Millions of children and adults from over 70 countries took part in the first Global Handwashing Day on 15 October 2008. The aim of the initiative was to show how washing the hands with soap can effectively prevent disease.

Global Handwashing Day is an initiative of the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing, which is supported by World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), UNICEF, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USAID and soap manufacturers Unilever and Procter & Gamble.

In many countries the focus of the campaign has been in schools and through the media. In India, top cricket star Sachin Tendulkar [1] was recruited to front the campaign. Washing hands was the topic of Afghan television and radio talk shows and Pakistani newscasts. In Nepal and South Africa thousands of people received text messages reminding them to use soap. Over 65,000 students in Malawi participated in handwashing activities promoted by the animated character known as ‘SOPO’. The King of Cambodia and the President of Madagascar supported the event, which saw schoolchildren in every classroom in their respective countries wash their hands with soap. In Colombia, about 7,000 children gathered in a football stadium to celebrate the day with several government leaders.

UNICEF says that washing hands with soap is much more effective in combating disease than than just using water. It can reduce the risk of diarrhoeal diseases by over 40% and of respiratory infections by 30%.

[1] Watch promotional video clips featuring Sachin Tendulkar and others here.

Related news:

• Infant mortality: handwashing can save newborn lives, Source South Asia, 18 Sep 2008;
• Hygiene: handwashing reduces diarrhoea by 30 per cent, Source, 18 Jul 2008.

Web sites:Global Handwashing Day ; Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing

Source:BBC, 15 Oct 2008; UNICEF, 14 Oct 2008

Tags: africa, east asia & pacific, hygiene promotion, information and communication, latin america & caribbean, south asia, water-related diseases