PAHO Urges Making Hand Hygiene a Priority

Proper hand hygiene is a critical, low-cost measure to prevent infections in healthcare settings and to curb antimicrobial resistance across the Americas, says PAHO in observance of the World Hand Hygiene Day. 

"Gloves, sometimes. Hand hygiene, always," is the global campaign’s slogan this year, highlighting both the importance of appropriate glove use and the environmental costs of over-reliance on disposable protective equipment. “Nitrile gloves, commonly used during the pandemic, take more than 400 years to degrade. This underscores the need for sustainable alternatives and responsible usage,” says Jarbas Barbosa, Director, PAHO.

Hand hygiene compliance is improving across the Americas, according to PAHO’s 2024 Global Report on Infection Prevention and Control. Of the 20 countries surveyed in 2023-2024, 85% have an active national infection prevention and control program, and 75% now track hand hygiene as a key national indicator — up from 62.5% in the previous period.

Globally, an estimated 7% of patients in high-income countries and 15% in low and middle-income countries acquire at least one healthcare-associated infection during hospitalization. PAHO and the OECD project these infections could cause up to 3.5 million deaths annually by 2050 — over four times the global deaths from HIV/AIDS and STIs combined in 2021. In response, PAHO is supporting countries in the region to strengthen infection control through improved infrastructure standards and policies that enhance safety for patients, healthcare workers, and visitors.

Despite advances, PAHO points to ongoing challenges in access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure in healthcare facilities, particularly in lower-resourced settings. These deficiencies can undermine even the best-intentioned hygiene initiatives and leave both patients and healthcare workers vulnerable to preventable infections, reads the report. 

“Looking ahead, we must prioritize hand hygiene. By 2026, we expect hand hygiene monitoring to be a key national indicator. This goal is ambitious but achievable with the collective effort of healthcare workers, policymakers, and communities,” says Barbosa.