October 15 - Global Handwashing Day 2019
Celebrated annually on October 15, Global Handwashing Day (GH Day) is an annual global advocacy day dedicated to increasing awareness for hand wash.
Dr. Ajay Jain
Oct 12, 2019
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Every year on October 15, Global Handwashing Day is praised to draw attention to the significance of handwashing with soap at home, in the community, and across the globe. It is an awareness campaign to stimulate and organize people all over the world to improve their routine handwashing habits. Washing hands at vital points during the day and washing with especially with soap are both significant, which is a key factor in disease prevention. With this healthy habit, diseases related to respiratory and intestinal can be reduced by 25-50%.
Aims
The prime aims of Global Handwashing Day are to:
- Promote and support a general culture of handwashing with soap in all societies around the globe.
- Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in every nation
- Raise and spread awareness about the health-related benefits of handwashing with soap.
Handwashing in Communities
Handwashing with soap is not only easy, effortless, and economical, but it can also significantly reduce the number of children who get sick easily. Educating people about handwashing helps them and their communities to stay healthy. Handwashing education in society can:
- Decrease the number of people by near about 23-40%, who get sick with diarrhea
- Decrease the number of absenteeism due to gastrointestinal complaint in schoolchildren by 29-57%
- Decrease diarrheal sickness in people with weakened immune systems by near about 58%
- Decrease respiratory-related illnesses, in the general population by about 16-21%
Global Handwashing Day 2019 Theme
The theme for the 2019 Global Handwashing Day is “Clean Hands for All.”
Facts:
- Washing hands with soap can reduce the risk of intestinal diseases and diarrhea by 31% and diseases of the respiratory tract by 21%.
- Clean hands prevent the transmission of bacteria and viruses from one person to another and between members of the community.
- Handwashing with soap can prevent infection during healthcare.
- Handwashing helps prevent skin and eye infections.
- Handwashing with soap helps prevent outbreaks such as corona and soil-transmitted helminths.
On 15 October 2014, Madhya Pradesh, an Indian state, won the Guinness World Record for the most massive handwashing program. There were 1,276,425 children in 51 different districts participating.
Objectives:
- Spreading out effective promotional programs to enhance the practice of handwashing, with the aim of reducing individuals' risk of diseases that may affect their health.
- Foster and support the culture of handwashing with soap in schools.
- Handle myths and misconceptions about handwashing.
- Educate health practitioners about the importance of washing hands regularly to prevent the transmission of infection inside and outside health facilities
- Shed light on hands as the main cause of transmitting microbes and infection.
Activities on Global Handwashing Day
Every year, over 200 million people participate in various different activities to celebrate Global Handwashing Day.
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