15 October 2026

The Commission warmly welcomes the continuation, for this year’s observance, of the multi-year theme of the Global Handwashing Day, namely Be a Handwashing Hero, a theme that calls upon everyone, each at its level, to demonstrate leadership and creativity in promoting hand hygiene in their living, working or learning environment.

The Commission commends the sustained and continuous efforts of public authorities and their partners to strengthen universal access to water and entrench universal handwashing practices in people’s daily lives, particularly through the holding of a major working session by the Minister of Public Health on 3 July 2026 in the Far North Region, aimed at intensifying the fight against cholera by strengthening the coordination of interventions and accelerating the response on the ground in the face of persistent outbreaks in certain health districts in Maroua; during this meeting, which brought together the Governor of this Region, administrative officials, health teams and technical and financial partners, the Minister recalled that “strict compliance with hygiene and sanitation measures [as well as] regular handwashing […] are simple actions capable of saving lives”.

The Commission recalls the actions it has undertaken for the promotion of hand hygiene and disease prevention notably through the implementation of a range of activities in its Far North Regional Branch, as part of the 2026 celebration of the Day of the African Child, in partnership with sectoral delegations and (CSOs), including the operationalisation, on 16 June 2026, of a platform for practical handwashing demonstrations at the headquarters of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Action locale pour un développement participatif et autogéré (ALDEPA) in Maroua, in the presence of 500 children and in partnership with the Red Cross, to advocate for the provision of functional Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in all learning environments.

The Commission notes that, despites government initiatives, the support provided by multilateral partners, and the proactive engagement of civil society, the establishment of handwashing as a routine hygiene practice continues to face significant structural barriers; that the persistence of these bottlenecks particularly undermines the protection of vulnerable groups, especially schoolchildren and persons deprived of their liberty.

The Commission is deeply concerned about the persistent lack of a strong public hygiene culture and by a decline in population vigilance while observing key hand hygiene moments, particularly outside periods of active epidemic outbreaks. In this regard, the Commission specifically recommends that the Government should institutionalise a permanent framework for intersectoral coordination of actions for the promotion of hand hygiene, to ensure sustained preventive actions and move beyond approaches that are limited to responding to epidemic outbreaks.

The Commission notes that, of the 220 recommendations accepted by the State following the adoption of the Report of Cameroon after undergoing the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 26 March 2024, the recommendation to “ensure the implementation of large-scale awareness-raising campaigns on preventive healthcare, nutrition, hygiene and disease prevention [, including handwashing]”, was addressed to the Ministry of Social Affairs (MINAS), the Ministry of Public Health (MINSANTE) and civil society organisations (CSOs).

The Commission reiterates its recommendations made during the 15th Global Handwashing Day, in particular that Water Resources and Energy (MINEE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health (MINSANTE) and municipalities through the Ministry of Decentralisation and Local Development (MINDDEVEL), should intensify investment in water supply systems for urban and rural centres while ensuring the continuous supply of safe running water in health facilities, including through the construction and maintenance of boreholes, wells and water treatment units in underserved neighbourhoods and communities, thereby creating the conditions necessary for effective hand hygiene.

The Commission specifically recommends that the Ministry of Basic Education (MINEDUB), the Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC) and the Ministry of Higher Education (MINESUP) should require educational establishments and institutions of higher education to have functional handwashing facilities as a condition for accreditation and opening, while integrating practical training on the hand hygiene techniques recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in school curricula, with regard to the first two aforementioned ministries.

The Commission specifically recommends that the Ministry of Social Affairs (MINAS), in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health (MINSANTE), the Ministry of Basic Education (MINEDUB) and the Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC), should carry out inclusive information campaigns (translated into local languages and accessible to persons with disabilities) focusing on the major health risks associated with diseases caused by inadequate hand hygiene practices.