The United Nations' first Global Hand washing Day is being observed on 15 October 2008.  Millions of children around the world are marking the United Nations' first Global Hand washing Day. In India, cricket star Sachin Tendulkar will be leading the campaign that will see children across South Asia simultaneously washing their hands.    The UN says it wants to get over the message that this simple routine is one of the most effective ways of preventing killer diseases.  More than 120 million children in 70 countries across five continents are expected to participate in the campaign.      India has recruited cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, to be the face of the campaign. Washing hands will be the topic of Afghan television and radio talk shows and Pakistani newscasts. Nepal's  government is sending out mobile text messages. In Bhutan, special animated videos have been made with Bhutanese characters.   Diarrhoea and respiratory infections are the main cause for child  deaths in India. Nearly half the population of South Asia has no access to toilets, whilst in sub-Saharan Africa this figure is as low as 28%.  With such poor sanitation standards, it is little surprise that children in the region are susceptible to diarrhoea, hepatitis and pneumonia - often leading to their deaths, the UN says. The UN is celebrating 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation.

The UN says washing hands with water alone is not enough "because you fail to wash off the germs". "We are recommending hand-washing with soap," Ms Dooley said. Unicef says using soap to wash hands, particularly after contact with excreta, can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by over 40% and respiratory infections by 30%.

To create awareness on handwashing using soap, the 'Global Handwashing Day'  celebrated on Wednesday. The UNICEF is joining hands with the Government of India to reach out to nearly two-crore school students through 10-lakh teachers.   Some major diseases like diarrhoea, which claims lives of about 1,000 children in the country every year, could be prevented if the simple practice of washing hands with soap was inculcated, an official of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said.    Global Hand washing Day is the idea of the Public-Private Partnership for Hand washing with Soap. Partners include the United Nations Children's Fund, American government agencies, the World Bank and soap makers Unilever and Procter and Gamble. The goal, they say, is to create a culture of hand washing 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. Rub for at least twenty seconds. Then, rinse well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth or wave them in the air.   The Partnership for Hand washing says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the grease and dirt that hold most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the likelihood that people will wash again. The partnership says washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any vaccine or medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea by almost half. And it could reduce deaths from pneumonia and other breathing infections by one-fourth.   The Department of Drinking Water Supply and the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, are launching an innovative national campaign to promote hand-washing with soap. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been roped in as the brand ambassador of the project, and would be featured promoting hand washing through a mass media campaign.

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