The evidence base from which guidance on hygiene behaviours is derived is poorly developed and has many gaps.
RGHI seeks to identify and explore those gaps by commissioning and publishing a series of reviews, and by creating a central repository of hygiene research.
This work will allow RGHI to identify specific areas for their investment in building the evidence base.
In addition, the hygiene field has struggled to attract academic talent and funding for research.
RGHI seeks to remedy this by commissioning specific, directed research through grant funding, and by funding a post-doctoral fellowship program in hygiene.

News Room

Chatham House Report concludes that changing hygiene behaviors can lead to better health, for the individual, the wider population, and the economy
Yet, even with the lessons from COVID-19, hygiene still struggles to gain political importance. Why? A lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene results not only in loss of dignity, safety, health, and education, but also economic potential. It is at the heart of “human capital,” not only for the current working generation, but for generations to come. However, the subject of hygiene has never been near the top of the political agenda, something that needs to change.

Mdm Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, to open the Global Hygiene Summit 2023
Mdm Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, is the Guest of Honour and will be making the opening address at the Global Hygiene Summit 2023, which is taking place in Singapore in February 2023. The Summit being organised in collaboration with the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (Singapore), the World Bank, the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, and WaterAid.

Polio vaccination efforts must be supported by good hygiene, say experts on World Polio Day
World Polio Day on October 24th is an annual day that highlights progress on the road to polio eradication. As new outbreaks of an archaic disease sweep the globe, hygiene experts warn that vaccination as the first line of defence must be backed up by adequate hygiene.

Governments are not doing enough to encourage hand hygiene, say experts on Global Handwashing Day
Efforts to bolster handwashing have languished following the darkest days of COVID-19, yet colds, flu, stomach bugs and diarrhoea still pose deadly risks.

The public isn’t prepared for the flu’s 2022 winter comeback
While influenza cases may have seen a decline over the past few years, hygiene experts are warning of a potential resurgence this winter. Too focussed on the fact COVID-19 may be becoming less of a threat, people could be caught off guard and spend the winter sicker than they may have been throughout the pandemic, they say.

Hygiene experts call for renewed hygiene efforts amid NYC’s polio outbreak
New York City has declared a state of emergency after detecting a case of polio. Experts say improved hygiene will be key to stopping the spread.

The world’s first Global Hygiene Summit to take place in Singapore in February 2023
The Global Hygiene Summit 2023 will bring together scientists, politicians, the private sector and civil society to generate impact through the intersection between health and hygiene ~ which is vital to safeguarding the physical and economic wellbeing of populations worldwide, both amid COVID-19 and beyond.

The first piece of research funded by the Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute reveals crucial correlation between drought and diarrhoea among children under 5
The first research to have been funded by the Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute, has been published in Nature Communications.
RGHI is a not-for-profit foundation that was established by Reckitt plc in 2020 with a $25 million grant to generate…