As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to commemorate the Global Hand Washing Day, the federal government in collaboration with the USAID Breakthrough Action, has renewed the call for Nigerians to make regular hand wash a routine, whether or not there is a public health emergency.
The director, Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mr. Usman Bokani, stated this at an event to mark the 2022 Global Hand Washing Day, themed: Unite for Universal Hand Hygiene.” in Abuja.
He noted that the annual event is to aid and promote awareness on the understanding and importance of hand washing with soap under running water.
Usman said the objectives of the commemoration include to increase awareness and understanding about the importance of hand washing with soap under running water.
“It is also aimed at building capacity of school teachers and students to understand the issue of hand washing, creating awareness about hand washing technics at community levels, reducing the speed of pathogens, keeping food safe and helping children to grow in good health,” he added.
He said the pre-commemoration activity, which is the quiz competition among school children was to create awareness among them on the importance of hand hygiene and regular washing of hands with soap and running water.
This practice, Usman said will help prevent diseases associated with hand hygiene such as cholera, COVID-19 and Lassa fever.
In her remarks, the assistant director, Education Support Services Department, Sports and Health Division, Federal Ministry of Education, Mailafiya Hasseina, said regular hand wash has economic benefits as it helps reduce out of pocket expenditure on medication.
“Washing your hands with soap regularly can make sure you spend less time in the hospital and more time in school and doing things you like. Keep washing your hands regularly to prevent diseases” She urged.
The program Officer, UNSAID Breakthrough Action Nigeria, Meyiwa Ede, said regular hand wash is a major means of reducing the transmission of diseases.
“The hand serves as a vehicle for transmitting pathogens, we all know our hands are everywhere, we use our hands for everything. And we realise that if hand washing is incorporated as a daily routine or as regular routine, we can break this transmission of pathogens. So we try to collaboration with the government of Nigeria and then the MDAs to celebrate and institute their hand hygiene as everyday routine.”
On the focus on school children, she explained that “One of our focus is to increase awareness and early adoption of hand hygiene. So we are working with the ministries and the MDAs to catch them young. We think that if we catch them young enough, we will get the school children to get use to washing their hands.
“It can be a routine, a form of a behaviour change where we can break the transmission of diseases by inculcating this early in children.”
