Acting General Manager of Rivers State, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RVWASSA), Mr Jonathan Amadi, has put the figure of Nigerians who still practise open defecation at 37 million.

Mr Amadi, who said this in an interview with newsmen recently in Port Harcourt also said that only 31 percent of the population have access to improve sanitation, while 100,000 children under the age of five die of diarrhea in Nigeria every year as a result of the poor level of access to sanitation and hygiene.

The RVWASSA Acting General Manager who spoke against the backdrop of the just concluded Global Hand Washing Day in Rivers State also stressed the need for people to make hand washing part of their daily activities.

“Often times, people make hand washing a choice. Why people choose to wash their hands with soap, especially after using the toilet and before touching food (such as before eating, cooking or feeding someone), because they are choosing to create a healthier environment, not only for themselves, but for those around them.

Good hygiene practices must become a habit which requires choosing to perform them on a regular basis.

“People should choose hand washing not only on Global Hand Washing Day, but every day” he said.

Mr. Amadi also said that the theme of this year’s celebration which was “Make Hand Washing a Habit” focuses on schools and children “because not only do children suffer disproportionately from diarrhea and respiratory diseases and deaths, but research shows that children, the segment of society so often the most energetic, enthusiastic and open to new ideas, can also be part of the solution to ideally situated of the intersection of the home, school and community Children can be powerful agents of sustained behavioural change” he said.