World recognizes Global Handwashing Day

On Global Handwashing Day, recognized on Saturday, the U.N. "reminded people across the world that simply washing hands with soap and water remains the most cost-effective way to prevent diseases, and urged everyone to motivate others, especially children who are easily infected by disease-carrying germs present in dirty hands, to make it a habit," according to the U.N. News Centre (10/14). In a post in the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' "End the Neglect" blog, Kerry Gallo of Children Without Worms notes that for people in resource-poor settings, handwashing may not be so simple. "One of the biggest obstacles to handwashing is determining how people are supposed to practice good handwashing behaviors without water and soap," she writes (10/15).