MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Global Handwashing Day draws awareness of hygiene deficits

Hand washing reduces multiple diseases that cause chronic problems and cuts down school absenteeism rates by up to 43%

A United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) report released this week showed that some 700 children daily from diseases caused by inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene. The document also pointed out that 3 in 10 people worldwide lack basic hand washing facilities with soap and water

The study marking Global Handwashing Day (Oct. 15) also mentioned that 2.3 billion children and their families worldwide do not have access to handwashing facilities with soap and water at home and that half of the health centers in the world have only a basic hand hygiene service, while 2 out of 5 schools (about 42%) do not have this infrastructure, which affects over 800 million children and young adults.

Hand washing reduces multiple diseases that cause chronic problems and cuts down school absenteeism rates by up to 43%, in addition to other benefits, Unicef pointed out.

The 2022 Global Handwashing Day theme is “Unite for Universal Hand Hygiene.” This year’s theme calls on all of society to work together as we scale up hand hygiene and “reminds us that we be united in our vision for universal access and practice of hand hygiene,” the NGO behind the initiative (globalhandwashing.org) says on its website to encourage people “to promote a global/local culture of handwashing with soap” and “make handwashing a centerpiece of healthy behaviors around the year.”

The undertaking seeks “to support affordable, accessible, and desirable hand hygiene solutions for everyone, everywhere.”