Today Is Global Handwashing Day 

Global Handwashing Day (GND) is celebrated on October 15, 2015. GND is a campaign to motivate and mobilize millions around the world to wash their hands with soap. 

The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention.
 
The campaign was initiated to reduce childhood mortality rates related respiratory and diarrheal diseases by introducing simple behavioral changes - hand washing with soap. This simple, accessible action can, according to research, reduce the rate of morality from these diseases by almost 50 per cent. 

According to UN Children's Agency, UNICEF too few people are washing their hands with soap, resulting in serious risks to young people.

As the world marks Global Handwashing Day on Thursday, UNICEF is calling for improvements in hygiene, including better access to water and sanitation.

Describing it as one of the "cheapest, simplest, most effective health interventions we have", UNICEF is calling for better handwashing practices worldwide.

The UN's Children's Agency says cleaner hands can have a dramatic impact on improving children's health, keeping them safe from easily preventable diseases such as diarrhoea. Infants in the first month of life are especially vulnerable to diseases transmitted by unwashed hands.

Experts point out that regions which struggle with high child mortality rates, such as sub-Saharan Africa, often have particularly low rates of handwashing.

The large number of health care facilities without places for people to wash their hands, including medical staff, is particularly concerning says UNICEF.

Global Handwashing Day, which was first observed in 2008, typically includes a wide range of activities and events around the world.

SOURCE: Veronica Reeves, United Nations.