GLOBAL
HANDWASHING DAY

About Global Handwashing Day

15 October is Global Handwashing Day, an annual campaign celebrated globally to raise awareness on the importance of washing hands with soap and also motivate good personal hygiene practices as it is a key approach to disease prevention.

This year’s Global Handwashing Day is themed “Clean hands: a recipe for health!” – to remind us that handwashing is instrumental in protecting our health, especially the importance of cultivating good handwashing habits since young with positive influence from adults. With the provision and continuous improvement in hygiene facilities, we can thrive and work towards a healthy community and future.

Conversely, poor hand hygiene can lead to the spread of common illnesses such as flu, cold, stomach issues, and headaches. Besides direct contamination, illnesses can be spread through cross contamination resulting in severe epidemic or even pandemic outbreaks including Hepatitis A and E, Influenza and typhoid fever that could be fatal.

Washroom Behaviour Among Malaysian

64% of Malaysian office employees workers believe the state of their office washroom affects their productivity.

83% claim to ‘always’ wash their hands after visiting the washroom, with 51% of them say to always use soap; 43% always dry their hands and only 22% sanitise their hands

Handwashing before meals can improve children’s hand hygiene by 79%

Excuses Given by People Who Don't Wash Their Hands

38%

of Malaysian employees
admitted not washing their
hands when they were
in a hurry.

20%

chose not to wash their
hands due to shortage
of soap and paper towels
in the toilet.

16%

admitted not washing their
hands because they were put
off by bad smell in the
washroom and wanting
to leave quickly.

15%

avoided handwashing if
the sink area is not clean.

Why Is It Important To Have Good Hand Hygiene Habits?

Washing hands regularly with soap and water can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by

50%

Proper hand hygiene can minimise respiratory infections by

16%

Influenza virus can survive on our hands and other surfaces up to

48 hours

Start Practising Proper Hand Hygiene Steps Today!

STEP 1: WASH

Hands are the perfect breeding ground for viruses and germs, and ideal for spreading them. Wash your hands with soap regularly for more than 20 seconds.

STEP 2: DRY

Wet hands act like a magnet attracting germs. Research revealed that wet hands spread 1,000 times more germs than dry hands. Dry your hands thoroughly after washing them.

STEP 3: SANITISE

Germs can survive on surfaces for 24 hours. Always sanitise your hands for added protection.

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GLOBAL HANDWASHING DAY