"Seconds save lives - clean your hands": the 5 May 2021 World Health Organization SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign

Abstract

To highlight the urgent need to save lives by implementing best practices in health care delivery, the slogan for 5 May 2021, world hand hygiene day, is "Seconds save lives - clean your hands". The WHO campaign calls to action key stakeholders: health care workers, IPC practitioners, patients and families, facility managers, policy-makers, vaccinators, and the general public who can play critical roles in achieving optimal hand hygiene at the point of care, helping to strengthen society involvement.

Keywords: Alcohol-based handrub; Global health; Hand hygiene; Hand sanitizer; Health care-associated infection; Infection prevention control; Point of care; Policy-making; Public health; World Health Organization.

Figure 1

5 May 2021: “Seconds save lives – clean your hands”. 5 May 2021 WHO SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign slogan and main promotional image (2021 hashtags: #HandHygiene, #CleanYourHands, #InfectionPrevention).