Diarrheal diseases kill approximately 1.8 million people per year. Globally, approximately 2.5 billion cases of diarrhea occur among children under 5 years old every year. About 80 percent of those cases are in Africa and South Asia. The World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank promote hand washing with soap as the most efficient and cost effective intervention to reduce this tragic statistic.

Besides combatting diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhea, improved hygiene with soap also addresses a wide range of lesser known, but nevertheless debilitating, tropical diseases. These illnesses often are neglected by an overwhelmed medical system in developing countries.