World Hand Hygiene Day is observed every year on May 5 globally. The day is organized by the World Health Organization (WHO). The main aim of the day is to make people across the globe more aware of the importance of hand hygiene in health care facilities, thus protecting health care workers and patients from infections.
Theme for the year 2020: “SAVE LIVES: Clean your hands”.
The theme is aligned with the “Year of the Nurse and the Midwife and aims to recognize nurses and midwives as front-line heroes who deserve acknowledgement, appreciation and highlight their critical roles in infection prevention.
Key Points:
i.2020 Campaign Objectives: The main goal of the Global Hand Hygiene Day campaign is to recognize that handwashing is one of the most effective actions you can take to reduce the spread of pathogens and prevent infections, including the COVID-19 virus.
ii.Health workers and community members alike can play a role in preventing infections by practicing regular and frequent handwashing.
iii.As part of the 2020 campaign, WHO and partners aim to:
- Make hand hygiene a global priority
- Inspire hand hygiene and behavior change
- Engage with health care workers in their role in clean care and the prevention of infections.
iv.The campaign also makes a call to action to policy-makers to provide safe work environments for nurses and improve staffing levels. Additionally, it calls on infection prevention and control leaders to empower nurses and midwives in providing clean care.
v.The campaign also contributes to the United Nations Secretary General’s Global Call to Action on WASH in health care facilities.
About World Health Organization (WHO):
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland.
Director-General– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
