Global Handwashing Day: Lack of Hygiene May Hinder Development – UNICEF
Global Handwashing Day: Lack of Hygiene May Hinder Development – UNICEF
Bugai Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School Children Using the Tippy tap Handwashing system
By Alex Uangbaoje
As the world celebrates the global handwashing day, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that Lack of access to hygiene could endanger new Development Agenda
According to UNICEF “Global Handwashing Day comes less than a month after the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, including hygiene for the first time in the global agenda. One of the SDG targets is to achieve ‘access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene’ by 2030.
”Improvements in hygiene must supplement access to water and sanitation, or children will continue to fall victim to easily preventable diseases like diarrhoea.
“Along with drinking water and access to toilets, hygiene – particularly handwashing with soap is the essential third leg of the stool holding up the Goal on water and sanitation,”
Bugai Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School Children Using the Tippy tap Handwashing system
Speaking at Bugai 1 Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary School in Chikun Local Government Area in an event to mark the global handwashing day celebration, Utpal Moitra, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Kaduna, reiterated UNICEF’s commitment in supporting the Kaduna State government to improving and promoting water, sanitation and hygiene practices in the state.
“Regular handwashing with soap after using toilets, after changing children’s nappies and before eating or handling food saves more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention. It can reduce deaths from diarrhea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter.
“UNICEF is on ground to work with Kaduna State government to improve and promote water, sanitation and hygiene practices in three LGAs of Chikun, Kachia and Kubau LGAs”. He added.
In his keynote address, Chikun LGA Chairperson who was represented by his vice Bartholomew Shina commended UNICEF for selecting Chikun as part of the four LGAs for the take-off of the handwashing project.
Delivering her welcome address, the Coordinator Kaduna State Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Chikun LGA Mrs. Mary Daniel, said the reason UNICEF and the local government decide to start the pilot WASH programme in schools was because they want the children to develop proper hygienic attitude.
She said “Washing their hands regularly will help reduce deaths from diarrhea and acute respiratory infections.
“We also want them to take their handwashing attitude to their various homes and inculcate it to their parents and wards. We have put a some measures in place to monitor them both in school and at home.”
