We have the evidence but governments must now build the systems to deliver on hand hygiene

The simple act of cleaning hands can save lives and reduce illness by helping prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Hand hygiene can lower the risk of diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections—two leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide—by 30% and 17%, respectively.1 2 Additional benefits include reducing skin and eye infections such as trachoma and intestinal worm infections such as hookworm and ascaris, which together contribute significantly to the disease burden in low-income and middle-income countries.