Celebrating Global Handwashing Day 2019
Hand washing saves a million lives!!!
According to UNICEF, the practice of hand washing with soap in India is not widespread to the extent that only 53% of the population washes hands with soap after defecation, 38% before eating, and 30% before preparing food. The challenge is to transform hand washing with soap from an abstract good idea into an automatic behavior performed in homes, schools, and communities worldwide. Turning hand washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet into an ingrained habit could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention. This will help in reducing deaths from diarrhea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one- quarter in the world. It is a do-it-yourself self-vaccine that prevents infections and saves lives.
Hand washing is important for everyone
Hand washing is the act of cleansing the hands with water or another liquid, with the use of soap, for removing soil, dirt, and/or microorganisms. ‘Hands are the superhighway for infections’, says Val Curtis, Director of the Environmental Health Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Hand is the only part which touches every part of the body. Mouth does not touch the nose, nose does not touch the ears and eyes do not touch the chin, but hand touches them all. Frequently washing hands with soap will wash away germs that our hands have acquired through contaminated water and food, from tainted surfaces. A single gram of human faces can contain 10 million viruses and one million bacteria!!
Hand washing is more important to India
In India, the age-old practice of cleaning hands and legs has been part of everyday life and personal hygiene. Rapid rise in population, change in lifestyle has forced us to look at personal hygiene practices and particularly hand hygiene in a different context today. Majority of Indians are not aware of the benefits of good hand washing practices. Indians use hands for eating food and in washrooms and even now in many households, good hand washing with soap is not practiced or taught to the children. Environmental cleanliness is very poor in public places like bus and rail stations and even schools. More than half of Indian population has no toilet facility or clean water or soap at home and still use public areas for answering their calls of nature carrying bottles or cans of water
Global Hand washing Partnership (GHP)
Global Hand washing Partnership is a coalition of international stakeholders working to promote hand washing with soap and recognize hygiene as a pillar of international development and public health. It was established in 2001. GHP member organizations today include government agencies, multilateral organizations, corporations, non-governmental organizations, and academic institution for hand washing with soap is a coalition of international stakeholders whose focus is hand washing and child health. Its vision is to ensure that proper hand washing with soap at critical times will be universally recognized and practiced as fundamental to good health. The partnership members include companies like Unilever, Procter &Gamble and institutions like LSHTM UNICEF, USAID, world bank,
Global Handwashing Day(GHD)
UN General Assembly in 2008 initiated October 15th as Global Hand Washing Day to reinforce the call for improved hygiene practices worldwide. The five important steps in hand washing - Wet, Lather, Scrub, Rinse and Dry - is the hallmark of the whole campaign.
India has been actively participating in the GHD celebrations ever since it was instituted. Central and state governments, schools, colleges, hospitals and NGOs have been promoting the awareness on good hand washing practices through various competitions, awareness drives and training programs like oratorical, poster competitions, role-plays, information booklet. “Global Hand washing Day is more than another day. It is an opportunity to design, test, and replicate creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times.
This year’s theme “Clean Hands for All” follows the push to leave no one behind in the Sustainable Development Agenda. Inequalities in hand washing facilities and effective hand washing promotion programs can put individuals at higher risk for diseases that impact their health, education, and economic outcomes. The theme reminds us that we must be inclusive when addressing hand washing disparities. No matter your role, you can celebrate Global Hand washing Day!
Author : U K Ananthapadmanabhan
Advisory board member MGM healthcare, Chennai & Director , Tenxhealth Technologies ,Coimbatore