15 October 2013: Global Handwashing Day was celebrated worldwide by promoting handwashing with soap as the most inexpensive and effective way to prevent acute respiratory and diarrheal infections, particularly in developing countries.

A change in handwashing behavior is critical to achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing deaths among children under the age of five and for improving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

The celebrations of the Day were organized around the theme ‘The Power is in our Hands,’ in recognition of evidence that every individual, from children to teachers to parents, can contribute to the health of everyone by washing their hands with soap.

The Day focuses on children and schools, in recognition that children can then promote handwashing with soap in their homes and communities. In Africa, five million children in Ethiopia, 200 schools in the Gambia, 424 schools in Mali and 450 primary schools in Sierra Leone participated in handwashing demonstrations and workshops. In Asia, 1,000 schools in Viet Nam and 12 cities in Indonesia hosted handwashing activities. Yemen launched a mass media campaign on handwashing. Bolivian educational institutions also promoted handwashing. These events aimed to foster a local and global culture of handwashing with soap, and raise awareness on the importance of handwashing in child survival and community health.

The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap (PPPHW), a partnership of ten public and private organizations including UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), recognizes WASH as pillars of development. The partnership created the Day in 2008 to champion handwashing with soap globally. [PPPHW Website] [UN Press Release] [UNICEF Press Release]