Hand hygiene: an essential protective measure against infectious diseases

15 October 2024. Every year on 15 October, the world celebrates Global Handwashing Day. For UNICEF, it's an opportunity to raise awareness of the crucial role this simple gesture plays in child survival and public health.     

In Burundi, this day takes on added significance, with the fight being waged against the spread of monkeypox, commonly known as MPOX, since July 2024.

According to recent UNICEF estimates, 40% of the world's population, or 3 billion people, do not have access to facilities for washing their hands with soap and water at home, a rate that rises to 75% in the least developed countries.

In Burundi, only 6% of households have access to hand-washing facilities with soap and water[i], well below the sub-Saharan average of 25%. Unfortunately, these figures show that handwashing with soap is still out of reach for millions of children in Burundi. And yet this basic need is all the more urgent, given the country's various health crises, such as cholera and monkeypox, as well as the displacement of populations as a result of the El Niño phenomenon.     

Faced with this situation, UNICEF is stepping up its support for the government of Burundi, with a view to strengthening infection prevention and control measures, in particular by facilitating access to hand hygiene in schools, health establishments, workplaces, camps for displaced persons, etc. Since the beginning of the year, 41 schools and health establishments have benefited from sustainable hand-washing facilities connected to the drinking water network.

In addition, the focus is on the provision of hygiene kits and water supplies, the installation of washing facilities, communication activities around water, sanitation and hygiene, with a particular emphasis on behaviour change and community commitment to adopting measures to reduce the risk of disease.   

‘’All children, including those in the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, should have access to facilities for washing their hands with soap and water. This is one of the simplest ways of protecting oneself from infectious diseases and limit the spread of diseases such as monkeypox, cholera, the Marburg virus, etc.’’ UNICEF reiterates its commitment to supporting the government in its efforts to implement policies, strategies and action plans designed to encourage handwashing with soap and to make water and sanitation services accessible to all’’, says France Bégin, UNICEF Representative in Burundi.

[i] Programme commun OMS/UNICEF de suivi de l'approvisionnement en eau, de l'assainissement et de l'hygiène, 2023