On 15 October, Fiji will join the global community in celebrating Global Hand Washing Day, a campaign to motivate and mobilize millions of people around the world to safeguard their health through effective hand washing. The 2013 global theme is “the power is in your hands” because everyone has the power to create healthier communities through hand washing with soap. Fiji’s national theme is “clean hands save lives”.
 
The day has particularly relevance for Pacific Island communities susceptible to water borne diseases, including Fiji’s Navua district, which is currently a hot-spot for typhoid.  Hand washing with soap is a key approach to defeating this serious disease, and it is here that the Ministry of Health is organizing Fiji’s national celebration. The event will be held at Vashist Muni Primary School, with the participation of neighbouring schools, and will raise awareness on the day’s main theme of why we wash our hands, when to wash our hands and how to wash our hands with soap and water.  
 
Other divisions in Fiji will join the celebrations with the support of district Environmental Health Officers and local schools, and all schools in Fiji will receive educational materials developed by SPC to raise awareness of the particular importance of hand washing after visiting the toilet.  Stakeholders have also been encouraged to actively participate by developing educational awareness materials to be distributed at the events.
 
Global Hand Washing Day 2013 is taking place in Fiji with the support of the Ministries of Health and Education, Colgate Palmolive, UNICEF, SPC, and Live & Learn Environmental Education.  

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Further details can be found at the following links:
 http://globalhandwashing.org/
http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/en/