Hand hygiene: More than skin-deep

Each year on 5 May, the “Save lives: Clean your hands” campaign takes place as part of a major global effort led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve hand hygiene in healthcare settings. This year, a broad spectrum of promotional material was available, including: videos; posters; factsheets’ and brochures. With a strong focus on social media outlets, additional material included downloadable infographics, digital press kits, press releases and web buttons.

Healthcare-associated infections, including those caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics, are a growing public health problem in Europe. Approximately 75% of the health burden of infections with bacteria resistant to antibiotics in Europe is due to healthcare-associated infections. Nevertheless, a large percentage of these are preventable by improving hand hygiene practices as, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), hand hygiene is the ‘single most important measure’ to prevent transmission of bacteria in hospitals and other healthcare settings. 

A large number of organisations and associations support this campaign, such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which promoted the importance of infection prevention and control measures as one of the main strategies to tackle the growing threat posed by antibiotic resistance