Diarrhoea is the second-biggest killer of children in the world. Scientists at the 2nd conference of the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH), declared that old-fashioned handwashing with soap and water could save a million lives a year. In India alone, handwashing can contribute to saving 250,000 lives. Appropriate handwashing can cut diarrhoeal diseases by 43% according to a review by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. While most households in developing countries have soap of some sort, only 15-20% routinely use it to wash their hands after going to the toilet, cleaning a baby etc. A World Bank-supported handwashing programme* involving governments and soap companies is being carried out in Ghana and Kerala (India). Soap companies think sales could grow by 40% in each market. The programme has discovered people's preferences for types of soap products, when best to influence mothers' hygiene behaviour (directly after a baby is born), and when and how often to advertise to achieve the maximum impact. There are plans to extend the programme to China, Nepal, Peru, parts of Central Asia and Senegal.

*Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing , http://www.globalhandwashing.org/

Contact: Dr Valerie Curtis, Senior Lecturer in Hygiene Promotion, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, val.curtis@lshtm.ac.uk, http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/dcvbu/staff/val_curtis.htm

Source: Economist, 6 Jul 2002, p. 83
IFH, 17 Apr 2002