Prevention of more than 3.5 million children deaths under the age of five.

Why Focus on Children?
Of the approximately 120 million children born in the developing world each year, half will live in households without access to improved sanitation, at grave risk to their survival and development.

Poor hygiene and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88% of deaths from diarrheal diseases... Each year, diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections are responsible for the deaths of more than 3.5 million children under the age of five.

Water alone is not enough. Washing hands with soap and water especially at the critical times -- after using the toilet and before handling food -- helps reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal disease by more than 40 per cent and respiratory infections by nearly 25 per cent.  Furthermore, washing hands with soap is also being recommended as a critical action to prevent the spread of influenza H1N1.

Improved sanitation and hygiene programmes combined with handwashing education directly impact the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 2: universal primary education and MDG 3: gender equality via higher enrolment, attendance and retention rates in schools for both girls and boys. Additionally, higher rates of handwashing with soap would significantly contribute towards meeting the MDG 4 of reducing deaths of children under the age of five by two-thirds by 2015.

This year millions more, including, children, teachers, parents, celebrities, and government officials in over 80 countries, plan to join the celebrations. Everyone can make a difference in the "Clean hands saves lives" campaign

Visit, Celebrate and share Global Handwashing Day website
-EVERYDAY you can!

...soap and water is one of the most effective and affordable health interventions.
www.globalhandwashingday.org