Whatever the community, wherever in the world, frequent and correct hand hygiene helps prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases. However, across the globe communities may (for reasons of geography, social determinants of health or political situations) lack the access to knowledge and/or resources to most ensure effective and universal handwashing to prevent the spread of diseases and viruses like COVID-19.
Every community might face slightly different challenges to assuring all members can prevent the spread of infections. Especially in times of pandemics, new cracks and holes in systems are magnified and more easily identified as gaps or barriers to infection prevention.
Gaps can include lack of access to resources such as potable water, soap and/or approved disinfectants. For caregivers and health care providers, required resources may also include personal protective equipment (PPE).
Communities understand best what their own highest priority and immediate needs are, and knowledge is best transferred in culturally appropriate and sensitive ways as defined by the end users and the community being served, so the Canadian Medical Foundation is working with partners outside of Canada to close some of those gaps that can lead to the spread of COVID-19.
