National Handwashing Awareness Week comes around December 6–12, 2026, just as cold and flu season picks up. Its mascot is a cartoon hand named Henry.
Early December, Every Year
Every year in the first week of December. Recent runs have gone Sunday to Saturday, such as December 2 to 8 in 2018 and December 4 to 10 in 2022.
Family doctor Will Sawyer started it, and his Henry the Hand Foundation still promotes it. No law or federal agency sets the dates.
A Doctor and a Cartoon Hand
Cincinnati’s 1999 flu vaccine shortage set things in motion. Sawyer formed his foundation afterward, as a grassroots nonprofit to help keep the community healthy.
He created Henry the Hand, billed as the “Champion Handwasher,” to teach children and their families about clean hands.
The week’s first year is unclear. A consumer group marked its start on December 6, 2010, but no source we found gives a founding year.
Cintas noted in 2022 that Sawyer had spent more than 35 years as a family physician.
Four Rules Worth Learning
Sawyer boiled it all down to four rules. The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians endorse them.
Sawyer’s first rule is to wash your hands when they’re dirty and before eating. The next two say not to cough or sneeze into them.
Above all, keep your fingers away from your eyes, nose and mouth, Sawyer’s list says.
His goal, he told Cintas, is to teach “a life skill of good hand hygiene behavior.”
Clean hands make a measurable difference. CDC says handwashing education cuts diarrheal illness by 23% to 40%, and colds and similar illnesses by 16% to 21%.
Schools see it too. Absences from stomach illness drop by 29% to 57% among schoolchildren taught to wash well.
Worldwide, the stakes are higher. About 1.8 million children under 5 die each year from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia.
How to Join In
Start with the basics CDC teaches. Wet your hands, add soap and work the lather onto the backs of your hands and under your nails. Scrub for at least 20 seconds before you rinse and dry.
- Hang Henry the Hand posters from the foundation’s website in a classroom or office restroom.
- Teach kids the four principles of hand awareness, then quiz them at dinner.
- Keep hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol for times when soap and water aren’t handy.
- Ask your child’s school about the foundation’s “Adopt a School” program.
- Wash before and after cooking, and every time you blow your nose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is National Handwashing Awareness Week an official observance?
No. A nonprofit runs it, not a government office.
What is the week’s motto?
“Spread the word not the germs.”
How many people wash after using the toilet?
Only about 19% worldwide, by CDC’s estimate.
Sources
- Cintas – Insights from Dr. William Sawyer for National Handwashing Awareness Week (2022)
- Ohio Academy of Family Physicians – National Handwashing Awareness Week, December 2–8 (2018)
- National Consumers League – Meet Henry the Hand (2010)
- CLSI – Celebrate National Hand Washing Week (2018)
- CDC – Handwashing Facts and Stats
- CDC – About Handwashing