‘Give Life a Hand’ to save children’s lives

Wednesday, 8 October 2014 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dettol is calling on members of the public from across the world to upload a #handfie of their clean hands to social media and show their support for its new global campaign, Give Life a Hand, which aims to combat needless deaths from diarrhoea and save children’s lives. Every day around the world, more than 2,000 children die from preventable illnesses, such as diarrhoea, and every minute a parent loses a child; making diarrhoea the second leading cause of death in children under 5 in developing countries. However, these deaths are preventable through simple hand-washing with soap, which can break the chain of infection and stop the transmission of the pathogens that cause diarrhoea. Professor John Oxford, Chairman of the Global Hygiene Council and Visiting Professor of Virology at Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and

Dentistry, commented: “The number of deaths of children each year from infectious diseases, such as diarrhoea, is still considerable and represents a significant global crisis. However, the good news is that diarrhoea is preventable, and good hand hygiene practices are one of the simplest measures we can all take to help protect ourselves and our family. Simply hand-washing with an effective soap at key times, such as after going to the toilet and before eating, can go a long way in breaking the chain of infection and preventing these unnecessary deaths. “These needless deaths are why Dettol is renewing its efforts, through the launch of the Give Life a Hand campaign, to fulfil its on-going global mission to raise awareness of the importance of hand-washing with soap in combating preventable illnesses, such as diarrhoea. We know that educating children about hand hygiene can save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, and so for every #handfie of clean hands shared on social media, Dettol pledges to teach one child about healthy handwashing habits. The more #handfies you share, the more children we will educate.” Dettol will kick off its education pledge on Global Hand-washing Day (15 October) through a series of hand-washing programmes in schools across the world and by connecting hundreds of thousands of children in the first ever global hand-washing relay. School children in countries

like China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Mexico, Argentina and UAE will all help to break the chain of infection by passing on the baton of health from one country to the next, in what we hope will be the world’s longest global hand-washing relay. By raising awareness of the importance of hand hygiene through these global educational initiatives, we hope to instil lifelong healthy handwashing habits in children and spread health, not germs! “We know that hands are a key route for the transmission of pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, that cause serious and in extreme cases fatal illness, such as diarrhoea. As a result it is vital that members of the public in Sri Lanka and around the world are aware of the importance of practicing good hand hygiene, such as regular hand washing with soap and water, to help protect themselves and their families from infection. So I urge everyone in Sri Lanka to pledge their support for the Give Life a Hand campaign and help us to raise awareness of the importance of hand hygiene in combating illness and deaths from diarrhoea,” stated Dr Sarath Samarage – National Consultant WHO Country office, Sri Lanka. In commemoration of Global Hand Washing Day 2014, Dettol Sri Lanka will continue to educate school children about hand washing by selecting a school and engaging its students in proper hand-washing techniques. Through the hand-washing educational program, Dettol aims to instill lifelong healthy hand-washing habits in children and spread health, not germs.