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About
Global Handwashing Day (GHD) was created by the Global
Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing in
2008 to:
• Foster and support a global culture of handwashing
with soap.
• Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in
every country.
• Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing
with soap.
Global Handwashing Day was originally created for
children and schools, but can be celebrated by anyone
promoting handwashing with soap.
Each year, over 200
million people are involved in celebrations in over
100 countries around the world. Global Handwashing is
endorsed by a wide array of governments, international
institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs,
private companies, and individuals.
Why
Handwashing with Soap?
Handwashing with soap is the most effective and
inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute
respiratory infections, which take the lives of
millions of children in developing countries every
year. Together, they are responsible for the majority
of all child deaths. Yet, despite its lifesaving
potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practiced
and difficult to promote.
Turning handwashing with soap before eating and after
using the toilet into an ingrained habit could save
more lives than any single vaccine or medical
intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhea by almost
half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by
one-quarter. A vast change in handwashing behavior is
critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of
reducing deaths among children under the age of five
by two-thirds by 2015.
Global Handwashing Day focuses on children because not
only do they suffer disproportionately from diarrheal
and respiratory diseases and deaths, but research
shows that children – the segment of society so often
the most energetic, enthusiastic, and open to new
ideas – can also be powerful agents for changing
behaviors like handwashing with soap in their
communities.
Learn
More
For more information on handwashing with soap,
including research, tools, and news visit
www.globalhandwashing.org or contact us at
info@globalhandwashing.org
Initiated by
AED-
Academy for Educational Development
CDC-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Colgate-Palmolive
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Procter and Gamble
UNICEF
Unilever
World Bank - WSP (Water & Sanitation Program)
USAID- HIP |