More than 200 million to celebrate third Global Handwashing DayHandwashing with soap could save lives of millions NEW YORK/GENEVA 15 October 2010 - For the third annual Global Handwashing Day, more than 200 million schoolchildren, parents, teachers, celebrities and government officials around the world will lather up, but at the end of the day, they aim to have more than just clean hands. This year the theme of Global Handwashing Day – more than just a day – aims to make the simple, life-saving practice of washing hands a regular habit long after the sun sets on October 15. Global Handwashing Day partners are promoting this behavioural change not only by organizing activities in more than 80 countries to raise awareness of the benefits of handwashing, but by ensuring that schools and communities have the support they need to make the practice routine. Toward this end the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap is rolling out new tools to help developing countries transform handwashing from a distracted daily act to a positive habit. Each year, diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections are responsible for the deaths of more than 3.5 million children under the age of five. Washing hands with soap and water especially at the critical times -- after using the toilet and before handling food -- helps reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal disease by more than 40 per cent, yet this simple behaviour is not practiced regularly. Global Handwashing Day shines a spotlight on the importance of handwashing with soap and water as one of the most effective and affordable health interventions. Today that message is being brought to playgrounds, classrooms, community centers, public spaces and the air waves. Some of the activities planned for the event include:
The global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap is a coalition of international stakeholders focusing on the importance of handwashing and child health. Established in 2001, the partnership aims to give families, schools, and communities in developing countries the power to prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections by supporting the universal promotion and practice of proper handwashing with soap at critical times. Included among the coalition’s 14 international stakeholders are: the Academy for Educational Development; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Colgate-Palmolive; International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research; Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Procter & Gamble; The Water and Sanitation Program; The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council; The World Bank; UNICEF; Unilever; USAID and WaterAid. For more information: www.globalhandwashingday.org Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/globalhandwashingday ### About UNICEF For further information, please contact: Katie Carroll, Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing, Dave Trouba, Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Geneva,
|
