clean care, including hand hygiene best practices, and the central role played by nurses and midwives in achieving this, is the focus of this year’s 5 May campaign. The idea has been to partner with the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife that WHO has declared for 2020, and to recognize their crucial contribution to strengthening quality health systems.

We are calling all health workers and other target audiences to join hands in celebrating and empowering nurses and midwives in the monumental work that they do to keep our patients, families, and their colleagues safe by preventing health care-associated infections.

    5 May 2020 calls to action

• Nurses: “Clean and safe care starts with you."
• Midwives: “Your hands make all the difference for mothers and babies.”
• Policy Makers: "Increase nurse staffing levels to prevent infections and improve quality of care. Create the means to empower nurses and midwives.”
• IPC Leaders: "Empower nurses and midwives in providing clean care."
• Patients and Families: "Safer care for you, with you."