Global Handwashing Day: The Power is in Your Hands!

Handwashing is a true lifesaver for children, and today, millions of people around the world are taking part in Global Handwashing Day to bring attention to that simple fact.

 

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Mariam, 11, helps Ibtisam, 4, wash her face and hands with soap, at a sink in the family’s home in Mafraq, Jordan. UNICEF/NYHQ2013-0685/SHEHZAD NOORANI NYHQ2013-068

In Yemen, celebrations will occur in 3,300 schools. In Ethiopia, 5 million children are taking part in handwashing demonstrations. Activities are being held in Bolivia, Gambia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Vietnam and many other countries.

The activities are key to getting out the word about the power of handwashing. According to new UNICEF figures, 1,400 children under five still die each day from diarrheal diseases caused by a lack of safe water, sanitation and basic hygiene. Many of these deaths can be prevented by handwashing.

“The simple act of handwashing with soap is one of the most effective ways to save children’s lives,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, global head of UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene  programs.

Interested in learning more about proper handwashing and hygiene? You can participate in the Global Handwashing Day Challenge. By pledging to be “A Handwashing Champion,” promoting safe sanitation and hygiene practices in your daily life, and by taking a hygiene- and sanitation-themed online crossword puzzle, you will qualify to vote for which UNICEF lifesaving project you think should receive a $50,000 donation**. These funds, courtesy of the Kimberly-Clark Foundation, will support lifesaving UNICEF water, sanitation and hygiene programs. The UNICEF programs with the most votes will win!

**The donation will be made from Kimberly-Clark to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.  The U.S. Fund for UNICEF does not endorse any brand or product.