New Delhi: Each year on May 5, the world comes together to mark World Hand Hygiene Day, a critical health observance led by the World Health Organization (WHO). While hand hygiene may seem like a basic daily task, its impact on global health is profound, particularly in preventing infections and combating the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This year, the message is clear: Clean hands are not optional — they are essential.
Why Hand Hygiene Matters More Than Ever
Hand hygiene is one of the most effective and affordable ways to prevent the spread of diseases. According to the WHO, proper handwashing with soap can:
- Reduce respiratory infections by up to 21 per cent
- Decrease diarrhoeal diseases by nearly 50 per cent
- Save millions of lives each year, especially in low-resource settings
Despite its importance, hand hygiene often remains under-practised, particularly in high-risk environments like healthcare facilities and schools. This gap between awareness and action can have serious consequences, from prolonged hospital stays and medical complications to the rise of drug-resistant infections.
The Alarming Numbers Behind Poor Hand Hygiene
Let’s take a closer look at what the World Health Organization data tells us:-
Hundreds of millions of patients suffer from healthcare-associated infections annually, many preventable through better hand hygiene.
- In developing countries, improved handwashing could prevent up to one million child deaths per year.
- Only 19 per cent of healthcare workers consistently follow proper hand hygiene practices during patient care.
- Poor hygiene leads to increased healthcare costs, driven by extended treatments, complications, and rising AMR.
Gaurav Jain, Executive Vice President – South Asia, Reckitt, said,
Dettol Banega Swasth India is committed to health and hygiene. We should keep on educating kids and people about washing hands with soap and water. It can go a long way.
These numbers serve as a wake-up call for individuals, communities, and systems worldwide.
How Dettol Banega Swasth India Is Driving Change
As part of its long-standing commitment to public health, Dettol Banega Swasth India has been a leader in promoting hygiene education across India. This year, the campaign continues to focus on empowering communities with knowledge and tools to build lifelong habits.
In 2024, 70.5 per cent impact for Reckitt Global was delivered by Reckitt India, through all-purpose programs.
- Individuals informed: 298.4 million, representing 70.3 per cent of the total impact
- Individuals engaged: 22.3 million, representing 55 per cent of the total impact
- Individuals impacted: 6.7 million, representing 70.5 per cent of the total impact
Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign, which started with 2,500 schools in 2014, has since reached one million schools across India. This campaign continues to generate a massive impact, demonstrating a 45 per cent reduction in absenteeism, a 95 per cent improvement in children’s knowledge of handwashing, and a 75 per cent increase in sanitation practices. Furthermore, the campaign has engaged 50 million children from across India for the Hygiene Olympia 3.0 and is rapidly scaling up Dettol’s Diarrhea Net Zero program, with the goal of saving up to 100,000 lives of children under five years old.
On the occasion of World Hand Hygiene Day, Ravi Bhatnagar, Director – External Affairs & Partnerships, South Asia (SoA), Reckitt, said,
India is struggling with Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). India is known as the MAR capital of the world. But one simple habit can combat it – Handwashing. It is one of the simplest and most effective ways.
One Small Habit, One Giant Leap for Public Health
As the world continues to face evolving health threats, the power of something as simple as handwashing should never be underestimated. This World Hand Hygiene Day, let us all commit to making clean hands a non-negotiable part of our lives. Every hand washed, every life protected, every habit shared — brings us one step closer to a safer, healthier world.
Clean hands save lives. Let’s spread awareness, not infections.
On this World Hand Hygiene Day, we bring you the Global Hygiene Tracker 2025. This tracker is a reminder that clean hands aren’t just a habit—they’re a lifesaving necessity. Dive into the numbers and see how your country stacks up. Click here.
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
