EVENT: October 15 ’22 is Global Handwashing Day

The 2022 theme is ‘Unite for Universal Hand Hygiene‘.

At current rates of progress, the world will only reach 78% coverage in 2030, leaving 1.9 billion people without basic hand washing services.

Photo from the 2019 Nepal Sanitation Studio: the importance of a functioning hand (& foot) washing facility

Global Handwashing Day was founded by the Global Handwashing Partnership to increase awareness and understanding about the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives. It is an opportunity to design, test and replicate creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times.

The latest WHO/UNICEF JMP Report tells us, we must quadruple current rates of progress to achieve the hygiene targets highlighted under Sustainable Development Goals 6. Leveraging the learnings from recent years, the time to accelerate hand hygiene progress is now – and it requires all of us working together to enact real change.

Effective Handwashing

As per formal health advice, effective handwashing includes basic aspects such as:

• Clean running water for at least 20 seconds
• Preferably warm water, i.e. a working cold and hot tap and hot water system
• Soap

Handwashing in Australia

This is a chance to highlight Healthabitat’s project data (data for 2007-2022) on housing across Australia and the ability for households to wash their hands:

HOT WATER SYSTEM (read more in The Guide about the importance of 45C)

• 76.2% of houses had hot water great than 45C at initial test

KITCHEN

• 72.3% of houses had a working kitchen cold tap
• 71.6% of houses had a working kitchen hot tap

BASIN (read more in The Guide about basin & tap specifications)

• 6.8% of houses had no hand basin
• 71.9% of houses had a working basin cold tap
• 70.2% of houses had a working basin hot tap
• 80.4% of houses had working basin drainage

Healthabitat continues to endorse Global Handwashing Day and a focus on functioning Health Hardware every other day of the year in every community.