1-Saving lives
Access to hand hygiene in health care facilities,
schools, public places and homes is essential to
protect global health and reduce the risk of future
outbreaks. Scaling up hand hygiene in all settings
could potentially prevent an estimated 165,000
deaths from diarrhoeal diseases each year.5
Scientific evidence and experience from WHO has
also shown that improving hand hygiene strategies
in health care can reduce health care-associated
infection and antimicrobial resistance.6, 7, 8
2-Saving money
Hand hygiene is also one of the most costeffective ways to prevent the spread of infectious
diseases. The cost of implementing hand hygiene
strategies in health care facilities is low: estimated
between US$0.90 and US$2.50 per capita per year,
depending on the country. Improving hand hygiene
policies can generate savings in health expenditure
up to 15 times the cost.9
3-Preparing for the future
Hand hygiene is key to stopping the spread of
COVID-19 now – but smart investments now will
also prepare us better for any future disease.
Adopting strong hand hygiene strategies is the
single most effective intervention to prevent
disease and death due to antimicrobial resistance
(AMR). Hand hygiene also protects against a range
of other diseases, including common colds, flu,
diarrhoea and pneumon
