The importance of hand hygiene and the availability of enabling resources in the control of infections cannot be overemphasized. Results from a 2022 study conducted by UNICEF indicated limited access to hand hygiene facilities and commodities within healthcare facilities in Uganda.

In 2018 with funding from the Centres for Diseases Control (CDC), IDI collaborated with the Kabarole District Local Government and the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC-WASH) in a study to investigate the feasibility and impact of local production of Alcohol Based Hand Rub through a district-led model. A local production unit for Alcohol Based Hand Sanitisers was set up, supplying over 30 government health facilities within the district. Mid- and end-term evaluations demonstrated improved hand hygiene compliance among health care workers. The district-led model employed was recommended as a cost-effective way to provide access to Alcohol Based Hand Sanitisers in low-resource settings.

This cost-effective model was scaled up to Kasese district as part of preparedness and response efforts for the 2018-2020 EVD outbreak in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and to the districts of Amuru, Tororo, Moroto and Kotido during the COVID-19 pandemic response.