Globally, 4 out of 5 people do not wash hands after going to the toilet

on
October 15, 2018
In
Canada
Boy waving clean hands

Washing hands with soap and water reduces cases of diarrhoea by almost 50% - yet on average around the world only 19% of people wash hands with soap after defecation. This Global Handwashing Day, WaterAid urges governments worldwide to prioritise handwashing promotion, alongside water and sanitation, to save lives.

Food hygiene and nutrition are the focus of this year’s Global Handwashing Day (15 October 2018) ‘Clean hands – a recipe for health'. The simple act of washing hands can save lives: Handwashing with soap helps keep food safe, prevents diseases and helps children to be able to grow strong and healthy. In turn, it contributes to child survival, good nutrition, the ability to successfully attend school, and the economic benefits of greater productivity.

Yet globally only one in five people washes their hands after going to the toilet. If those people then go on consume food or to prepare it for others, the risk of contamination and diarrhoeal sickness significantly increases.

An estimated 289,000 children under five die each year of diarrhoeal diseases directly caused by dirty water, poor sanitation and the inability to wash hands with soap. Another 151 million children around the world have had their growth and development stunted by undernutrition, in which chronic infection and intestinal worms are a major factor.

Dr Om Prasad Gautam, Senior WASH Manager for Hygiene, WaterAid said:

“It is evident that handwashing with soap is fundamental to effective hand hygiene, which in turn aids the prevention of diseases, reduces under-nutrition, and saves literally millions of lives. Despite its potential effectiveness, the global compliance on handwashing is low at only 19%, and foodborne infections are still high.

“Combining handwashing with soap and good food hygiene brings health and economic benefits. We know handwashing with soap is essential for health workers, improving quality of care and reducing risk of cross-infection. It also makes children healthier, allowing them to go to school and learn, and helps adults remain healthy to go to work and earn a living or care for their families.”

WaterAid is urging governments and leaders worldwide to prioritise hygiene promotion programmes, focused on changing behaviour in the long-term. One positive example is the new Handwashing Behaviour Change Think Tank which focuses on creating long-term changes in handwashing behaviour in Southeast Asia.

For more information, please visit www.wateraid.org.

Global Handwashing Day (15 October) is a global advocacy day dedicated to increasing awareness about the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives. It is an annual opportunity to design, test and replicate creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times.

Key handwashing facts

  • Hands are the principal carriers of disease-causing germs.
  • Approximately 1 in 5 (19%) people wash their hands with soap after defecating
  • Handwashing with soap reduces the risk of diarrhoeal diseases by 42-47%
  • Even though handwashing is a cornerstone of public health, actual rates of handwashing around the world are quite low and vary widely. A systemic review found that, on average only 19% of people washing their hands with soap after defecation globally.
  • Lack of access to sanitation and poor hygiene contribute to approximately 88% of childhood deaths caused by diarrheal diseases. [Liu L, et al. Lancet]
  • Handwashing with soap is essential to meeting the Sustainable Development Goal targets for water, sanitation and hygiene, SDG6.

 

WaterAid

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 34 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 25.8 million people with clean water and 25.1 million people with decent toilets.

  • 844 million people in the world – one in nine – do not have clean water close to home.[1]
  • 2.3 billion people in the world – almost one in three – do not have a decent toilet of their own.[2]
  • Around 289,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's almost 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.[3]
  • Every $1 invested in water and toilets returns an average of $4 in increased productivity.[4]
  • Just $15 can provide one person with clean water.[5]
  • To find out if countries are keeping their promises on water and sanitation, see the online database www.WASHwatch.org 

[1] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[2] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[3] www.washwatch.org

[4] World Health organization (2012) Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage

[5] www.wateraid.org