Researchers were cited as saying on Wednesday that, based on a review of 14 different studies, encouraging people to wash their hands properly can reduce the rate of diarrhea by 30 percent, in rich and poor countries alike.
Dr. Regina Ejemot of the University of Calabar in Nigeria, who led the study, said,
"This is a huge benefit. For people in low-income areas this effect is comparable to providing clean water. The challenge is to find ways of promoting handwashing, as well as to set up long-term trials that test whether good practice has become part of a person’s way of life."