Beyond Raising Awareness: Promoting Handwashing in Nepal amid COVID-19 Crisis - Policy Framework

Jul 19, 2026

Policy actions for promoting handwashing in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic are organized into a simple framework grounded in local handwashing behavior. Awareness about proper handwashing is identified as the most affordable and accessible prevention measure, yet it is insufficient on its own. The population is segmented into three groups based on whether they have a fixed handwashing location and whether soap and water are available, with tailored communication and supply responses for each.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Population segmentation and key constraints

Group 1: fixed facility with soap and water

Group 2: fixed facility without soap or water

Group 3: no dedicated place, water, or soap

Policy measures to promote regular handwashing

Media and awareness campaigns

SMS alerts and targeted outreach

Soap supply or subsidy considerations

Health and socio-economic benefits

Reduced respiratory infections and diarrhea

Reduced neonatal infections and long-term outcomes

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized COVID 19 RESPONSE NOTE SERIES • Poverty & Equity GP • NEPAL COUNTRY OFFICE BEYOND RAISING AWARENESS: PROMOTING HANDWASHING IN NEPAL AMID COVID 19 CRISIS* Hiroki Uematsu, Sushant Joshi and Liza Maharjan This report proposes a simple framework for policy actions to effectively promote handwashing in Nepal amid the COVID 19 pandemic. Raising awareness about proper handwashing is the cheapest, easiest and most important way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but it is far from sufficient in Nepal. Nepali population can be categorized into three groups based on handwashing practices. Close to half of the population in Nepal already have a fixed location for handwashing as well as soap and water. Raising awareness through media outlets will be most effective for this group. More than 30 percent have a handwashing location but without soap or water. SMS alerts coupled with media campaigns may be necessary as 20 percent of this group do not use radio, TV, newspaper or Internet but more than 95 percent of them own a mobile phone. Providing or subsidizing soaps may also be necessary. The remaining 20 percent do not have a dedicated place for handwashing, water, or soap. This group, who tend to be poorer and harder to reach by media outlets, needs the greatest policy intervention as they face more difficulties to practice handwashing but can still become the nexus of the viral infection as half of them live in urban areas. Besides the immediate benefits of preventing coronavirus infections, promoting regular handwashing can have many benefits including reduction in acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, substantial reduction in neonatal infections, and overall improved socio-economic outcomes in the long run. Policy interventions should consider these benefits of improving handwashing practices in this disadvantaged group. 1,2 Handwashing is the cheapest, easiest and most important way to prevent the spread of the COVID 19 (UNICEF, 2020; UNICEF and WHO, 2019) . The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends cleaning hands regularly with an alcohol-based rub or washing hands with soap and water as these kill viruses that may be in our hands (World Health Organization, 2020) . Proper handwashing also has significant positive externality in that it can prevent the spread of coronavirus to others and save many from the infection. Thus, raising awareness about proper and regular handwashing is one of the most important measures to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. But billions of people across the world face challenges when it comes to practicing handwashing properly and regularly as suggested by the health experts (The Economist, 2020) . First, a large share of the population, especially in the developing countries still lack access to a proper handwashing facility. A cross country comparison of economic development and handwashing practices shows a positive correlation; countries with lower Gross National Income (GNI) per capita are likely to have a lower * This note is a product of the Poverty & Equity Global Practice of the World Bank Group, with financial support from the Evidence for Development Programme of UK Department for International Development (DFID) . 1 We rely primarily on the 2016 Nepal Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) data as this is the latest data publicly available. Updates should be made once the data from the 2019 Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey becomes available. 2 All figures are available for download at [https://bit.ly/covid19JIT_beyondraisingawareness](https://bit.ly/covid19JIT_beyondraisingawareness) . Beyond raising awareness: Promoting handwashing in Nepal amid COVID 19 crisis 1 share of the population with proper handwashing facilities. As in many other developing countries, more than half of the Nepali population does not have handwashing facilities (Figure 1) . Second, people must be made aware not only wh

FAQs

Why is promoting handwashing emphasized as a COVID-19 prevention measure in Nepal?

Handwashing is described as the cheapest, easiest, and most important way to prevent spread. Proper handwashing also reduces transmission to others and helps slow coronavirus spread.

How are Nepali households categorized in the report for handwashing promotion?

Households are grouped by whether they have a fixed handwashing location and whether soap and water are available: Group 1 has both, Group 2 has the location but lacks soap or water, and Group 3 lacks a dedicated place and/or water and soap.

What interventions are suggested for each household group?

Group 1 is recommended to receive media campaigns. Group 2 may require SMS alerts combined with media and possible soap provision or subsidies. Group 3, described as harder to reach and facing more difficulties, needs the greatest policy intervention.

Jul 19, 2026

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