Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day – Do you always clean your hands?   It’s something that we easily take for granted.  We can choose from all different types and smells of soap, it’s easy to get a hold of and usually quite cheap.  But not everywhere!

Global Handwashing day was founded by the Global handwashing partnership and it was first held in 2008.  That year over 120 million children in 70 countries washed their hands with soap.  Since then the event has grown and now over 200 million people take part in events in over 100 countries throughout the world.

Millions of children in developing countries die every year because of diahorrea or respiratory infections they’ve picked up.

We’re taught from a very young age to avoid getting infections by washing our hands regularly!  And I remember quite clearly at my infant school that it was instilled into us that we always had to wash our hands after using the toilet and before we ate our lunch.  Despite this, I’ve seen grown adults leaving the toilet without washing their hands!  Such a lazy thing to do when being able to do so is a privilege for us – and should be seen as a necessity too!  There are lots of important times that washing hands can be overlooked: when preparing food, after changing a child and really essentially when you or someone else nearby is sick.  Hand hygiene is absolutely essential to stop infection from spreading further.

My friend who studies dentistry had to undergo some strenuous handwashing tests as part of his training.  It’s so important to remain clean for your patients when working in the health service – so much so that this friend actually failed one of the tests because he wasn’t washing thoroughly enough!  It’s quite comforting to know that handwashing is taken so seriously in the important sectors.  And we need to follow their lead!

This years theme is ‘Clean hands – a recipe for health’ and the aim is to educate people and show them the benefits of turning handwashing into an automatic response – making it a habit could save more lives than a vaccine or other medicine could do.

Last year events took place all over the world.  Some communities celebrated the day by dedicating poems, songs, drama and quizzes to the children – relating the subject to them in a way that makes the learning experience fun!

Will you get involved?  Don’t worry if you’re a bit stuck for ideas, there are plenty at the Global Handwashing Day website.