A SIMPLE SOLUTION

Each October 15, over 200 million people around the world take part in Global Handwashing Day.
But why dedicate a day to something we do all the time? Well, research shows that not enough people
regularly wash their hands with soap. Experts believe that this leads to the deaths of millions of people
every year.

Myriam Sidibe says that soap is “the most beautiful invention in public health.” As a public health
expert, Sidibe knows that washing your hands with soap can have a huge impact on reducing flu,
cholera, and the spread of other diseases. It can reduce diarrhea by half and respiratory infections
by one-third. Handwashing with soap prevents babies from getting sick and keeps children healthy
and in school.

However, washing hands with soap does not occur as frequently as you might think. This is partly
due to a lack of resources in poorer countries, but it’s also because for many people, handwashing is
simply not part of their everyday routine. It’s not easy to get people to change habits they’ve had since
early childhood-but this is what Global Handwashing Day aims to do.

In 2008, the Indian cricket team joined around 100 million Indian schoolchildren in washing their
hands to promote the first ever Global Handwashing Day. Every year since then, the campaign has
held many different events around the world. In 2014, Global Handwashing Day was used in the fight
against Ebola, with events held in affected African countries.

Today, local and national leaders continue to use the day to spread the message about the value of
clean hands. The hope is that handwashing can become a regular part of people’s lives and make a
vital difference to the health of millions around the world.