In commemoration of this year’s Global Hand washing day, over ten thousand residents and traders in Sabo, Maya and Odogunyan areas of Ikorodu North LCDA, have been sensitized on importance and methods of safe hand washing to keep diseases away.
The Global Hand washing Day campaign themed “It Might Be Gloves, It Will Always Be Hand Hygiene”, was organized by an NGO WaterAid Nigeria with the support of its development partners.
Speaking on the seven steps to achieve a clean hand washing, Program Support Assistant in WaterAid Nigeria, Mrs Aniema Bassey, said the campaign was aimed at raising public awareness on proper handwashing practices, inspire behaviour change, and advocate increased investment and policy action towards achieving universal hand hygiene by 2030.
“These are the seven steps to achieve clean hand washing, it is just not about using soap and water alone, follow these steps Wet your hands with water, Apply enough soap to cover your hands. Rub your hands together. Use one hand to rub the back of the other hand and clean in between the fingers, Rub your hands together and clean in between your fingers”
In the same vein, Representative of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tosin Aremu, reiterated the commitment of the Lagos State government to ensuring increased awareness and advocacy in schools, worship centers, markets and public places on regular hand washing to prevent spread of communicable diseases.
On her part, Executive Director of the Humanity Family Foundation For Peace and Development, Mrs. Adekemi Adeyeye, who encouraged parents and caregivers to make clean hands a healthy habit to keep themselves and their families safe, said hand washing is the most effective way to prevent the spread of germs.
“Many germs that can make people sick are spread when we don’t wash our hands with soap and clean, running water. That is why handwashing is so important, especially at key times such as after using the bathroom, when preparing food, before eating, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose.
“Handwashing with soap and water is simple and inexpensive, and it can significantly reduce the number of young children who get sick. Teaching people about handwashing helps them and their communities stay healthy”
Lending voice to the importance of global hand washing Day, Vice Chairman Ikorodu North LCDA, Mr Mathew Adesanya, commended WaterAid Nigeria for its many WASH projects in his domain and promised that the Council authority would sustain the advocacy.
“You can see that our local security are well mobilized to follow them, this shows the commitment of the LCDA authority to supporting WaterAid to actualize the campaign in a secured atmosphere, I therefore appealed to residents to cooperate with them and wash their hands regularly”
The CDC Chairman in Ikorodu, Prince Adeniran Ogunbanwo, said the choice of the three communities, Sabo, Maya and Odogunyan were due to the huge population to drive home the advocacy of regular hand washing and hygiene behaviori changes with the slogan, “Clean family, Happy Family”
The Global Hand washing day campaign volunteers dressed in white shirt and blue jeans demonstrated how to effectively wash hands in the three communities and also held placards with inscriptions such as Wash your hands, protect yourself and others, be a hand washing hero, among others.
Reporting by Yemisi Dada