World Hand Hygiene Day is celebrated every year on May 5th to raise awareness about the importance of hand hygiene in healthcare and beyond. The theme for World Hand Hygiene Day 2023 is "Together, we can accelerate action to prevent infections and antimicrobial resistance in healthcare and build a culture of safety and quality in which hand hygiene improvement is given high priority". The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on all civil society organizations (CSOs) and other partner organizations to engage with the campaign and accelerate progress at achieving effective hand hygiene at point of care.
The following are some details about the campaign and resources available:
- Campaign essentials: The WHO has compiled key facts, evidence, numbers, examples, and stats for raising awareness about hand hygiene in messages and presentations.
- Key documents on hand hygiene: The WHO has a webpage with resources available for reading and learning more about hand hygiene.
- Call to action poster: The WHO has created a poster for health and care workers as a call to action for World Hand Hygiene Day 2023.
- Hand hygiene best practices: The Private Organization for Patient Safety (POPS) group offers guidance on the 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene and best practices for sanitizing and hand washing.
- Hand hygiene products: The WHO recommends using plain soap and water to wash hands, as studies have not found any added health benefit from using antibacterial soap. In healthcare settings, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are recommended as the primary method for hand hygiene.
There is no information available on specific product details, ingredients, or materials related to World Hand Hygiene Day 2023.
