THE UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised concerns over Nigeria’s low handwashing rates, with only 17 percent of the population practicing proper hand-washing at critical times.
The UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Dr. Jane Bevan, communicated this during the 2024 Global Handwashing Day event in Abuja, themed “Why Are Clean Hands Still Important.”
Bevan said there was a need to establish hand-washing as a social norm, highlighting its significance in public health.
“We need to move beyond simply expecting everyone to wash their hands and start holding people accountable when they do not.
“If you see someone eating without washing their hands, call them out, such behaviour can lead to illness.”
She urged individuals to become ambassadors for hand-washing by encouraging others to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet.
Bevan also called on the members of public to speak up if they saw someone leaving a public restroom without washing their hands.
According to her, Global Hand-washing Day is a call to action; urging collective responsibility to make handwashing a widespread practice in Nigeria to improve public health.
The Director of Water Quality Control, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Mrs. Elizabeth Ugoh, said the event was organised under the National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS) to raise awareness about the importance of hand-washing.
She said hand-washing with soap was a cost-effective and efficient method to prevent sanitation and hygiene-related diseases. (NAN)
