World Health Organization promotes hand hygiene in healthcare
The first of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Patient Safety Challenges was Clean Care is Safer Care, which was launched in 2005. It targeted reducing health care-associated infections (HCAIs). HCAI is the most frequent harmful event in health-care delivery and occurs worldwide in both developed and developing countries. Hundreds of millions of patients are affected each year by HCAI, leading to significant mortality and financial losses for health systems too.
The initial focus of Clean Care is Safer Care was to promote best hand hygiene practices globally, at all levels of health care, as a first step in ensuring high standards of infection control and patient safety.