Global Handwashing Day: Date, Theme, History, Significance

4to40.com October 14, 2024 Public Awareness 194 Views

Global Handwashing Day: The day spread awareness about the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives. It is observed on October 15. Read here about the history, theme, and significance of the day.

Global Handwashing Day: Date

2024: 15 October, 2024 [Tuesday]
2025: 15 October, 2025 [Wednesday]
2026: 15 October, 2026 [Thursday]

The day was established by the Global Handwashing Partnership and is celebrated annually on October 15. It provides an opportunity to test, and replicate several ways to boost people to wash their hands with soap at critical times.

As per the CDC, keeping hands clean can prevent 1 in 3 diarrhoeal illnesses and 1 in 5 respiratory infections like cold or flu. The day also focuses on the importance of handwashing with soap and water at home, within the community, and across the world.

The day is also a reminder that such a simple method of handwashing with water and soap can prevent the spreading of germs to others and also the next step due to which we can avoid getting sick.

Global Handwashing Day: Theme

2024: Why are clean hands still important?
2023: Clean hands are within reach
2022: Unite for Universal Hand Hygiene
2021: Our Future is at Hand – Let’s Move Forward Together!
2020: Hand Hygiene for All
2019: Clean Hands for All
2018: Clean hands – a recipe for health
2017: Our Hands, Our Future!
2016: Make Handwashing a Habit!
2015: Raise a Hand for Hygiene!
2014: Clean hands save lives. In 2014, Global Handwashing Day was used as an opportunity to fight Ebola. In Nigeria, for example, Concern Universal and Carex sponsored events featuring singer Sunny Neji.
2013: The power is in your hands.
2012: I am a handwashing advocate.
2011: Clean hands save lives.
2010: Children and Schools.
2009: Spread the word, not the germs.
2008: The focus for Global Handwashing Day’s inaugural year in 2008 was school children. In that year, the members pledged to get the maximum number of school children handwashing with soap in more than 70 countries. In India in 2008, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and his teammates joined an estimated 100 million school children around the country in lathering up for better health and hygiene as part of the first Global Handwashing Day.

History:

The first Global Handwashing Day was observed in 2008 and held by the Global Handwashing Partnership. It is a day that is designed to foster and support a global and local culture of handwashing with soap, showing the importance of handwashing across the world. It also raises awareness about the advantages of handwashing with soap and water.

In 2008 when Global Handwashing Day was first time observed, over 120 million children around the world washed their hands with soap in more than 70 countries. Since then, Global Handwashing Day has continued to grow or celebrated across the globe. The Day is endorsed by governments, schools, international institutions, civil society organisations, NGOs, private companies, individuals, and more.

Global Handwashing Day: Significance

Washing hands with soap and water prevent illness and the spread of infections to others.

It also helps in reducing the number of young children getting sick. Therefore teaching kids and students about hand hygiene, handwashing will help them and communities will stay healthy.

To provide education about handwashing in the community can:

Reduce the number of people who get sick or suffering from diarrhoea by about 23-40%.
In school children, it also helps in reducing absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness by 29-57%.
It also helps in reducing diarrhoeal illness in people with weakened immune systems by about 58%.
Reduce respiratory illness including colds, in the general population by about 16-21%.

Handwashing prevents sickness and reduces the number of antibiotics people use and the likelihood that antibiotic resistance will develop.

Let us tell you that hand washing can prevent about 30% of diarrhoea-related sickness and about 20% of respiratory infections like cold etc. Therefore, antibiotics are prescribed for these types of health issues also. By washing hands, infections can be reduced and frequently helps in preventing the overuse of antibiotics.

Handwashing also prevents people from getting sick with germs that are already resistant to antibiotics and can be difficult to treat.

Therefore, Global Handwashing Day is observed on 15 October across the world to spread awareness about the importance of handwashing with water and soap and also to know about hand hygiene. Therefore, this year’s theme is “Hand Hygiene for All” which is focused on maintaining the hygiene of hands that helps in preventing the spreading of germs, etc.