Public Health Warning: The threat of handshaking politicians remains
Monday 15 October marks “Global Handwashing Day”. Crest Clean would like to remind the public that with politicians continually making their way around the country, it is essential to wash your hands after meeting them to prevent the spread of political handwringing.
“In New Zealand we can joke about simple things like the importance of washing your hands with soap before eating, but the reality is in many parts of the world washing your hands with soap saves lives,” said Grant McLauchlan, Managing Director of Crest Commercial Cleaning.
“Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent a range of illnesses and infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year.”
Crest strongly believes in the development of education and training in the area of commercial cleaning that promotes healthy and sustainable work environments. That’s why the company is a strong advocate for improving the levels of training for commercial cleaners and has put over 1,000 people through its training programme.
“With the recent Norovirus outbreak at Tauranga Hospital, it takes initiatives like the Global Handwashing Day to increase people’s understanding that simple measures actually work,” Mr McLauchlan said.
Background Notes Global Handwashing Day was created by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing in 2001 to:
- Foster and support a global culture of handwashing with soap
- Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in every country
- Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap.
- Each year over 200 million people in over 100 countries are involved in the promotion of handwashing with soap as the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections.
Global Handwashing Day focuses on children because not only do they suffer disproportionally from diarrheal and respiratory diseases and deaths, research shows that children are the segment of society often the most energetic, enthusiastic and open to new ideas. As such they are powerful agents for changing behaviours like handwashing with soap in their communities.
