World Hand Hygiene Day, 5 May 2024 | Theme, Importance & History

World Hand Hygiene Day is a global healthcare event observed on the 5th of May every year, intending to unite people worldwide to increase awareness about hand hygiene standards in healthcare facilities, thereby protecting healthcare workers and civilians from infections.

Clean hands are essential for preventing and controlling the spread of disease. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), diseases caused by bacterial spread, and the development of antibiotic resistance can all be prevented by diligent handwashing. Worldwide, infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals continue to face the dilemma of low patient compliance rates with hand hygiene measures. 

Policymakers, health managers, caregivers, and the public around the world now recognize hand cleanliness as a cornerstone in infection prevention. In light of the global COVID-19 epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) increased its focus on the promotion of hand hygiene in addition to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene campaigns globally.

World Hand Hygiene Day 2024 theme

This year, 2024, the World Hand Hygiene Day theme is “Why is sharing knowledge about hand hygiene still so important? Because it helps stop the spread of harmful germs in health care”. The theme focuses on promoting knowledge and capacity through innovative, effective education and training on infection prevention and control, especially hand hygiene.

Year by year, the theme for World Hand Hygiene Day:

• World Hand Hygiene Day 2023 Theme: Accelerate action together. SAVE LIVES - Clean Your Hands
• World Hand Hygiene Day 2022 Theme: Unite for safety: Clean your hands
• World Hand Hygiene Day 2021 Theme: Seconds Save Lives: Clean Your Hands
• World Hand Hygiene Day 2020 Theme: Save Lives: Clean your hands
• World Hand Hygiene Day 2019 Theme: Clean care for all: It’s in your hands

Importance of World Hand Hygiene Day (WHHD)

As per WHO, infectious diseases contracted (healthcare-associated infections) while receiving medical treatment afflict several lakhs of individuals annually around the world. In 2020, the WHO/ United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) globally estimated one in ten facilities lack proper sanitation, one in four facilities have no water, one in three facilities lack accessible hand hygiene points, and more than 24% (10/41 lakhs) of maternal and neonatal deaths per year might be due to unhygienic birth practices.

Cleaning one's hands properly and appropriately can prevent the spread of most HAIs. Studies demonstrated the use of efficient IPC practices has the potential to minimize healthcare-associated infections by up to 55%. Handwashing and clean delivery kits can potentially boost newborn survival rates by 44%. The aforementioned stats reveal the importance of hand hygiene awareness and mandatory access to the public and healthcare professionals to prevent the spread of disease. 

For this, a collaborative work of strong and engaged communities of health workers, policymakers, and civil society organizations (CSOs) are needed. On this day, the WHO has focused on CSOs to lead and accelerate change at the local, national, and international levels, as they are close to the communities they serve and are motivated by strong social justice agendas. In addition, WHO encourages all CSOs and other partner groups (such as the Global IPC Network) to participate in the campaign and hasten the implementation of proper hand hygiene at the point of care.

History of World Hand Hygiene Day (WHHD)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an annual global campaign in 2009 called "Save Lives: Clean Your Hands," which is observed on World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5th.

Hand hygiene tips for general population

Wash hands at the following appropriate times to curb the disease spread:

• Before and after preparing and eating food
• Before and after taking care of the diseased person
• Before and after providing first aid for cuts or wounds
• Before and after using the toilets
• After handling pets, animal feed or waste
• After being in touch with the garbage
• After sneezing or coughing

Department of General Medicine