reality for everyone especially in homes, schools, health care facilities and public spaces. The theme was aligned with the Hand Hygiene for All Initiative of World Health Organization and UNICEF, which aims to support the most vulnerable communities –children and families living in informal settlements, migrant and refugee camps, or in areas of active conflict.
Established by the Global Handwashing Partnership in 2008, the Global Handwashing Day is observed every year to raise awareness on the importance of handwashing with soap and water. Handwashing habit greatly impacts health by preventing wide range of diseases, microbial infections, and healthcare-associated infections.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of hand hygiene is highlighted. One study cited by WHO found that regular handwashing with soap can reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 infection by 36%. The lack of access to handwashing facility and services across the world would aggravate situation causing about 1 billion people to be affected by the coronavirus.
This basic, cost efficient, and effective practice would protect people from contracting the virus and stop the transmission in the community.
Making handwashing services available and accessible is a primary step, but requires behavior change at the individual and societal level to make it a part of everyday habit.
Through this year’s Global Handwashing Day, the call for countries is to celebrate hand hygiene as part of their COVID-19 response and plan to strengthen hygiene systems to control the virus and build stronger approach to prevent emerging diseases and fight against long term challenges like diarrheal diseases. (BLVMEstrella)
References:
2020 Global Handwashing Day Factsheet
World Health Organization and UNICEF Hand Hygiene Global Initiative
