Today the world marks Global Handwashing Day. This holiday was first celebrated on October 15, 2008. The idea of such an unusual day belongs to the United Nations General Assembly, the UNICEF Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization. Every year, on October 15, events are held around the world dedicated to the to prevention of diseases that can be caused by unwashed hands. Among them are cholera, viral pneumonia, hepatitis, diphtheria, influenza, viral respiratory infections, scabies and other fungal diseases. According to experts, these diseases are one of the main reasons of high infant mortality in Asia and Africa. For example, 5,000 kids die every day from diarrhea, which is also called “the disease of dirty hands”. As the UN and the WHO experts noted, the problem of unwashed hands has catastrophic consequences and it has to be considered on a global scale.
Translation by Saniya Sakenova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
