….More than 3.5 million Nigerian children suffer from diarrheal diseases
By Dele Ogbodo
The Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar on Thursday called on Nigerians and the global community to imbibe the culture of appropriate and regular washing of hands.
He asserted that the culture of regular washing of hands will not only keep Nigerians and humanity healthy it will also prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections from person to person.
Addressing the media and stakeholders this occasion in commemoration of the 2020 Global handwashing day, which is marked on October 15th of every year, he said the sensitization will serve as a platform for raising global awareness on the importance of handwashing with soap.
Abubakar said: “Fortunate enough, the most effective protection from this ravaging and devastating pandemic we are confronted with is washing our hands with soap. Thus this year’s theme “Hand Hygiene for ALL” couldn’t have been more appropriate.
“Today’s event marks yet another effort by the Federal Government to promote environmental sanitation and hygiene practices among Nigerians and our focus is the reawakening of societal consciousness on the need to wash the hands always especially after critical moments.”
He said the quest for improved sanitation and hygiene has been on the global agenda over the years through the launching of programmes and initiatives such as the International Decade for Water Supply and Sanitation that Spanned through the period of 1981-1990, the Millennium Development Goals and the present Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6- Sanitation for all).
However, he said these efforts have not yielded the desired results as billions of people are still struggling to cope with a consistent shortage of basic sanitation and hygiene facilities, especially in developing countries like ours.
According to him, this is because hands serve as a vehicle for transmitting pathogens of respiratory infections, Faeco-oral diseases and Covid-19 virus, stressing that it t has been reported that more than 3.5 million children in Nigeria suffer from diarrheal diseases.
Unfortunately, he added that children who are less than 5 years old are more prone to such diseases due to lack of knowledge about the importance of handwashing. A simple act of washing hands with soap can reduce the infection percentage to 50 and also reduces any respiratory disease by 25%.
Hand washing saves lives! Therefore, hands must be washed as much as practically possible, especially at critical moments such as: After using the toilet, coughing, sneezing, having contact with animals, Cleaning a child who has gone to the toilet, after changing diapers, Or touching surfaces, garbage, money• As well as before, during and after preparing food or eating, and after caring for a sick person especially those vomiting or diarrhoea.
The Minister said: “We all know that many people tend to wash their hands only with water, and for many Nigerians, cleaning hands with soap and water is not really considered necessary. Soaps are mostly reserved for laundry and bathing. Let me use this opportunity to inform Nigerians that cleaning hands with soap under running water removes germs much more effectively, especially when the following steps are followed:
The Minister averred that addressing sanitation and hygiene challenges in the country is a necessary and worthwhile investment for the government at every level, adding that this is because for every N100 spent improving sanitation and hygiene, between N300 and N400 is saved which can be invested in health, education, social and economic development. Access to Sanitation and Hygiene is not only a fundamental human right that safeguards public health and human dignity but also an essential need when it comes to disease prevention. Therefore, I want to use this opportunity to call on Nigerians especially those in places of authority (public or private) to ensure adequate provision for sanitation and hygiene including handwashing facilities at all times.
According to him, the federal government through the ministry has made several efforts towards the delivery of sanitation and hygiene mandates to the Nigerian citizenry. The Ministry in collaboration with stakeholders in reviewing the 2005 National Environmental Sanitation Policy and its implementation guidelines to meet the present emerging and re-emerging sanitation challenges, has developed National Solid Waste Management Policy, which was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council, and is currently reviewing its regulatory documents for improved service delivery on sanitation and hygiene through the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
He said: “In response to COVID- 19 pandemic, Our Ministry has carried out disinfection and decontamination of over 200 public and private premises across the country. I have also directed the Environmental Health Officers in the ministry and those in the states and LGAs to commence environmental health surveillance of all MDAs, schools and other public places and ensure compliance to COVID-19 guidelines and protocols especially in the areas of provision of handwashing facilities, use of hand sanitizers and face masks
“When we fail to wash our hands or do so incorrectly, we spread germs to other people, but proper hand washing breaks the transmission chain of diseases. On this basis, I want to enlist every Nigerian to be a vanguard of this year Hand Wash Campaign ‘HAND HYGIENE FOR ALL’ because it is by so doing that we can derive maximum benefits from our developmental efforts.