Updated for 2017, this Planner’s Guide will help you plan a successful Global Handwashing Day event.

From providing step-by-step instructions to easy-to-use tools, the 2017 Planner’s Guide explores the importance of handwashing with soap and features:

Spotlights on current big ideas in handwashing, such as:

the connection between hygiene and gender (pg. 17),

the importance of handwashing for a healthy start (pg. 22),

the importance of sustaining handwashing with soap habits (pg. 29)

Tools to help planners assess the impact of your campaign (pg. 52)
Suggestions for promoting hygiene beyond October 15 (pg. 72)
And much more!

Visit the Global Handwashing Day website to download the 2017 Planner's Guide: globalhandwashing.org/resources/ghd-planners-guide/

The French and Spanish translation of the 2017 Planner’s Guide coming soon!

Dear Mr. Bijan,

The poster in the middle (antimicrobial resistance) is interesting. Could you kindly let me know the name of drug-resistant diseases.

Regards,

F H Mughal

The Global Handwashing Day social media campaign aims to create a global buzz about handwashing and to inspire increased promotion and practice of handwashing globally.

Social media tools reach millions of individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and government officials around the world. Social media tools allow Global Handwashing Day celebrants to broadcast information about the importance of handwashing and this healthy habit among a large, diverse audience. Handwashing is important for everyone, everywhere, so please tailor the ideas included in the Global Handwashing Day 2017 Social Media Toolkit to suit your organization’s audience and needs.

This toolkit includes:
• Information about the 2017 Global Handwashing Day Theme: “Our Hands, Our Future!”
• Sample messages for spreading the word about Global Handwashing Day on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs
• Shareable images, such as those below, with facts about handwashing that can be posted on social media channels

Download the toolkit here: bit.ly/2vchCQb

The Global Handwashing Partnership is excited to announce the theme for this year's Global Handwashing Day celebration: “Our Hands, Our Future!”

We chose this theme because it reminds us that handwashing protects our own health, but also allows us to build our own futures, as well as those of our communities, and the world. Thinking of the future, we strive for continued health, well-being, and productivity for ourselves, our families, and our communities. Handwashing is an affordable, effective way to achieve these goals. For example, handwashing with soap could prevent many of the 272 million yearly schooldays lost to diarrheal disease, and 50% of the infections acquired in healthcare settings.

Read more about this year's theme here: ow.ly/wTd130dpZ13ow.ly !

Find a link to WSSCC video on how hand washing can prevent infection and spread of diseases.

Dear Mr. Bijan,

Could you kindly attach some recent publications on handwashing; including those on of how handwashing prevents diseases, and in areas where there are infections, how handwashing can reduce occurrence of diseases.

Regards,

F H Mughal

Help us choose a theme for Global Handwashing Day 2017!

The GHP would like your help on selecting a theme for this year’s Global Handwashing Day, which takes place annually on October 15! A strong theme is actionable, positive, universal, and memorable; can be adapted for different contexts; can be easily translated into other languages; and is meant to inspire everyone to celebrate handwashing with soap, even beyond October 15.

We developed a poll [link] with several options, and want to know which would make for a great theme that can translate into languages. Potential themes include:

Be a handwashing helper!

Being a handwashing helper helps others to learn about proper hand hygiene. A handwashing helper can help child to prevent stunting, provide a facility for women and girls to safely manage their periods, and aid the elderly & disabled to find ways to overcome physical barriers & stigma to wash hands.

Clean hands help!

Many people rely on others for a variety of reasons. As a parent, your family depends on you to feed them; as a healthcare professional, you're responsible for providing quality care and safe services. Regardless of your role, clean hands help limit the spread of harmful germs among your loved ones and community members.

Give a clean helping hand!

Much like the previous two, this draws on their strengths: a clean hand ensures you can care for others without spreading disease. It is actionable and fun, and giving a clean helping hand before food prep and feeding, after defecation, and when interacting with sick people will improve health.

Our hands, our future!

Clean hands not only mean better health, but impact education, nutrition, and productivity. By being concerned with our hand hygiene, children will miss fewer schooldays. With access to hygiene facilities in the workplace, people will be able to remain productive. Learning and earning more will make for a brighter future.

Wash hands for a brighter future!

This mirrors the sentiments of “our hands, our future”, but it also sets itself apart by being actionable, promoting the habit of handwashing. Proper handwashing is an action that requires habit formation, and can lead to a brighter future if practiced properly, consistently, and frequently.

Take the poll here: goo.gl/yCLwqV

While several of these themes employ colloquial or idiomatic quips that make them memorable and actionable, they may not easily translate into other languages. If you speak a language where any of the above themes can be tweaked to provide the same meaning and inspire action, let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to share this poll with others and don't forget to visit www.GlobalHandwashingDay.org to learn more about this important day, the resources we provide, and updates.

Highlights from the Global Handwashing Day 2017 Planning Call

On June 21st, the Global Handwashing Partnership (GHP) held its first Global Handwashing Day planning call to kick off planning efforts for this year’s celebration. Follow this link to download the slide deck and notes with highlights from the call, including:

Overall results and success stories from 2016,

Theme discussion for 2017,

The different ways the GHP seeks to support celebration planners,

Tentative timeline for the GHP’s planning efforts between now and October 15, and more!

It's that time of year when the Global Handwashing Partnership (GHP) starts planning for Global Handwashing Day 2017, which is celebrated annually on October 15th!

As we prepare for Global Handwashing Day 2017 and coordinate global planning efforts, we will use this forum threat to share and disseminate announcements, updates, and resources. We will also share the campaigns, resources, and updates of our partners.

We are always looking for feedback to help us improve our coordination and ideas or suggestions to allow us to better assist planners in designing and organizing events. As always, we will update the Planner’s Guide and the Social Media Toolkit, and will develop new resources so that celebrants can make an even bigger splash this year!

To learn more about Global Handwashing Day or about this year's celebration, please visit www.GlobalHandwashingDay.org . If you have questions about the work we are doing or want to find out how you can better promote this important day, please send us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..