From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, millions of people around the world will wash their hands with soap at special events marking the Global Handwashing Day, which falls on Thursday this year, officials from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said here. The day's theme is that washing hands with water is simply not enough. But handwashing with soap -- especially before preparing food and after using the toilet -- is among the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent diarrhea diseases and pneumonia, which together are responsible for the deaths of more than 3.5 million children under five every year. 'Handwashing with soap and water is a very ordinary act with extraordinary results for children's health, growth and development,' said UNICEF Senior Adviser for Sanitation and Hygiene Therese Dooley. In fact, handwashing with soap can make a significant contribution towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing under-five child deaths by two-thirds by 2015. The first-ever Global Handwashing Day will focus on children and schools in order to raise awareness and promote behavior change. Government officials, religious leaders, teachers, celebrities and children themselves are all joining forces in an effort to motivate millions to lather up and fight preventable disease. 