We have compiled the facts, evidence, numbers, examples, and stats for you to use to raise awareness about hand hygiene in your messages and presentations.
World Hand Hygiene Day 2024
Why is sharing knowledge about hand hygiene still so important?
Because it helps stop the spread of harmful germs in health care.
Health care associated infections (HAIs) are among the most frequent adverse events occurring in the context of health service delivery. Sepsis, hospital-acquired pneumonia and surgical site infections can all be prevented by improved hand hygiene.
Hand hygiene saves millions of lives every year when performed at the right times in health care. Research from the OECD found that across 34 OECD and EU/EEA countries, investing US$ 1 in improving hand hygiene in health care settings returns about US$ 24.6 in economic returns (i.e. both in health expenditure and productivity gains in the broader economy).
Sharing knowledge about hand hygiene and IPC is still so important because it is ultimately a very effective way to stop the spread of harmful germs in healthcare.
World Hand Hygiene Day 2024 - Teaser video
About WHHD 2024
2024 THEME:
Promoting knowledge and capacity building of health and care workers through innovative and impactful training and education, on infection prevention and control, including hand hygiene.
Slogan:
Why is sharing knowledge about hand hygiene still so important? Because it helps stop the spread of harmful germs in healthcare.
Objectives of WHHD 2024
- Strengthen learning approaches to enable implementation of innovative and effective training to empower health and care workers to improve hand hygiene and IPC at point of care with enhanced knowledge, skills and behaviours.
- Promote access to innovative hand hygiene and IPC training resources for health and care workers.
- Raise awareness about the importance of knowledge and learning on hand hygiene at the right times to prevent a range of infectious diseases.
- Encourage measurement and evaluation mechanisms to assess the impact of training and education on IPC standards and practices including hand hygiene, including their effect on the prevention of HAI and AMR.
Quick access
Announcements
Highlights
World Hand Hygiene Day sees the launch of a new, novel serious game entitled, "My 5 Moments: the Game"; this short teaser video provides you with some highlights from the game. The game is designed to encourage health care workers and students to creatively engage with the principles of hand hygiene in their real life encounters. Set in the international alien hospital, players encounter a series of challenges to test their knowledge of the 5 Moments for hand hygiene surrounding compassionate, clinical care. The game is an innovative, free resource, developed collaboratively by the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Hub, the WHO Academy, Marist University and Serious Games Interactive. Access to the game at https://5mgame.lxp.academy.who.int/
Commentaries
WHO World Hand Hygiene Day, 5 May 2024. SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign: Promoting knowledge and capacity building on infection prevention and control, including hand hygiene, among health and care workers
Campaign essentials
Main campaign posters
19 January 2024
WHHD 2024 main campaign poster (blue)
Why is sharing knowledge about hand hygiene still so important? Because it helps stop the spread of harmful germs in health care.
19 January 2024
WHHD 2024 main campaign poster (orange)
Why is sharing knowledge about hand hygiene still so important? Because it helps stop the spread of harmful germs in health care.
Target audience posters
All target audience posters are also available in the orange-shaded version, please click here to download them.
These posters are also available in all other UN languages, please click here to and select the relevant language to access the assets of interest.
13 February 2024
WHHD 2024 Target audience posters: General public
Why is sharing knowledge about hand hygiene still so important? Because hand hygiene helps save lives - yours, a loved one's or those most vulnerable in...
18 February 2025
WHHD 2025 Target audience posters: Health and care workers
It might be gloves. It is always hand hygiene
Why is sharing knowledge about hand hygiene still so important? Because understanding when and how to perform hand hygiene motivates action.
13 February 2024
WHHD 2024 Target audience posters: Policy makers
Why is sharing knowledge about hand hygiene still so important? Because hand hygiene is a very cost-effective way to achieve your public health targets.
Get involved!
There is a wide range of campaign materials such as posters, social media assets, web banners, a short video in social media vertical format, etc. available in the six official UN languages.
Click on the links below to access all the assets in your chosen language.
Related resources
My 5 Moments: The Game” is a compassionate serious game designed to keep patients and health workers safe by improving hand hygiene practices. It balances the fun, engaging, and enlightening side of gaming with the scientific and theoretical approaches to hand hygiene improvement that will contribute to changes in health worker behaviour in the real world.
Access to the newsletters, IPC country stories, technical work and resources on hand hygiene