Washoe County Health District & School District Celebrate Global Handwashing Day

Handwashing is the Most Effective Way to Prevent Disease Transmission

Reno, Nev. Oct. 15, 2019 – Washoe County Health District (WCHD) is celebrating Global Handwashing Day today to spread awareness about the most common way to preventing disease transmission.

“Handwashing is the best defense against many kinds of bacteria and viruses that cause infection,” Washoe County District Health Officer Kevin Dick said. “Many children, and even adults, may not take the time to properly wash their hands. Handwashing is easy to do and is critical year-round, but especially during flu season.”

The Health District has compiled a list of handwashing resources for handwashing that can be found on our webpage. Many of the resources are meant for children and include several posters, lesson plans and interactive games. WCHD has partnered with the Washoe County School District to promote handwashing in schools.

Global Handwashing Day was founded by the Global Handwashing Partnership (GHP) in 2008. While WCHD’s efforts are toward County residents, the official day is geared more for areas around the world that don’t have adequate access to handwashing supplies and facilities.

According to GHP, only 60 percent of the world’s population has access to a basic handwashing facility, and only 28 percent of people have access to basic handwashing in the least-developed countries (1 percent of Liberia has access to such facilities). More info https://globalhandwashing.org/global-handwashing-day/