The Simple Power of Hand Washing

Why is the Topic Important?
6.6 million children never make it to their 5th birthday. Diarrhea and pneumonia are the leading killer of children. The things that kill them are not debilitating diseases like Ebola that are scaring people throughout the world. The leading killer of children are respiratory infections including SARS and cholera. However, even with Ebola, a key intervention is hand washing with soap. Hand washing with soap is one of the most cost-effective ways of saving lives. 600,000 people can be saved. You can stop 10 jumbo jets from crashing every day according to Myriam Sidibe, by using a bar of soap. This is why I chose this video.The Simple Power of Hand Washing

How Does This Issue Affect Different Groups?
This video affects all age groups, although the author begins by talking about children. The author stated that 4 people out of 5 do not wash their hands globally. In countries where child mortality is high, there is soap available in 90 percent of households, yet people do not wash their hands. Even in countries where soap is the lowest, people are not washing their hands. So why are people not washing their hands? Soap is used for bathing and laundry, and for washing dishes. Parents may think it is a precious commodity, so it is not wasted, but people are not educated about how soap can help prevent disease. Thus, the result is that children pick up disease in places where they should be loved including in their homes. People are supposed to learn to wash their hands at home. It is hard to change habits that are learned very young.