Good hand hygiene is essential to avoid infections and can reduce healthcare associated infections and, most important of all, save millions of lives.
Today May 5 is the annual Save Lives: Clean your hands campaign, initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) aiming to increase awareness about the importance of hand hygiene in order to save lives. It is the 10th edition of the global campaign.
“This year hand hygiene and infection prevention are vital actions in every country of the world. Clean hands have the potential to save 8 million lives every year in hospitals alone”, says Professor Didier Pittet, Director, WHO Collaborating Center on Patient Safety, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Switzerland.
Good hand hygiene – how to avoid infection and infecting others
- Wash your hands often
- Cough and sneeze into the bend of your arm
- Stay at home when you are ill
WHO has listed a number of preventive actions to avoid infections:
- Access to clean water and sanitation
- Infection control in the healthcare facilities
- Vaccination
Watch WHO’s video Save Lives: Clean your hands
