全球人類齊響應「全球洗手日」2011 「清潔雙手，生命有救」 | 最新消息 | 訊息中心 | 聯合國兒童基金香港委員會 UNICEF Hong Kong

全球人類齊響應「全球洗手日」2011 「清潔雙手，生命有救」

2011-10-14

Children wave flags at the Global Handwashing Day in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. Tom Sampson/UNICEF Oct 09
紐約／香港，2011年10月14日——聯合國兒童基金會（UNICEF）明日將聯同世界各地數以億計的市民舉行第四屆「全球洗手日」運動，合力推廣用肥皂洗手這個既簡單，又有效，兼具成本效益的預防疾病方法。

各地將會舉行連串精彩活動，慶祝今年10月15日的「全球洗手日」。教師、家長、演藝名人和政府官員等各界人士，將身體力行，鼓勵大眾勤洗手，共同抵預腹瀉和急性呼吸道感染等威脅性命的疾病。 Schoolboys wash thier hands at a ceremony to celerbate Global Handwashing Day. Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. Tom Sampson/UNICEF Oct 09
「全球洗手日」在國際間一呼百應，全球多個國家及地區都一起響應這項運動。在阿富汗，今年將會有170萬名、來自1,700所學校的兒童，浩浩蕩蕩一同洗手，而在厄立特里亞，亦會有逾32萬名來自1,272所學校的學生參與同類活動。在秘魯，當地政府更已宣佈10月10日起為「全國洗手周」，預料相關活動將得到2萬所學校共350萬名學生參與。至於在印度的拉賈斯坦邦和巴基斯坦，估計分別會有800萬及100萬名學生參加洗手活動。連同其他相關的活動，預期今年「全球洗手日」運動的規模勢必超越上年，得到全球逾70個國家，來自70萬所學校共2億人共同參與。

上述的活動，都只有同一個目標，就是宣揚「清潔雙手，生命有救」，這關乎拯救生命的信息。UNICEF估計，腹瀉和肺炎每年分別奪去110萬和120萬名兒童的生命。而在預防疾病的成效方面，用肥皂洗手比起任何單一的疫苗均來得更簡單直接、更具成本效益。只要在如廁後或處理食物前等關鍵時刻洗手，便可降低5歲以下兒童近50%的腹瀉發病率和近25%的呼吸道感染。

Schoolboys wash thier hands at a ceremony to celerbate Global Handwashing Day. Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. Tom Sampson/UNICEF Oct 09

UNICEF個人及環境衞生高級顧問Therese Dooley指：「即使在發展中國家，肥皂都並不短缺。」她續指：「絕大部份貧困家庭都有肥皂，只是他們多使用肥皂洗衣服或洗澡，而鮮有用肥皂洗手。」Dooley女士續指，UNICEF期望用肥皂洗手，可變成所有國家的社會文化。

世界各地的政府現正將「全球洗手日」定為全國性的盛事，希望國民不只在這一天記得洗手，而是將用肥皂洗手培養成為文化，一年365日都實踐這良好習慣。以2010年為例，孟加拉全國的學校共1,800萬名兒童在10月15日進行大規模集體洗手示範，為當地政府提供了一個優越的平台，推行全國衞生運動，移風易俗，成功改變全國人民使用肥皂的習慣，加強民眾用肥皂洗手的意識。

(left to right) Mr. Carel de Rooy, UNICEF Representative, Bangladesh, Anwar Hossain Sikder, Acting Country Director, Plan Bangladesh, Md. Nuruzzaman, Chief Engineer, Department of Public Health Engineering, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, State Minister, MO Local Government, Rural development and Cooperatives, Mr. Monzur Hossain, Secretary Local Government division, and Col. Kamruzzaman Khan, Principal, Dhaka Residential Model College, begin the hand washing at the Dhaka Residential Model School and College field, Dhaka, Bangladesh on the occasion of Global Hand Washing Day 2010, on 20 October 2010. More than fifty thousand students from different educational institutions on Wednesday assembled at the Residential Model School and College in the city and pledged to wash their hands with soap as part of the observance of Global Hand washing Day 2010. Students from primary and secondary schools including madrasas took part in the one-day event to celeate the third Global Hand Washing Day. According to a report by UNICEF and WHO , Bangladesh is among the 10 countries in the world that report the largest number of child deaths due to diarrhea. A total of 50,800 children under the age of five years die every year in Bangladesh from diarrheal diseases. The death toll worldwide is 3.5 million. Research shows that washing hands with soap is a highly cost-effective health practice that can reduce the incidence of diarrheal disease by over 40 per cent. But, despite its life-saving potential, effective handwashing is seldom practiced as many people do not use soap and only wash one hand. Global Handwashing Day was launched in 2008 as a public-private partnership with Unilever, UNICEF and Governments as key players. The partnership is now endorsed by 13 international and national organizations. Although the world celeated the day on the 15th of October, Bangladesh is observing it on the 20th since the 15th was a public holiday.

Children from a various schools show their clean hands after washing them with soap at the Dhaka Residential Model School and College field, Dhaka, Bangladesh on the occasion of Global Hand Washing Day 2010, on 20 October 2010.More than fifty thousand students gathered at the Residential Model School and College and pledged to wash their hands with soap. By making the pledge, children are making a promise to themselves and their communities to always practice good hygiene and help to reduce the occurrence of diarrheal diseases. The children demonstrated hand washing with soap along with dignitaries including the State Minister of the Local Government Division, Jahangir Kabir Nanok, UNICEF Representative, Carel de Rooy, and other partners. According to a report by UNICEF and WHO , Bangladesh is among the 10 countries in the world that report the largest number of child deaths due to diarrhea. A total of 50,800 children under the age of five years die every year in Bangladesh from diarrheal diseases. The death toll worldwide is 3.5 million. Research shows that washing hands with soap is a highly cost-effective health practice that can reduce the incidence of diarrheal disease by over 40 per cent. But, despite its life-saving potential, effective handwashing is seldom practiced as many people do not use soap and only wash one hand. Global Handwashing Day was launched in 2008 as a public-private partnership with Unilever, UNICEF and Governments as key players. The partnership is now endorsed by 13 international and national organizations. Although the world celeated the day on the 15th of October, Bangladesh is observing it on the 20th since the 15th was a public holiday.

「我們十分高興今年有其他國家仿效孟加拉這個成功的例子。」Dooley女士指出：「我們成年人常常叮囑小孩子不要養成壞習慣，而用肥皂洗手，就是每一個兒童都應養成的好習慣。」

關於「全球洗手日」： 10月15日是「全球洗手日」，2008年由用肥皂洗手公私伙伴組織（Global Public-Private partnership for Handwashing with Soap）發起，並獲得各地政府、國際組織、民間團體、非牟利機構、私人公司及公眾的支持。詳情請瀏覽：www.globalhandwashingday.org

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