Global Handwashing Day : Handwashing – the only vaccine against infections

According to survey, simple hand washing with soap can save a million lives per year, while it can reduce the risk of diarrheal diseases by approximately 50 percent. On Global Handwashing Day, News Today spoke to people in various settlements like Egmore and Adayalampattu to know the depth of awareness.

The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention. “The lack of hygiene is a contributing factor to the poverty in rural areas”, he said, referring to various studies and researches that have proven that handwashing with soap can avert the occurrence of diarrhoea and pneumonia by up to 16 per cent.

Dr Ejaz Ahmed Khan while addressing the audience of the event said that hand-washing with soap is one of the cheapest, most effective vaccines against viral diseases, from the seasonal flu, to the common cold. The imperative for creation of a strong social norm of good hand hygiene becomes more relevant against the background of taking the message to individual homes, schools and health care facilities.

“Along with drinking water and access to toilets, hygiene – particularly handwashing with soap – is the essential third leg of the stool holding up the [Sustainable Development] Goal on water and sanitation”, said Sanjay Wijesekera, global head of UNICEF’s water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, in a press release. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. False, Instead hand dryers can increase the bacterial counts on hands than paper towels.

“We have been campaigning for personal hygiene since 2006 and hand washing is major part of personal hygiene”, he said. It is important to turn hand washing into a habit, especially before eating and after using the toilet.

It involves five simple and effective steps i. Remind children to wash their hands often.

“They wash their hands before each class in the morning and after lunch”. There is no gainsaying the fact that hand washing with soap helps prevent the risk of catching or spreading bacteria that can cause food poisoning.

And remember, especially if you work in a school, daycare, healthcare setting, or making or serving food to the public, that keeping fingernails trimmed and cleaned is an important part of hand hygiene. And all equipment for clipping or grooming nails should be properly cleaned and sterilized.