Good hygiene practices, including frequent handwashing with soap, are one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
What is COVID-19?
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a specific type of coronavirus (SARS-COV-2). Most people with COVID-19 experience mild to moderate respiratory illness, including coughs, fatigue and fevers. In moderate cases, people can experience breathing difficulties. Some cases of COVID-19, however, can be fatal if left untreated.
Preventing the spread of COVID-19 from person to person is vital to reduce its impact on people’s lives, their health and livelihoods, and the healthcare systems we all rely on.
Handwashing is key to prevent COVID-19
Frequent and thorough handwashing with soap and water is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and is an important defence against COVID-19. There are several moments throughout our days when washing our hands is particularly important: before eating; after going to the toilet; after touching dirt, dust or other possible contaminants; after touching frequently touched surfaces; when returning home from school or work; and, for health workers, before and after treating patients.
The COVID-19 virus can spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, speaks or breathes, or when infectious particles come into contact with a person’s hands, eyes, nose or mouth. The disease also spreads more rapidly in poorly ventilated areas.
To help protect yourself and others from COVID-19, practise the following key hygiene behaviours:
- Wash your hands with soap and water frequently and thoroughly
- Maintain physical distancing and avoid crowds
- Wear a face mask in public places
- Practise good respiratory hygiene, such as covering your nose and mouth when you cough and sneeze
- Get vaccinated against COVID-19 as per local guidelines
Improving hygiene to combat COVID-19
As part of our COVID-19 response, we delivered high-impact hygiene behaviour change campaigns to combat new variants by improving people's personal and environmental hygiene and building confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine.
Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Promoting good hygiene has always been a core part of our work. We work with governments, communities and partners to improve water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and promote hygiene behaviour changes that mean people get the most out of these improvements.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we scaled up our existing behaviour change programmes, promoting key hygiene practices to prevent the spread of disease. Using an evidence-based, behaviour-centred design approach, we promoted handwashing with soap, mask wearing, physical distancing and the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine through a mix of mass media and community-based activities. The campaign reached 241 million people across 26 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
We also installed more than 3,000 large-scale handwashing facilities in places where people needed them most, including in schools, healthcare facilities, marketplaces, bus stands, cross-border transit points, religious sites and community areas. We also distributed 1.8 million hygiene products, ensuring soap, hand sanitiser and disinfectant were available in healthcare facilities and densely populated and rural areas.
In addition, we provided technical support and advice to governments and government-led initiatives on promoting good hygiene. We also supported businesses to prioritise hygiene to create a safe environment for supply chain workers.
Equality, inclusion and rights were at the centre of our efforts to support community, national and global responses. This ensured our response met the needs of the most marginalised and vulnerable people. We also used the ‘do no harm’ approach to avoid spreading COVID-19 during the implementation of our programmes.
Impact of coronavirus where we work
In many low- and middle-income countries, many people do not have soap and water to wash their hands or clean themselves with, and practising handwashing at key moments is not widespread. Almost 2 billion people – one in four – do not have soap and water to wash their hands at home. This increases the risk of illnesses and diseases spreading – including coronavirus.
Half of all healthcare facilities worldwide do not have hand hygiene facilities at the point of care, and only 47% of healthcare facilities in the least-developed countries have a basic water service. This must change to protect communities against the spread of COVID-19 and future pandemics.
We continue to campaign for urgent investment in clean water, hygiene services and hygiene behaviour change. We call for global leaders to ensure communities and healthcare facilities, schools and public places have these essentials to protect people against the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19, and build resilience to future global health crises.
Latest resources and expert opinion
Top image: Uzma demonstrates handwashing techniques to her class at their school in Muzaffargarh District, Pakistan. March 2022.
Second image: Melody and other students wash their hands with soap at the sinks in the toilet block at their school in Kazungula District, Zambia. October 2020.
Last updated: July 2024