WHO Releases Statement Emphasizing Hand Hygiene on World Hand Hygiene Day

The WHO has released a statement emphasizing the importance of hand hygiene for World Hand Hygiene Day.

Medical gloves “serve a vital role in preventing transmission of infection, for example when there is risk of exposure to blood and body fluids,” but “they are not a substitute for cleaning hands at the right time. The WHO is urging “governments, healthcare facilities, and frontline workers around the world to reinforce hand hygiene practices – a proven, cost-effective intervention to protect both patients and healthcare workers.”

According to the WHO, every “$1 invested in hand hygiene can yield up to $24.60 in economic returns.” Two in five healthcare facilities “still lack basic hand hygiene services where care is provided,” which puts 3.4 billion people at risk.

Gloves can become contaminated and “are often misused, such as being worn indefinitely while health workers switch between patients or when they are performing multiple procedures for the same patient. Additionally, overuse of gloves contributes to environmental degradation.” An average university hospital in a developed country “generates 1,634 tons of healthcare waste each year.”

The WHO is urging national policymakers and the health community to “establish hand hygiene compliance as a national health system performance indicator by 2026;” “align national efforts on hand hygiene with the WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in healthcare;” “train health workers on appropriate use of gloves;” “focus on reducing unnecessary glove use to minimize healthcare waste;” and “prevent glove misuse by keeping enough good-quality gloves accessible.”