On Sunday October 15th Citron Hygiene will be supporting Global Handwashing Day, an annual global awareness day dedicated to increasing the awareness of the importance of handwashing.
Global Handwashing Day was created to promote the fact that this simple activity is both an easy and affordable means of helping to prevent the spread of disease that should be encouraged the world over. Founded by the
Global Handwashing Partnership the day is an opportunity for people to not only promote the simple act of hand washing but also to share ideas of ways to encourage people to wash their hands, be it in the home, at school, at work or elsewhere. Adopting a hand-washing regime and encouraging others to follow it is a simple, yet effective means of maintaining hygiene standards.
Handwashing on a Global Scale
Each year, since its inception in 2008, Global Handwashing Day is embraced by over 200 million people in over 100 countries worldwide, and Citron Hygiene are proud to have played our part in supporting and promoting this worthwhile event.
The fact that the event is endorsed by governments, NGOs and countless other organisations and companies globally, is testament to the importance and value of the core message of the day, especially in developing nations. In these countries, handwashing with soap can play a vital role in not only preventing the spread of disease but also contributing to
Sustainable Development Goals such as zero hunger, improving education and reducing inequalities. Global Handwashing Day plays an important role in helping to reach these goals by promoting the benefits of handwashing with soap, as well as encouraging access to, and improving, hygiene facilities.
Theme of Global Handwashing Day 2017
This year, the theme is
“Our hands, our future!” which reminds us all that employing and maintaining high levels of hygiene through effective hand washing is not only important for us today but also to help build healthy futures for generations to come. By encouraging hand washing with soap from an early age, in communities across the world, we can help prevent the spread of illnesses such as diarrhea and pneumonia. The Global Handwashing Partnership estimates that 1.7 million children die from these two conditions alone, a number that could be massively reduced by effective hand washing. It is also believed that handwashing with soap could prevent many of the 272 million yearly schooldays lost to diarrheal disease, and 50% of the infections acquired in healthcare institutions such as doctor’s surgeries. Encouraging good hand hygiene amongst children is something we can all play a part in, instilling this important message in them during their formative years. As part of Citron’s commitment to Global Handwashing Day we’ve been running a colouring competition, combining a fun (and colourful!) activity with the important hand hygiene message. Likewise, our funky elephant bookmarks have also proven popular with the kids this year, whilst also providing them with a timely reminder to wash their hands after visiting the toilet and before eating.
Colouring competition image & bookmark.
Handwashing in the workplace
It is of course not only children that can be affected by poor levels of hand hygiene, and that is another of the reasons Citron Hygiene are “raising a hand for hygiene” this year and providing guidance to workplaces of all sizes with our
downloadable guides to hand washing. These guides are full of useful information to help you promote a hygienic handwashing regime in your workplace. It only takes one member of staff to have poor levels of hygiene to affect an entire workforce, so the importance of good hand hygiene should be promoted and encouraged in every workplace.
Global Handwashing Day 2017 promises to be another important milestone in the campaign to raise awareness of this important activity. Here at Citron Hygiene we’re proud to play our part and hope you’ll join with us in getting this important message out there on Sunday October 15th. Now go and wash your hands!
