Today nearly 90 influential international organizations, including Action Against Hunger, called upon key United Nations decision makers to ensure that hygiene, a critical component of global health and development, be addressed as an indicator in the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals.

Hygiene—specifically handwashing with soap—is one of the most important interventions for human health and development and is a universal necessity. Fundamental to fighting undernutrition, reducing child mortality, overcoming antibiotic resistance, and advancing access to education, hygiene underpins the delivery of several other Sustainable Development Goals and ultimately advances gender equity, dignity, and human rights

However, while hygiene is included alongside sanitation in Target 6.2 of the current draft of the Sustainable Development Goals, hygiene is neglected in the Sustainable Development Goals at the indicator level. This means that hygiene would not be measured globally, the target to improve hygiene would not be monitored, and the Sustainable Development Goals might not improve hygiene as much as they could. Given the massive role that hygiene plays in multiple areas of development, nearly 90 international corporations, non-governmental organizations, and coalitions have signed a letter asking the United Nations Statistical Commission and key Member States involved in determining proposed indicators to address this oversight.

In this letter (available here), cosigners argue that “If hygiene is neglected in the Sustainable Development Goals at the indicator level this will be to the detriment of those populations who have the most to gain through global development— the poor and vulnerable.”

According to Dr. Layla McCay, Secretariat Director of the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing, “Failing to include a global, mandatory hygiene indicator means that the Sustainable Development Goals will also fail to fully capitalize upon this historic opportunity to bring better health, education, and economic opportunities to millions around the world. We ask those involved in determining the Sustainable Development Goals to not let this moment go by without taking action.”