EVENT: Global Handwashing Day – recent Australian study again proves benefits

The 2024 theme is, ‘Why are clean hands still important?”

Global Handwashing Day was founded by the Global Handwashing Partnership.

 

Every year we celebrate Global Handwashing Day as there are well-known, and proven health links between the ability to wash hands and people’s health. See previous project data shared on function levels of handwashing facilities in houses in Australia. 

A recently published 5-year health research project in WA’s Kimberley region again proves this and is an important piece to share.

The project managed to reduce skin infections in Aboriginal children by half. At the beginning of the study, they found 40% of children had skin sores (over 3,000 children) , in contrast to 5% of metropolitan children. Hospitalisation rates for Aboriginal children due to skin infections are 15 times higher than for non-Aboriginal children.

By the end of the study, the research team halved the incidence of skin sores from 40% to 20% through improved skin checks. Beyond the skin checks, the study discusses that investments in environmental health and regular house maintenance is critical to maintain lower infection rates. Simply making sure people have the ability to wash, through functioning Health Hardware.

We all have a part to play in this, from increasing awareness about the importance of hand hygiene, to supporting the people on the ground investing in this, to triggering lasting change from the policy-level.

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