Global Handwashing Day

  The evidence is clear: good hand hygiene through handwashing with soap or alcohol-based handrub can dramatically reduce the transmission of diseases that claim millions of lives each year. Beyond disease prevention, hand hygiene brings wider benefits. Studies show it reduces school absenteeism and improves wellbeing, dignity, and productivity – creating ripple effects that strengthen entire communities. Community volunteer Marijan shares health and hygiene tips with Sayedul Amin and Setara Begum, two residents of a camp for displaced people from Myanmar, located in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. In Camp 13 in Cox's Bazar, Sayedul Amin and his wife Setara Begum have transformed their shelter into a model of healthy living. Their home is clean and organized, with a small garden where fresh vegetables grow. Their two sons have learned to wash their hands regularly, a habit their parents practice and teach every day. The family learned about proper hygiene from Marijan, a Bangladesh Red ...

Actions for businesses .

Global Handwashing Day was founded by the Global Handwashing Partnership , and is an opportunity to design, test, and replicate creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times.   For media and interview requests, contact us on: unwater@un.org mentioning [Media request] in the subject heading.

 Studies published in 2022 cover various topics on hand hygiene impact. Most studies focus on assessing the effectiveness of different interventions in preventing and controlling diseases such as diarrheal disease, healthcare-associated infections, and parasitic infections. Several studies evaluated the effectiveness of hand hygiene practices in preventing or controlling diseases among children . A systematic review and meta-analysis by Wolf et al. (2022) reviewed and synthesized evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to improve drinking water, sanitation, and handwashing with soap on the risk of diarrheal disease in children in low- and middle-income settings. The study found that interventions that promoted hand hygiene were effective in reducing the risk of diarrheal disease among children under 5 years old by 30%. Findings from this study are consistent with previous studies that concluded handwashing with soap can reduce the risk of endemic diarrhea up to 30 to 48%....

  The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing is taking this opportunity to host a webinar discussing the importance of hand hygiene in healthcare , the challenges of achieving good hand hygiene , and lessons for improving hand hygiene in healthcare. Hear from experts from the World Health Organization , the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine , and Johns Hopkins University on:  - Why hand hygiene is so important in healthcare ? - The state of hand hygiene in healthcare facilities around the world. - Hand hygiene lessons from Ebola.  - How to achieve hand hygiene behavior change: lessons from outside healthcare?