Dear All,

I heard of Ignaz Semmelweis work quite a few years ago thanks to a freakonomics column which mentioned him in passing on an article on behaviour change and hand hygiene. I recently wrote a detailed piece on him in the Huffington Post:

www.huffingtonpost.in/amitangshu-acharya...g-the_b_8755746.html

Its a pity that Semmelweis, Lister and even Pasteur, i.e., people who helped us reach to the simple solution of handwash are lost to the pages of history books. I found Semmelweis story to be quite inspiring. It will be a good thing, perhaps if we use events like the Global Handwashing Day to remind ourselves of the hard work and struggle that has gone behind the practice of handwash. Perhaps we need bring these stories closer to field workers and practitioners, many of whom may also find such stories inspiring.

Cheers

Amitangshu