Pivotal role of hand hygiene initiatives in public health progress

Hand hygiene is an essential practice for preventing the spread of various enteric and respiratory illnesses and has played a pivotal role in the public health strategy against COVID-19. However, hand hygiene efforts, especially in low- and middle-income nations, suffer from a lack of comprehensive coverage, alongside deficient policies, financing, and oversight.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the importance of hand hygiene like never before, with unprecedented engagement from political figures. Yet, there is a noticeable gap in practical guidelines for effectively enhancing hand hygiene access and behaviours. To address this, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is drafting new Guidelines on Hand Hygiene for Community Settings to bolster the existing standards.

The recent WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme report points out 13 countries that have notably improved household hand hygiene by at least five percentage points from 2015 to 2020. Examining the experiences of these nations is crucial for fortifying the hand hygiene implementation strategy, a key component in public health.

The project uncovered and assessed hand hygiene initiatives and policies in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Guinea Bissau, countries which have shown substantial advancement in household hand hygiene coverage over the past five years.