Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day is a way to support a global and local culture of handwashing with soap, shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in each country, and raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap.¹ Since 2008, Global Handwashing Day has been celebrated annually on October 15 worldwide. The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap founded Global Handwashing Day and encourages school children, teachers, and families to get involved.

Handwashing Saves Lives

Although people around the world clean their hands with water, few use soap to wash their hands because soap and water for handwashing might be less accessible in developing countries. Even when soap is available, it might be reserved primarily for laundry and bathing instead of for handwashing. Handwashing with soap is not only simple and inexpensive, but also can dramatically cut the number of young children who get sick. Washing hands with soap reduces illness(https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html) and the spread of germs much more effectively than with water alone.²

• 1.4 million children³ under the age of 5 years die from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children around the world.⁴
• Handwashing with soap could prevent about 1 out of every 10 episodes of diarrheal illnesses³ and almost 1 out of 6 episodes of respiratory infection like pneumonia.⁴

Celebrate Global Handwashing Day

People and communities around the world will celebrate Global Handwashing day in many ways, including:

• Learning how to wash hands the right way with this video demonstration(https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/videos.html).
• Watching a Facebook Live talk on why handwashing with soap is so important.
• Sharing handwashing lessons, events, and materials for thousands of students across the state of Georgia, where CDC is based.

Plan an Event

• Organize or participate in a handwashing event in your school or community.
  • Plan your event using the Global Handwashing Day Planner’s Guide.
  • See what your school can do(https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/training-education.html), and gather materials.(https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/resources.html)
  • Download Global Handwashing Day materials and planning tools.
  • Order handwashing materials for FREE or download CDC’s handwashing posters(https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/posters.html).
• Look for and use the hashtag #GlobalHandwashingDay, on Twitter and Facebook, and get a toolkit with educational social media messages.
• Make sure you and your family know when and how to wash your hands properly.(https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html)

For more information on handwashing, please visit CDC’s handwashing website(https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing). You can also call 1-800-CDC-INFO, or email cdcinfo@cdc.gov for answers to specific questions.