World Hand Hygiene Day 2021: Why we need to keep washing our hands

Hand washing along with wearing masks and maintaining social distance has emerged as one of the most crucial preventive measures against Covid19 Over the past year as many of us scrubbed our hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds the importance of keeping them clean became a matter of both personal and public healthOn a day designated for reflection on this lowcost life saving habit we put together a list of things worth know about hand washingWhat is World Hand Hygiene DayEstablished by the World Health Organisation WHO this day is observed every year on May 5 With an aim to spread awareness this yearrsquos campaign stresses on the crucial role hand washing plays in limiting the spread of Covid19 and in protecting against a range of outbreaks including of foodborne diseases The Hungarian scientist Ignaz Semmelweis had famously proposed hand washing for physicians before and after each medical examination This helped fight the spread of puerperal fever and Semmelweis became known as the ldquofather of infection controlrdquoHow does washing hands save livesThe benefits of this practice are not limited to Covid19 containment According to the US governmental agency Centres for Disease Control and Prevention CDC global estimates suggest that washing hands with soap could reduce diarrhoeal diseaseassociated deaths by up to 50 percent Further it can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by an impressive 16 percentWhat is holding back hand hygieneMillions of families across the globe however still do not have reliable access to this highly costeffective public health measure According to a joint report by the WHO and United Nations Childrenrsquos Fund UNICEF a hand washing facility with clean water and soap remained alarmingly beyond the reach of three billion people as of 2019What is the picture like in IndiaIn India access to clean water and toilets has been a long standing issue that has continued to adversely impact public health Issues of accessibility are not limited to rural India a working paper published by the World Resources Institute WRI concluded noting that global data underestimates the urban water crisisIn crowded metropolitan cities such as Mumbai the informal settlements are most water insecure In one of the many slums across the city WRI found that over 2000 people lacked access to piped water and 70 percent of the residents relied upon water tankers to receive what was far below the WHOrsquos recommendation of 50 litres per dayCalls for reliable access going forwardSeveral government and aid agencies are focused on providing temporary solutions especially during the current crisis but without long term policy and infrastructural changes it is likely people will remain vulnerable to multiple deadly diseasesOn World Hand Hygiene Day 2021 WHO has called on institutions to ensure access to clean water and soap It has also urged health care workers to achieve effective hand hygiene action at the point of care which is defined as the place where patients healthcare workers and treatment come together ldquoAn organisationrsquos leadership has to be a champion for hand hygienerdquo suggests Dr Tilak Suvarna senior interventionalcardiologist at the Asian Heart Institute Mumbai ldquoMore than anything else information about hand hygiene must be disseminated in as many languages as possible mdash to as many people as possiblerdquoHand washing has been a simple yet effective measure for infection control that should be encouraged and continually practised more so in light of the fight against Covid19