Community
CPS urges residents to make handwashing a daily habit on Global Handwashing Day
Sint Maarten's Collective Prevention Service marked Global Handwashing Day on 15 October 2026 under the theme 'Be a Handwashing Hero!', urging residents to wash hands with soap and water every day.
By SXM Daily ยท
Sint Maarten's Collective Prevention Service (CPS) marked Global Handwashing Day on Thursday 15 October 2026 by calling on residents, schools, businesses and community groups to treat clean hands as a basic way to stop infections spreading, according to a government release dated 14 October and carried by SMN.
CPS, an executive agency of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA), promoted this year's observance under the Global Handwashing Partnership's theme, "Be a Handwashing Hero!" The Partnership created the day in 2008.
In its release, CPS said washing with soap and water can prevent about one in three diarrhoeal illnesses and one in five respiratory infections, including colds and flu. Germs often spread through contaminated surfaces, food handled with unwashed hands, and everyday contact such as shaking hands or changing diapers.
The agency stressed that hand hygiene matters especially in food preparation, healthcare, childcare and hospitality, and on an island where residents and visitors share schools, workplaces, buses and restaurants every day. It also said regular handwashing can cut absences from school and work.
CPS said the day falls once a year but the habit should continue all year.
What to do: wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially before and after preparing food, before eating, after using the toilet or changing diapers, after coughing or sneezing, after handling garbage or animals, and when caring for someone who is sick. For more information, call CPS at 914-542-1570.
Sources
- https://www.sintmaartengov.org/news/Pages/press-release.aspx?slug=cps-calls-on-community-to-make-handwashing-a-daily-habit
- https://smn-news.com/index.php/st-maarten-st-martin-news/52027-cps-calls-on-community-to-make-handwashing-a-daily-habit.html