Strengthening hand hygiene practices in community settings and health-care facilities in the context of mpox

Overview

This is a call to action for member states to prioritize hand hygiene across communities and healthcare facilities, to protect public health and break the chain of mpox transmission.

Hand hygiene is a simple yet powerful tool in interrupting the transmission of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) and other infectious disease both in healthcare facilities and communities. However millions still lack access to basic hygiene services particularly in vulnerable and resource limited settings. Governments must urgently ensure universal access to functioning hand hygiene stations in public and healthcare facilities, promote correct hand hygiene practices, and integrate hand hygiene into national polices and response strategies, to contain mpox. There is a need for multimodal approach- combining political leadership, availability of supplies, evidence based behavioral change strategies and strengthened healthcare practices is critical.