Health

Global Handwashing Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Global Handwashing Day

The Global Handwashing Partnership established Global Handwashing Day as an occasion to devise and execute innovative strategies that promote the use of detergent to cleanse hands, particularly in times of emergency.

Although we earnestly wish that handwashing is an ingrained habit that you observe on a daily basis, on October 15, which happens to be Global Handwashing Day, you should give it a little more consideration. Most of us probably never gave handwashing and its significance in preventing the spread of disease much thought prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the worldwide pandemic has significantly illuminated the significance of hand hygiene, thereby endowing this day with heightened pertinence despite its inception in 2008.

The background of Global Handwashing Day

In 2008, the inaugural Global Handwashing Day was observed. Since then, national leaders and influencers, in addition to members of the community, have utilized this holiday to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining clean hands. Even though hand cleansing is such a straightforward action, it can save lives and truly make all the difference.

The observed Global Handwashing Day is expanding. It has the support of civil society organizations, governments, private corporations, academic institutions, and international organizations, among others.

Global Handwashing Day Quotes, Wishes And Messages

5 Global Handwashing Day Facts

The theme for 2019 International Handwashing Day was “Clean Hands for All.” As a reminder that inclusivity is essential when confronting handwashing disparities, the theme underscored the Sustainable Development Agenda’s principle of “leave no one behind.”

The mortality rate associated with diarrheal diseases can be reduced by 50% and that of respiratory diseases by 25%, respectively, according to research published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. This can be accomplished effortlessly by hand-washing with detergent.

India was a major participant in the 2008 Global Handwashing Day. In an effort to promote improved health and hygiene, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and his teammates joined an estimated 100 million children.

A mere 60% of the global populace is equipped with a rudimentary handwashing facility.

At present, more than 10 million individuals in seventeen countries lack access to handwashing facilities. Variations exist in the availability of detergent and water at handwashing facilities. While in Iraq, 91 percent of households had access to soap and water at the handwashing station, only 0.1 percent did so in Ethiopia.