Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day
Logo used for Global Handwashing Day around the world. Shown in the image are water, soap, and hand.
Date	15 October
Next time	15 October 2017 (2017-10-15)
Frequency	annual
First time	15 October 2008
Related to	Menstrual hygiene day

Global Handwashing Day (GHD) is a campaign to motivate and mobilize people around the world to improve their handwashing habits by washing their hands with soap at critical moments throughout each day. It takes place on 15 October of each year. The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention.

The campaign was initiated to reduce childhood mortality rates and related respiratory and diarrheal diseases by introducing simple behavioral changes, such as handwashing with soap. This simple, accessible action can, according to research, reduce the rate of mortality from these diseases by almost 25 and 50 per cent, respectively.

Hand washing with soap is extremely effective and the most inexpensive way to prevent diarrhea and acute respiratory infections (ARI).Pneumonia, a major ARI, is the number one cause of mortality among children under five years old, taking the life of an estimated 1.8 million children per year. Diarrhea and pneumonia together account for almost 3.5 million child deaths annually. Handwashing with soap is estimated to reduce incidents of diarrhea by 30% and respiratory infections by 21% in children under the age of five.

It is important to turn handwashing into a habit. According to the official site, turning hand washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet into an ingrained habit was projected to 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. Handwashing is usually integrated together with other sanitation interventions as part of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes.

GHD helps raise awareness of the importance of washing with soap, but it also makes it fun for children to get involved.

Handwashing with soap may seem like a simple behavior, but it is rarely practiced globally. This is due both in part to lack of resources as well as it not being a habit.

Peer influence is significant to seeing increased handwashing among students. In a study conducted in Kenya, researchers found that students were significantly more likely to wash their hands when another student is present. Peer influence is only successful, however, when students know that handwashing is a desirable action.