October 1, 2019

By: Aarin Palomares, Global Handwashing Partnership

Global Handwashing Day is happening on October 15! Every year, Global Handwashing Day serves as an opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives. The Day was founded by the Global Handwashing Partnership in 2008 to help communities, advocates, and leaders to amplify the importance of handwashing with soap. Since then, hundreds of millions of people around the world use Global Handwashing Day as a platform for their handwashing advocacy. In 2018, more than 570 million people promoted the simple, life-saving act of handwashing with soap on Global Handwashing Day.

This year’s Global Handwashing Day theme, “Clean Hands for All,” supports the year-long push to leave no one behind in efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Inequalities in access to handwashing facilities and handwashing programming can put individuals at higher risk for diseases that can impact their health, education, and economic outcomes. This year’s theme reminds us that we must be inclusive and equitable when addressing handwashing promotion around the world. No matter your role, you can celebrate Global Handwashing Day. Here’s how you can get involved:

Plan an Event or Campaign: It’s not too late to plan a Global Handwashing Day celebration in your community. Use resources like our ‘plan an event’ page for a step-by-step guide or use our social media toolkit to participate in this year’s digital campaign.

Share your work on our Community Forum: This year, we are hosting a community forum on our revamped Global Handwashing Day website. This space will serve as a centralized platform for Global Handwashing Day celebrants to share your handwashing promotion efforts around the world. If you’re interested in submitting handwashing content, please e-mail contact@globalhandwashing.org for more information and guidelines.

Join our Digital Campaign: Don’t have time to plan an event? Use our resources to connect with other Global Handwashing Day celebrants and share your commitment for Clean Hands for All virtually. Visit our Social Media Page for easy ‘click-to-tweet’ messages. Don’t forget to use #GlobalHandwashingDay and #CleanHandsforAll in your posts and be sure to tag us at @HandwashingSoap on Twitter or Global Handwashing Day on Facebook.

Every year, Global Handwashing Day raises awareness of the importance of handwashing and encourages action to promote and sustain handwashing habits. This Global Handwashing Day, let’s work together to leave no one behind in our handwashing efforts. For more information, visit www.globalhandwashing.org

Category: Community Forum