Oct 15: Global Handwashing Day

Today is the day. Yes, Happy Handwashing Day to all of you! In my previous post, I’ve briefly explained what Global Handwashing Day is all about.

Just to recap, each year on October 15, Global Handwashing Day is celebrated in over 100 countries around the world to foster and support a global culture of handwashing with soap, and to raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing.

Okay, before I proceed further, please allow me to wash my hands first. 🙂

… 5 mins later, with two clean and germ-free hands, I start writing again …

Every year, more than 2 million children don’t live to see their 5th birthday due to diseases like Diarrhea and Pneumonia. Many of these deaths can be prevented through the simple habit of regular handwashing with soap.

Reading this statement really strikes a chord in me, because our boy just celebrated his 5th birthday last month. We’re fortunate to live in a country that is clean and safe, as a matter of fact; celebrating 5th birthday is what every ordinary child does in Singapore.

But we may not realize that reaching the age of five is a significant milestone for millions of less-fortunate children living in the other part of the world, in households without access to improved sanitization, and at grave risk to their survival and development.

Poor hygiene and lack of access to sanitization contribute to more than 80% of deaths from diarrheal diseases, and accounting for 2 million diarrhea-related under-five deaths each year. This is an alarming figure; therefore, the key message of this year’s Global Handwashing Day is “Help A Child Reach 5”.

For the 5th year running, Unilever, through its Lifebuoy brand, will work with the Millennium Villages Initiative to bring hygiene education to children across ten countries in Africa. The objective of this campaign is to help save young children from potentially fatal diseases caused by poor hand hygiene.

In fact, Lifebuoy has been actively helping children to reach the age of five through its school programs and its celebration of Global Handwashing Day (GHD) since 2008. The good news is, with the support from Unilever and Global Comms this year, it will further amplify and intensify the program in a way than one brand alone cannot accomplish.

Hence, from this year onwards, Lifebuoy takes on another ambitious challenge to ensure that these kids will win the fight against diarrhea and will be able to celebrate their 5th birthday.

If you’re wondering how we can contribute to this very meaningful campaign, I’m going to elaborate further now. No, you don’t need to fly to Africa for sure. We can help to save lives through a very simple act of pledging on Lifebuoy’s Facebook page HERE.

With every pledge received, Unilever will commit to teach a child on hygiene education through PSI, a Unilever Foundation Partner. Now, we can all pledge to help a child reach FIVE through handwashing with soap!

Simple, isn’t it? I just pledged on Lifebuoy’s Facebook Page and all I need to do is just a CLICK! You can do it too, come on! Please spare a minute today to support this meaningful campaign. Thank you!

As the world is celebrating the Global Handwashing Day today, let us also advocate and educate our children on the importance of handwashing. It is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs and illnesses, and Lifebuoy handwash kills 99.9% of germs in just ten seconds!

There are four product variants to choose from – Total Protect, Nature Pure, Mild Care and Activfresh Handwash (200ml). Total Protect is our family’s favourite among the four variants.

In summary, keeping our hands clean is our first weapon in fighting the spread of germs and therefore keeping ourselves illness free. Lifebuoy antibacterial handwash protects the health of those we care for, all day long.