Global Handwashing Day
Handwashing: Your health in your hands
SAFETY ASSISTANCE FOR EMERGENCIES (SAFE) Handwashing with proper method is the easiest and cost-effective way to save lives. Make a practice of handwashing with the ideal method depicted in the photo above. It is a five-step-method to ward off germs and make hands clean. The steps are (1) Wet your hands under running water (2) Apply soap (3) Rub hands together until the soap is bubbly (4) Rinse your hands under running water (5) Dry hands with a clean towel or tissue.
The practice of hand-washing is very simple. But the lack of practicing this simple behaviour costs millions of children's lives. Washing hands with soap and water, especially at crucial times could prevent the death of 3.5 million children under-five children every year dying of diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections. With a view to raising awareness on handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention, the 3rd Global Handwashing Day was observed yesterday. This year, the theme of Global Handwashing Day — more than just a day — aims to make the simple, life-saving practice of washing hands a regular habit for the life long. Studies found that washing hands with soap and water — after using the toilet, handling anything that can transmit germs and before handling food — helps reducing the incidence of diarrhoeal disease by more than 40 percent. According to a study conducted by UNICEF and WHO, Bangladesh is among the 10 countries in the world that report the largest number of child deaths due to diarrhoea. Approximately 50,800 children under the age of five years die every year in Bangladesh from diarrhoeal diseases. Research shows that washing hands with soap is a highly cost-effective health practice that can reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal disease by over 40 per cent; yet, despite its life-saving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practiced. The children who participate in the Global Hand-washing Day pledge campaign will play the role of "change agent" in their respective families and communities. Last year, there was a total record breaking 52,970 children washed their hands with soap throughout the Bangladesh. This year, the similar initiative will take place on the 20th of October, after school resumes from a-five-day Puja holiday. Let's put our hands up and reinforce the initiative to create mass awareness. The writer is a physician doing his MD course at BIRDEM Academy, Dhaka. Email: selimshahjada@gmail.com
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