#AHT: American Hospital Tbilisi celebrated Global Handwashing Day in schools

American Hospital Tbilisi joined the Global Handwashing Day with an interesting project. Representatives from AHT’s Marketing and Business Development and Nursing departments visited several schools located in Tbilisi. Within the framework of the project, AHT nurses conducted an interactive training for primary school students and introduced the basic rules of handwashing. And five basic rules of hand washing were introduced, according to which: hands should be wet with running, clean water and soap; You should lather the soap, apply it well in the palms and spaces between the fingers, on the nails; hands should be washed for at least 20 minutes; You should wash off the soap well with clean, running water; Hands should be dried with a clean towel or disposable napkin.

Within the framework of the AHT project, students of primary classes took part in a practical exercise with the help of paints, so that children can visually perceive the process of washing hands properly.

“Proper handwashing can reduce the number of people suffering from diarrhea by 23%-40%, the frequency of respiratory diseases of various etiologies decreases by 16%-21%; Among school students, the number of lessons missed due to gastrointestinal diseases decreases by 29%-57%. Also, if everyone washes their hands regularly and correctly, it is possible to save the lives of approximately 1 million people a year,” said Dr. Giorgi Korkotashvili, Infectionist at AHT.

October 15 – Global Handwashing Day has been celebrated every year since 2008, at the initiative of the United Nations Children’s Fund, and promotes the growth of the population’s awareness of the importance of washing hands with soap and water. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic reminded us once again that one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce the spread of the virus is to wash your hands with soap and water.