Global hand washing day is a yearly event done on every 15th of October. It is a day set aside to create special awareness on the need and importance of hand washing practice as well as the dangers we face for not washing our hands.
The day also reminds us of the effectiveness of washing our hands with clean running water and soap or ash for a healthy living.The tagline – clean hands, a recipe for health – reminds us to make hand washing a part of every meal and part of our lives.
This year, the theme of the year’s event is “HAND HYGIENE FOR ALL”. This theme follows the recent global initiative calling on all to scale up hand hygiene, especially through handwashing with soap or ash and running water. It also reminds us that we must work toward universal access and practise of hand washing with soap for now and for a healthy future.
Hand washing is an easy, effective, affordable do-it-yourself practise that prevents infections and saves lives.
Anambra State Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sub-sector in the Ministry of Public Utilities and Water Resources, as front-liners in this struggle, is lending her voice to the United Nations and the world at large in advocating for Hand Hygiene For All for a good and healthy living.
It is a known fact that good hygiene starts with a clean hand. And in other to clean anything, our hands must be first made clean. Therefore, the global community is seriously advocating for habitual hand washing in an effective manner.
Effective hand washing practice for one minute in every one hour, even when we think our hands are still clean, will not cost anyone anything. This is because there are many microscopic harmful organisms like bacteria, germs, pathogens, viruses, spores, pollens etcetera, which can enter our mouth and body via our unwashed hands.
The importance of effective and habitual hand washing behavior can no longer be over emphasized as evident in the days of Ebola outbreak, the Lassa Fever epidemic and currently the COVID-19 Pandemic era. Importation of alcohol-based sanitizer to clean our hands also complimented the fact that clean hands save lives.
Apparently, awareness creation on effective handwashing practice has been on before the advent of these neglected tropical diseases like Coronavirus pandemic, but many people did not take it seriously. Hence, Kudos to COVID-19 pandemic that helped in strengthening the awareness, and many people started improving on personal hygiene behaviour.
Everyone is invited to this clarion call to continue promoting the campaign on effective hand washing practice and by always reminding one another about the need for habitual handwashing behavior, hence the theme; Hand Hygiene for all
Thus, the general public is reminded that our reform compliant and oriented Government of Anambra State has been commemorating the Global Handwashing day celebration ever since its inception to date. The government has also directed that hand washing facilities and materials are constantly provided and maintained at strategic locations for all. Such locations include markets, schools, Churches, work places, community halls, banks, hospitals etcetera to mitigate against the spread of diseases, improve our personal hygiene behavior and standard of living.
VICTOR EZEKWO/MD/DNCA/EMEKARINZE/QUEEN/TINA
Ag. Director and Staff of Water Resources Department
Ministry of Public Utilities and Water Resources
Government House, Awka
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