Anyone who has been subscribed to our Insights blog for more than a year will know that October 15 is a big deal in the hygiene community. It marks Global Handwashing Day, a global advocacy day dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives.

This year the theme is Hand Hygiene for All, and it will be the 12th year we at Initial are celebrating Global Handwashing Day since its inception in 2008. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided the world with a stark reminder that one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of a virus is also one of the simplest: hand hygiene, especially handwashing with soap. (Find out why soap soap works so well against viruses here.) To beat the virus today and ensure better health outcomes beyond the pandemic, handwashing with soap must be a priority now and in the future.

And if you’ve been a subscriber to our blog for a while, you will also know that, at Initial, we're passionate about hand hygiene and that we've written about the subject at length. In one of our previous GHD posts we celebrate 10 years of handwashing by sharing our favourite handwashing campaigns, and in another, we asked 4 year old children from Opti-Baby & Kids  Fourways to demonstrate how easy it is to wash your hands correctly!

This year, we know that EVERYONE has been bombarded with messages on how and when to wash their hands, so instead of writing another post on why we love soap or why you should wash your hands, we are are challenging you, our readers, to send us your hand washing videos. We really want to see if you've been listening.

Visit our Initial Facebook page and share a short video clip of you washing your hands so that we know you've been listening! Our team of handwashing experts will give you a score and at the end of the day we'll vote on our handwashing kind or queen of the day. 

Happy Global Handwashing Day!