Why hygiene matters
Clean hands, wherever the work happens
Hand hygiene is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.[1] The hard part is not knowing why. It is doing it every time.[4]
The global picture
1.7billion
People still lacked basic hygiene services at home in 2024, including 611 million with no facility at all.[10]
900million
School-age children are affected because nearly half of all schools lacked handwashing facilities with water and soap (2020 estimate).[1]
43%
Of health care settings did not have hand hygiene facilities at points of care, where patients are treated (2020 estimate).[1]
8%
How low health workers' compliance with hand hygiene best practice can be (2020 report).[1]
1/3
Of adult life can be spent at work, often close to other workers and customers.[1]
$2.50
The highest estimated cost per person per year of hand hygiene strategies in health care facilities; it ranges from $0.90 to $2.50, depending on the country (2020 report).[1]
15×
Savings in health spending from improving hand hygiene policies can reach up to 15 times the cost (2020 report).[1]
50%
Up to this share of avoidable infections acquired during health care can be prevented by hand hygiene programmes, the WHO reports.[7]
These figures are reported by UNICEF and the WHO and describe hand hygiene in general. They are not claims about EQ8 products, and neither organisation endorses EQ8.
Go deeper: hand hygiene evidence review and burden analysis
Close to home
Knowing is not the same as doing
A 2026 study in Ras Al Khaimah asked 400 people at two university campuses and a shopping mall about hand hygiene. Most knew why it matters. Fewer did it consistently.[4]
Many had never had formal hand hygiene education, and there was uncertainty about how long to wash and at which moments.[4] The study concludes that the next step is practical knowledge and support, not more awareness alone.[4]
Well established
Often skipped
What gets in the way
As reported by participants.[4]
Make it easy
Small nudges, better habits
A nudge changes the setting so the healthy choice is easier, without taking any option away.[6] A review of 15 studies found that most nudges had a positive effect on hand hygiene.[5]
Messages and posters
Signs near basins and dispensers, including social-norm and disgust messages.[5]
Watching eyes
Images of eyes placed close to soap and sanitiser dispensers.[5]
Footprints and arrows
Floor markings that lead people to the handwashing station.[5]
Easier access
Sanitiser stands with messages placed at key locations.[5]
Plan your yard
Put hygiene where the work happens
Hand hygiene stations work best at entrances and other points people pass through, with clear prompts beside them.[4] Choose a spot on the yard plan.
Spot 1 of 5
Yard entrance
The nudge
Put a hand station where people arrive. Entrances and other transition points, with a clear prompt, make hand hygiene easier to do.[4]
From the label
EQ8 DEFEND or CLEAR Sanitising Handrub
Apply to visibly clean hands and allow to dry.[8]
See the productCLEAN · PROTECT · PERFORM
Always read the label and follow the directions for use.
A shared goal
Hand hygiene for all by 2030
Short term
Respond
Improve hand hygiene access and practice in public spaces, health care, schools and workplaces.[1]
Medium term
Rebuild
Build hand hygiene systems back better, with costed roadmaps for scaling up and sustaining them.[1]
Long term
Reimagine
Make hand hygiene normal and habitual, at home, at school, at work and in public.[1]
For the yard