Experts List Benefits Of Hand Washing

As part of activities to mark this year’s Global Handwashing Day, experts have listed the benefits of washing hands as being closely related to the health of an individual and the nation in general.

Speaking at a one-day campaign organised by the Rivers State Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development in conjunction with the Rivers State Ministries Education and Health in Port Harcourt they canvassed the need for the citizenry to adopt the habit in order to curb the menace of communicable diseases.

An official of the United Nations Rural Water and Sanitation Agency, Mrs Charity Black said poor hand washing is closely related to poor health, as communicable diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and skin diseases are easily contacted from contaminated hands.

For the campaign to be effective, she called on government to be alive to its responsibilities by providing good water at homes and schools to promote good sanitation.

In his remarks, Wopara Benjamin of Water Supply Sanitation Collaborative Council was of the opinion that since the hands were the major source of transmitting diseases, they must be kept clean often, stressing that lots of children globally lose their lives before the age of six due to poor hygiene.

Wopara assured that the Council would continue to collaborate with the Rivers State Government to promote gender equality, sanitation, health and other development policies.

Representative of United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Mr. Jimmy Bomo stressed that personal hygiene could only be promoted when there is clean drinking water for the people since water is a major ingredient in ensuring clean hands.

Earlier in her remarks, Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, Ms. Patricia Simon-Hart said the campaign is part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to promote good health among the populace.

This year, she stated that the major target was on school children, as they are agents of change calling on community leaders, non-governmental organisations and health institutions to partner with the government in making sure that the campaign is embraced at the rural communities.