“Clean hands save lives” — Global Handwashing Day 2011 is celebrated by millions of people worldwideNEW DELHI, 14 October 2011 – UNICEF joins hundreds of millions of people across the globe tomorrow in celebrating the 4th annual Global Handwashing Day, emphasizing the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective, simple, and affordable way to prevent disease. A number of exciting events are taking place for the 2011 celebration of Global Handwashing Day on 15 October. Teachers, parents, celebrities and government officials are motivating millions to lather up to prevent life-threatening diseases such as diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections. Millions of children will participate in hand washing events across India. The state of Rajasthan alone, for instance, will have the participation of nine million children in more than 80,000 Government schools and 65,000 Anganwadi Centers. In Madhya Pradesh, 115,000 schools and 80,000 Anganwadis will participate. These events are aimed at spreading a life-saving message: clean hands save lives. UNICEF estimates that diarrhoea kills 1.1 million children every year, and pneumonia-related illnesses take another 1.2 million child lives. Handwashing with soap prevents disease in a more straightforward and cost-effective way than any single vaccine. The simple act of washing hands with soap at critical moments – such as after using the toilet or before handling food – is an easy and affordable intervention that can reduce the incidence of diarrhoea among children under five by almost 50 per cent, and cut respiratory infections by as much as 25 per cent. “Soap is not in short supply, even in developing countries,” said Therese Dooley, UNICEF’s Senior Adviser for Hygiene and Sanitation. “The vast majority of poor households have soap in the home. The problem is that soap is used for laundry or bathing, but rarely for handwashing.” Dooley added that UNICEF would like to ensure handwashing with soap becomes a social norm in all countries. Governments around the world have now adopted Global Handwashing Day as a national celebration, wanting the event to be more than just a day, and to ensure that handwashing with soap is promoted throughout the year. This year, for example, the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India launched the new nationwide, community driven, Swatchhata Utsav (Cleanliness Campaign) in villages on October 2, Gandhiji’s birthday. The Global Handwashing Day events will be integrated into the campaign. In 2010, 44 million children in 585,000 schools and Aanganwadi Centers washed hands before the Mid Day Meal. In Bangaladesh, all schools –18 million children – across the country, participated in mass handwashing demonstrations on October 15. The events were used as a platform to launch the Bangladesh government’s National Hygiene Campaign which aims to change the way the country uses soap, and in particular to promote its use in handwashing. “We are happy that this year other countries are following Bangladesh’s example,” Dooley says. “While we adults are always trying to discourage bad habits in children, the good habit of handwashing with soap is one we want every child to develop.”
About UNICEF Alistair Gretarsson
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