October 15th is Global Handwashing Day.Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap. Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called critical moments.These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food. Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-private Partnership for handwashing with soap.The goal, they say, is to create a culture of handwashing with soap.The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs.They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap.Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails.Then, wash well under running water.Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth. The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing.Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs.And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the chances that people will wash again. It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine.It could help reduce cases of diarrhea, which is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than one and a half million children a year, by almost half. Which fact can NOT explain why soap is important?
It gives people a longer handwashing time. It helps to remove a lot of germs from hands. It attracts people to do more handwashing. It gets all people into the habit of washing hands.