Hand Washing with Soap Reduces Diarrhea Among Pakistani Children by 50%

Household hand washing with soap reduced diarrhea illnesses by about 50%, according to the “Effect of intensive hand washing promotion on childhood diarrhea in high-risk communities in Pakistan: a randomized controlled trial” year-long study by Procter & Gamble and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers studied 36 squatter neighborhoods and 4,800 children in Karachi, Pakistan, distributing regular soap to 300 households with careful hand washing instructions, antibacterial soap to 300 more, and school supplies to about 300 “control” households. The United Nations estimates that 1 billion people live under similar conditions around the world.

Results also showed that hand washing with regular soap prevented diarrhea among those who are most vulnerable to death related to diarrhea/malnourished children and children under 12 months of age. Antibacterial soap did not kill viruses and bacteria that caused diarrhea. The World Health Organization said approximately 1.8 million children die of diarrhea every year that is caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene and sanitation.

Though the drinking water was heavily contaminated with human sewage, researchers “found that hand washing with soap markedly reduced diarrhea despite a highly contaminated environment, despite highly contaminated wash water and without any clean towels,” the CDC’s Dr. Stephen Luby told a news conference. Without proper washing, 10% of the children in such camps die before the age of 5 and 40% of those deaths are caused by diarrhea, Dr. Luby said.

Other public-private partnerships between P&G and local health agencies in the Philippines, Pakistan, and China are also under way to help consumers develop healthy hand washing habits that improve the health of children.