Hygiene in Lower Income Countries | Beauty and Wellness - Class 6 PDF Download

Overview of Hygiene in Lower Income Countries

Hygiene refers to acts that can lead to good health and cleanliness, such as frequent handwashing, face washing, and bathing with soap and water. Keeping hands clean is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of infection and illness. However, in many areas of the world, practicing personal hygiene is difficult due to lack of resources such as clean water and soap. Many diseases (including diarrheal diseases) can be spread when hands, face, and body are not washed appropriately at the key times.
Diarrheal Diseases in Lower Income Countries

• In many lower income countries, diarrheal disease is the leading cause of death among children. However, a recent review of data from a number of studies showed that a 42%-47% reduction in diarrhea can occur when handwashing with soap and water is introduced into a community. Thus, handwashing promotion and interventions are estimated to have the potential to prevent one million deaths from diarrheal diseases 1.
• Most diarrheal diseases are spread by person-to-person contact or by fecal-oral routes, many times by way of contaminated hands. Handwashing can stop the spread of many diarrheal disease-causing germs, such as typhoid and cholera, by removing bacteria, parasites, and viruses from the hands. Handwashing is integral to disease prevention in all parts of the world; however, access to soap and water is limited in a number of lower income countries. This lack of access is one of many challenges to proper hygiene in lower income countries. Effective handwashing interventions involve education and promoting long-term behavior changes, both in appropriate social and cultural contexts.