New Delhi, May 4 Hand hygiene is not a luxury but the cornerstone of safe healthcare, and is relevant to all health workers, patients and their families at every single health care encounter, Saima Wazed, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia, said on Sunday.
It contributes to quality universal health coverage, meeting Sustainable Development Goal 3.8, and strongly supports the water, sanitation, hygiene and health (WASH) agenda. Hand hygiene is also an important component of combatting antimicrobial resistance, she said as the World Hand Hygiene Day approaches on May 5.
“Infection prevention and control (IPC), which includes hand hygiene, is fundamental to safe and effective health care systems. WHO supported countries in drafting evidence-based IPC guidelines for healthcare settings, and established the WHO Core Components of IPC, a standardised framework guiding national IPC programmes, healthcare facilities, and training initiatives to ensure effective infection control,” Wazed said in a statement.
WHO has also developed a Global IPC Strategy, Action Plan, and Monitoring Framework to guide Member States in effectively advancing this agenda.
‘World Hand Hygiene Day 2025’ coincides with the need for countries to rapidly consider implementation of the Global action plan and monitoring framework on infection prevention and control (IPC), 2024–2030 – supported by a guide to implementation — and the need to continue to improve IPC as demonstrated in the latest Global report on infection prevention and control 2024.
The Global Report reveals that most countries in our South-East Asia region have an active national IPC programme, many of which are supported by national guidelines complying with national standards or with WHO set core component standards.
“The appointed IPC focal points reported having dedicated time for their tasks in most of our countries, and six of our countries have an identified, protected, and dedicated budget allocated to the IPC program according to planned activity,” said Wazed.
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