These Hands are Made for Washing! KMC to Set World Record on GHW Day
These Hands are Made for Washing! Kasturba Medical College and Hospital to Set World Record on Global Hand Washing Day
Manipal: While most of the citizens were still on bed, few thousands of Doctors, nursing staff of Kasturba Medical College and Hospital and professional health care institutions comprising of Kasturba Medical College, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences and Manipal College of Nursing, under Manipal University got up early and assembled at the Marena Sports Complex-Manipal on Saturday morning, October 15 in their efforts to create a Guinness World Record in hand sanitation relay effort on the occasion of Global Hand Washing Day.
Your life is in your hands- Hand Washing is like a “do-it-yourself” vaccine to reduce the spread of diarrhea and respiratory illness so you and those around you can stay healthy. Proper hand washing at proper times could reduce diarrhea illnesses by a third and respiratory illnesses by almost a fifth according to multiple research reports. While many of those illnesses are among residents of underdeveloped countries, many cases of foodborne illnesses, as well as colds and flu, could be avoided every day if more people practiced better hand hygiene.
Global Hand Washing Day which is observed on 15 October is a way to support a global and local culture of hand washing with soap, shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in each country, and raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap. The Global Public-Private Partnership for Hand Washing with Soap founded Global Hand Washing Day and encourages school children, teachers and families to get involved. Although people around the world clean their hands with water, many do not use soap because it can be less accessible in developing countries. Even when soap is available, it might be reserved primarily for laundry and bathing instead of for hand washing.
The first Global Handwashing Day was held in 2008, when over 120 million children around the world washed their hands with soap in more than 70 countries. Since 2008, community and national leaders have used Global Handwashing Day to spread the word about hand washing, build sinks and tippy taps, and demonstrate the simplicity and value of clean hands. The 2016 Global Hand Washing Day theme is “Make Hand washing a Habit!”
Manipal University and Kasturba Medical College for the first time came up with an initiative to bring awareness about Hand Washing by organising “Global Hand Washing Day”, and also to create a Guinness World Record. The event was inaugurated by Dr HS Ballal-Pro-Chancellor, Manipal University on 15 October at Marena Sports Complex at 7am. Between 7 am and 9 am, 5257 participants had registered, who will perform hand hygiene in a relay fashion, one at a time at the Complex before authorised officials from Guinness Book of World Records as witnesses. The event will go up to late night, and with such a huge number already registered, it will surely be a new world record for having a large number of people washing their hands with sanitizers in the scientific six step method in a continuous relay mode.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Dr Sudhakar- Deputy Medical Superintendent, KMC-Manipal said, “Each participant has to individually perform the 6-step procedure and on completion pass the alcohol-based hand sanitizer to the next participant and exit the venue. Each participant may take between 10-12 secs to perform the six-step procedure. This will be performed before official witnesses who time each participant’s performance using a stopwatch. The Hand Sanitation relay effort will be video-graphed with number tags of the participating staff visible. The purpose of celebrating the day is to spread the message of hygiene. The reports will be then sent to the Guinness World Record authorities for confirming the record status.”
Anil Paul Jacob- Assistant General Manager- Marketing-KMC was also kind enough to explain about this project where he said, ” This event is also to encourage everyone to make hand washing a habit. This also focuses the efforts of Kasturba Hospital, Manipal in implementing the infection control measures in place. Proper hand sanitation plays a key role in controlling the spread of communicable diseases. This also lessens the burden of antimicrobial resistance.
In conclusion, this is indeed a unique project initiated by KMC and Manipal University to bring awareness about Hand washing, part of hygiene. Skipping hand washing is due to lack of awareness and understanding of its effectiveness in washing away illness-inducing germs and bacteria. In other cases, it’s due to a scarcity of hand washing elements, including soap and water. That’s why on October 15, millions of people worldwide are recognising the necessity and benefits of hand washing with soap by participating in Global Hand Washing Day. This Day will remind us all that developing a regular habit of hand washing with soap is the most basic and efficient way to counteract illnesses and diseases. This annual event underscores how the simple act of washing hands, which we sometimes take for granted, can improve our health and well-being – and ultimately save lives around the world.
The mission of this annual event is to encourage and support a global and local culture of hand washing with soap, highlight the state of handwashing around the world, and build awareness of the health benefits of hand washing, particularly with soap. The event is endorsed by numerous governments, international institutions, civil society organisations, nongovernmental organisations, private companies, and individuals worldwide- and KMC/Manipal University is one among them. Kudos to the organising committee for a job well done!
