 |
|
| © UNICEF/ HQ07-1374/Giacomo Pirozzi | |
| RWANDA: Two girls wash their hands at a primary school in the village of Busamana. UNICEF provided a water tank, latrines and educational supplies to the school. |
This is big. On October 15, more than 120 million children in 70 countries across five continents celebrated the first ever Global Handwashing Day. So, okay, maybe it's not on the same level as Christmas. But this new holiday is pretty exciting to us. You see, we know that just by washing hands with soap, families and communities can help reduce the number of children dying from diarrheal diseases by almost 50 percent.
Here in the U.S., we're used to washing our hands at key moments throughout the day: before cooking and eating, after we use the bathroom, after riding the subway (that's for us New Yorkers). But in many parts of the world—especially places where water is very scarce—handwashing isn't necessarily the habit it is for you and me. That's where Global Handwashing Day comes in. On that day, UNICEF and its partners launched a huge campaign to teach children and their families about the crucial importance of handwashing.
Around the globe there were parties, marches, school events, specially composed songs, animated videos, floods of advertisements and text messages—all in celebration of washing hands. Campaigns like this can and do make a big difference. Of course UNICEF doesn't just tackle this subject one day out of the year. We support many programs—especially in schools—that teach children healthy hygiene practices. And we find that, a lot of the time, children bring those good habits home with them and encourage family members to adopt them as well. When necessary, UNICEF can provide schools with the equipment needed to maintain handwashing practices. Wells, pumps and water taps, basins and soap.
Handwashing may seem like a small subject but oh, what a difference it can make to child survival. Diarrheal disease and pneumonia are, together, responsible for approximately 3.5 million child deaths every year. Handwashing with soap is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent these unnecessary deaths. And now, thanks to Global Handwashing Day, we're spreading the word more than ever.
