How to get involved

SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands

This year we have many ideas and products for you to get involved in World Hand Hygiene Day!

These are for all those with an interest in participating in and celebrating World Hand Hygiene Day 2021.  

Click the links to learn who we would like action to be taken by:

• Health care workers: Now more than ever - clean your hands at the point of care!
• IPC practitioners: Be a champion and mentor for clean hands at the point of care.
• Facility managers: Ensure hand hygiene supplies are available at every point of care.
• Policy-makers: Invest now to ensure hand hygiene for all.
• Patients and families: Help us to help you: please clean your hands.
• Vaccinators: Clean your hands with every vaccine.
• Everyone: Make clean hands your habit - it protects us all! 

How to get involved in and support the campaign: build excitement and momentum

• Promote the concept, actions and products related to 5 May 2021 by using the slides included in the advocacy presentation and annual campaign toolkit. 

• Review key facts and figures and use scientific evidence to raise awareness about hand hygiene in your messages and presentations.

• Show your facility’s commitment to hand hygiene improvement at the point of care. Sign up for the Save Lives: Clean Your Hands campaign - we need more and more health care organizations to show their commitment to the campaign, so do encourage others to register.

• Display the 2021 campaign banner and posters on your facility’s walls. Download the campaign posters, email signature strips, the Zoom background and other resources, to help you show your support. All campaign assets can be accessed here. Click here for other unofficial translations of this year’s campaign materials.

• Get creative with our free campaign materials. Add the animation or use the poster maker tool to promote your planned campaign activities. Create your own version of the 5 May campaign posters to print, post and share with your friends to spread awareness for the campaign.

• Download the T-shirt template and make the campaign T-shirts for you and your colleagues to wear on 5 May 2021.

Showcase on social media

Post photos or videos of your colleagues demonstrating hand hygiene action at different points of care. Some examples might be: 

• IPC practitioners - buddy up with a health care worker and be a role model for hand hygiene at the point of care. Post pictures of this action and tag your place of work.

• Vaccinators - Show when and how hand hygiene is performed at vaccination centres. Post pictures of this action and tag your place of work. 

• Post pics and clips of senior facility managers demonstrating hand hygiene action, pledging their commitment to the campaign, or ensuring hand hygiene supplies are made available at the point of care.

• Post your picture using the selfie boards or a video while performing hand hygiene using the right technique for hand rubbing or hand washing. 

• Use your facility or your own personal channels. Don't forget to tag your colleagues and use the campaign hashtags: #HandHygiene #CleanYourHands #InfectionPrevention

• Faces of the campaign - in the countdown to 5 May 2021, participate in the Faces of the campaign initiative and send your videos while performing hand hygiene, selfie board or personalized campaign poster to CleanHandsSaveLives.org. WHO will feature shots of this web wall with the Faces of the campaign on its social media on 5 May 2021!

• Take part in a global Tweetathon. For social media messaging, WHO will be using #HandHygiene #CleanYourHands #InfectionPrevention - remember to join the global conversation on or around 5 May. Make time to tweet at least every hour throughout the day using the campaign hashtags. 

Traditional media

• Download and amend the news release template to let your local media know how you are supporting the campaign to promote patient safety through hand hygiene. 
  

• Offer spokespersons from facility management and IPC leaders to explain why hand hygiene is the single most important way to reduce infections.

• Record podcasts and video clips with facility leaders explaining why the campaign is critical as part of a corporate commitment to improving patient safety.

• Highlight and promote all key stakeholders, professions and roles to reflect hand hygiene being carried out at different points of care. For example, include images of vaccinators cleaning their hands before giving a vaccine, and nurses at the bedside (ensuring no patients or clients are photographed or filmed without their consent, however).

Participate in/follow events/activities

• In particular, in the weeks leading up to 5 May 2021 and on World Hand Hygiene Day, showcase the campaign on social media with the actions suggested under “showcase on social media”.

• Participate in the WHO high-level global event with country and key partner organization leaders on 5 May 2021 at 1 pm CET.

• Attend the technical webinar on hand hygiene on 5 May from 3-4 pm CET.

Thank you for your support!

Your actions will build public trust, support, confidence and co-operation.