Global Handwashing Day 2011 celebrated in China

Beijing, 15 October 2011 – People across China today celebrated the 4th annual Global Handwashing Day aimed at increasing awareness and understanding on the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent disease. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) China office joined with the National Patriotic Health Campaign Committee Office (NPHCCO) and many other partners to celebrate the event.

In 2010 Global Handwashing Day was hugely successful in China with more than 1,270,000 children in 1,170 schools in all provinces celebrating the event. This year promises to be even bigger with more children, teachers, parents and Government officials planning to motivate millions to lather up to prevent life-threatening diseases such as diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections. 

To find a creative and fun way to promote handwashing with soap UNICEF and NPHCCO jointly created a humorous six-minute feature film called "Just a Minute!" The film features a well-known TV host "Sesame" and a cast of school children on a fun-filled romp through rural China. After its premier at the Global Handwashing Day launch "Just a Minute!" will be distributed on QQ, Youku and Sina websites.

"The message of Global Handwashing Day this year is actually that this issue needs our attention for more than just a day," said Ms. Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF China Representative. "Handwashing with soap can save more lives and prevent more illness than most other health interventions. We are talking about something that just takes a minute but delivers significant health benefits for children so this really needs to become a priority."

Although China has improved its sanitation facilities in many areas, most children still attend schools that lack modern toilets and a place to wash hands. Around half of rural families in China do not use sanitary latrines. As a result, about one-third of Chinese school children have intestinal parasites.

In a bid to promote public engagement and behavioural change, UNICEF and NPHCCO have jointly sponsored a digital handwashing campaign on Tencent Microblog reaching millions of internet users in China.

The simple act of washing hands with soap at critical moments – such as after using the toilet and before handling food – is a key cost effective and lifesaving intervention.  Research has shown that handwashing with soap can reduce the incidence of diarrhoea among children under five by almost 50 per cent, and respiratory infections by nearly 25 per cent. 

It is not the lack of soap that is usually the barrier – with the vast majority of poor households having soap in the home – rather, the problem is that soap is rarely used for handwashing.  Creating lasting behavior change and ensuring handwashing with soap becomes a social norm are key components of UNICEF's hygiene and sanitation programmes worldwide.