May 5th is World Hand Hygiene Day - Save Lives: Clean Your Hands

World Hand Hygiene Day is this Sunday, May 5th. The World Health Organization, healthcare facilities, health workers, patient advocacy groups, ministries of health, and other committed partners all around the world are gearing up to raise awareness for hand hygiene, universal health coverage, infection prevention and control, and, last but not least, sepsis.

Please join us in celebrating World Hand Hygiene Day this Sunday. Share the official song (embedded below) with your friends and colleagues, join the campaign on social media, participate in the free WHO teleclass on May 3rd, or register your institution, if you have not done so already.

"It's in Your Hands" - the official song for the World Hand Hygiene Day (5th of May) Each year, around the world, 16 million patients die from infections acquired during health care delivery. These infections are associated with high costs for patients and their families, and huge financial burden for the society.

Although 80 % of sepsis cases are contracted outside of the hospital (see video below), hand hygiene plays a critical role in the prevention of infections, and therefore the prevention of sepsis.

Consequently, the WHO and the GSA urge all healthcare institutions, all health workers, as well as all policymakers and other stakeholders to not underestimate the relationship between hand hygiene, infection prevention, and sepsis.

Sepsis is estimated to affect more than 30 million patients every year worldwide, and global rates of sepsis are thought to be growing rapidly. In May 2017, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of sepsis, spearheaded by the Global Sepsis Alliance.

Sepsis is an emergency, striking about 30 million people every year, killing 6 to 9 million of them. Learn what sepsis is, and how to identify and treat it in this 3-min video. Please share with your loved ones - it could save their lives!