Every year on 15th October, over 200 million people around the world take part in Global Handwashing Day. But why do we have a day for something we do all the time? Well, research shows that not enough people often wash their hands with soap. Experts believe that this leads to the deaths of millions of people every year.
Sidibe, a public health expert says soap is the most beautiful invention in public health'. Washing your hands with soap can have a huge impact on reducing (减少) the spread of diseases. Handwashing with soap prevents babies from getting ill and keeps children healthy and in school.
However, washing hands with soap does not happen as often as you might think. This is partly because there aren't enough resources (资源) in poorer countries, but it's also because for many people, handwashing is simply not part of their everyday life. It's not easy to get people to change habits they learned in early childhood -- but this is what Global Handwashing Day wants to do.
In 2008, the Indian cricket team joined around 100 million Indian schoolchildren in washing their hands to promote (促进) the first ever Global Handwashing Day. Every year since then, many different events have been held around the world. In 2014. Global Handwashing Day was used in the fight against Ebola, a very serious disease, with events held in affected (受感染的) African countries.
Today, local and national leaders continue to use the day to spread the message about the importance of clean hands. The hope is that handwashing becomes a necessary part of people's lives and improves the health of millions around the world.
