Global Handwashing Day on Friday:

A simple way to keep diseases at bay

Of all the special 'international' days in the calendar, the Global Handwashing Day that falls on October 15 is the one that evokes curiosity the most. Why a separate day for handwashing? The idea is very simple - handwashing saves lives. Yes, washing hands properly with soap or handwash liquid is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhoeal and acute respiratory infections, which claim the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year.

The World Health Organization (WHO), together with governments, NGOs and private companies is promoting handwashing in a big way. It was initiated in 2008 by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap. Global Handwashing Day on October 15 will start a week of activities that will mobilise millions of people in more than 80 countries across all five continents to wash their hands with soap.

Last year's theme was 'Clean Hands Save Lives.' Events were held in 80 countries including Sri Lanka under this theme. This year's theme too is very appropriate - Children and Schools.

Diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases are responsible for the majority of all child deaths in the developing world. Of the approximately 120 million children born in the developing world each year, half will live in households without access to improved sanitation, at grave risk to their survival and development. Poor hygiene and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88 percent of deaths from diarrhoeal diseases, accounting for 1.5 million diarrhoea-related deaths among children under the age of five each year. Yet, despite its lifesaving potential, handwashing is seldom practised and difficult to promote among schoolchildren in many parts of the world.

According to the WHO, the challenge is to transform handwashing with soap from a good idea into an almost automatic action performed in homes, schools, and communities worldwide. Handwashing with soap before eating, after using the toilet and after any strenuous activity could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhoea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by 25 percent.

This will also help meet the Millennium Development Goal of reducing the number of deaths among children under the age of five by two-thirds by 2015.

Schools are an ideal forum to introduce this habit to children. If teachers encourage their students to wash their hands with soap regularly, it will lead to a healthier generation. However, many schools in rural areas of developing countries lack adequate water and sanitation facilities.

This is an impediment for handwashing to become a regular practice. Governments must address these concerns as well. Handwashing five to six times a day is not an expensive or time-consuming proposition. All you need is water and soap or liquid handwash widely available commercially. It should be a part of an overall hygiene plan for the entire family. The print and electronic media must start a campaign to popularise handwashing, highlighting its benefits vis-à-vis disease prevention. The Global Handwashing Day provides an ideal opportunity to spread the message that washing your hands regularly could help you to lead a healthy life. - P de S