GSA Supports WHO in the 2025 World Hand Hygiene Day Campaign
Every year on May 5th, the World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with national governments and global health players, marks World Hand Hygiene Day, emphasizing the critical role of hand hygiene in preventing infections, including sepsis.
The Global Sepsis Alliance supports the WHO’s campaign and this year’s slogan, "It might be gloves, it's always hand hygiene." Now in its 16th year, World Hand Hygiene Day is a global reminder that hand hygiene is a cornerstone of safe, quality healthcare. The 2025 campaign comes at a critical moment, urging countries to accelerate implementation of the WHO Global Action Plan on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), which sets out that by 2026, hand hygiene compliance monitoring and feedback should be established as a key national indicator, at least in all reference hospitals. It also reflects growing awareness of the environmental impact of glove use and the importance of integrating hand hygiene and appropriate glove practices into national IPC programs, WASH strategies, and facility-level protocols.
This theme underscores a crucial message: gloves do not replace the need for proper hand hygiene. On the contrary, inappropriate glove use can increase the risk of infection transmission.
We reiterate that hand hygiene plays a critical role in the prevention of infections, and therefore of sepsis, both in community and healthcare settings.
The World Hand Hygiene Day 2025 campaign promotes knowledge and capacity building of health and care workers through innovative and impactful training and education on infection prevention and control, including hand hygiene.
Save-the-date for “WHO Infection Prevention and Control Global Webinar”
As part of this important campaign, the WHO Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Unit, which leads the development of World Hand Hygiene Day, will host the “WHO Infection Prevention and Control Global Webinar” on May 5th, from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM CET.
We invite all healthcare professionals, caregivers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to participate in the webinar and promote hand hygiene, infection prevention and control, and sepsis prevention as integral parts of safe healthcare delivery.
We encourage you and your organization to support World Hand Hygiene Day and help prevent infections and sepsis across healthcare and community settings.