Awareness Day

World Hand Hygiene Day

May 5, 2026 Recurs yearly

Healthcare workers practicing hand hygiene during infection prevention awareness campaigns.

2026 Theme

Action Saves Lives

Campaign Description

World Hand Hygiene Day is the annual global observance held every 5 May as the flagship event of the WHO's SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign. The day raises worldwide awareness of the critical role that proper hand hygiene plays in preventing healthcare-associated infections, improving patient safety, protecting healthcare workers, and strengthening infection prevention and control. Healthcare facilities and organizations around the world mark the day through educational events, training sessions, public awareness activities, and renewed commitments to clean care.

Theme Focus

Marking the 18th year of WHO's campaign, the 2026 theme highlights the urgent need for immediate and sustained action to prevent healthcare-associated infections through proper hand hygiene. The observance calls on healthcare workers, facility leaders, policymakers, and governments to improve hand hygiene practices, establish compliance monitoring and feedback systems, ensure reliable access to water, soap, and alcohol-based hand rubs, and integrate hand hygiene into national infection prevention strategies. Its central message is that every timely hand hygiene action contributes to safer healthcare and saves lives.

Key Priorities

  • Perform hand hygiene at the appropriate times and using the correct technique
  • Apply the WHO 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene in healthcare
  • Reduce healthcare-associated infections
  • Protect patients, healthcare workers and caregivers
  • Integrate hand hygiene into national IPC action plans
  • Include hand hygiene in healthcare facilities' standard operating procedures
  • Establish hand-hygiene compliance monitoring and feedback
  • Ensure uninterrupted access to water, soap and alcohol-based handrub
  • Strengthen healthcare-worker education and training
  • Build leadership and accountability for hand hygiene
  • Improve WASH infrastructure in healthcare settings
  • Support patient safety and quality of care
  • Reduce the contribution of HAIs to antimicrobial resistance
  • Maintain hand-hygiene practices during outbreaks and public-health emergencies
  • Address inequities that make effective hand hygiene difficult in under-resourced settings

Key Concepts

  • Hand hygiene
  • Handwashing
  • Handrub
  • Alcohol-based handrub
  • Healthcare-associated infections (HAI)
  • Infection prevention and control (IPC)
  • Patient safety
  • Healthcare-worker safety
  • WHO 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene
  • Hand-hygiene compliance
  • WASH (water sanitation and hygiene)
  • Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
  • Infection transmission
  • Cross-transmission
  • Soap and water
  • Infection prevention
  • Health-system strengthening

Campaign Resources & Support

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