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Over 80 countries mark 2nd Global handwashing Day
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot
Accra, Oct 15, Ghanadot - Each year, diarrheal diseases and
acute respiratory infections are responsible for the deaths of
more than 3.5 million children under the age of five.
The second annual Global Handwashing Day, being celebrated
today, shines a spotlight on the importance of handwashing with
soap and water as one of the most effective and affordable
health interventions.
Water alone is not enough. Washing hands with soap and water
especially at the critical times -- after using the toilet and
before handling food -- helps reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal
disease by more than 40 per cent and respiratory infections by
nearly 25 per cent. Furthermore, washing hands with soap is also
being recommended as a critical action to prevent the spread of
influenza H1N1.
Yet, despite its life-saving potential, handwashing with soap is
seldom practiced and not always easy to promote.
Although soap is available in most households around the world,
observed rates of handwashing with soap at critical moments
range from zero to 34 per cent. For successful, and sustained
behavioural change to occur, it is vital to incorporate
community-based and community-sensitive approaches that
understand what motivates people to change.
Unsafe water and inadequate sanitation are often major causes of
lost work and missed school days, perpetuating the cycle of
economic and social stagnation in many countries. Investments in
health, child survival, education, water supply, and sanitation
are all jeopardized if there is a lack of emphasis on
handwashing with soap.
Under the slogan of “Clean hands save lives,” the second annual
Global Handwashing Day campaign aims to engage schoolchildren as
effective agents for change. The introduction of water,
sanitation and hygiene interventions in schools, including
handwashing with soap, is an entry point for children to
understand and then take these good hygiene practices back into
their homes and communities.
Improved sanitation and hygiene programmes combined with
handwashing education directly impact the Millennium Development
Goal (MDG) 2: universal primary education and MDG 3: gender
equality via higher enrolment, attendance and retention rates in
schools for both girls and boys. Additionally, higher rates of
handwashing with soap would significantly contribute towards
meeting the MDG 4 of reducing deaths of children under the age
of five by two-thirds by 2015.
Handwashing with soap represents a cornerstone of public health
and can be considered an affordable, accessible “do-it-yourself”
vaccine.
Approximately 200 million children lathered up for last year’s
inaugural Global Handwashing Day in 86 countries across five
continents. From Colombia to Bangladesh, from Kenya to the
Philippines, from the United Kingdom to Ethiopia, schools and
communities worldwide organized and participated in celebrations
and handwashing campaigns.
This year millions more, including, children, teachers, parents,
celebrities, and government officials in over 80 countries, plan
to join the celebrations.
Instructively, the Global Handwashing Day is an initiative of
the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap,
and is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international
institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private
companies and individuals worldwide.
Ghanadot
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