GLOBAL HAND WASHING DAY: UNICEF ENCOURAGES GOVT TO PROVIDE WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE FACILITIES IN PUBLIC PLACES

As countries all over the world celebrate Global Hand Washing Day, a health specialist and Officer in charge of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Enugu Field Office, Dr. Olusoji Akinleye has reiterated the need for the public to embrace regular handwashing with soap for hygiene.

Dr. Akinleye who gave the advice in Enugu, encouraged governments to be committed to providing Water, Sanitation and Hygiene facilities in schools, markets and other public places, not as a temporal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as an investment in public health and economic resilience.

The UNICEF health specialist noted that although hand washing with soap is critical in the fight against infectious diseases including COVID-19, globally, around three in ten people or two point three billion people do not have hand washing facilities with water and soap available at home.

He equally noted that the situation is worst in the least developed countries with over six in ten people without access to basic hygiene.

Dr. Akinleye explained that long term investment in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene can help prevent the next health crisis from coming.

Two women, Mrs. Nkechi Okeke and Mrs. Nneoma Nwankwo, as well as some pupils in Enugu State, on the occassion of 2021 Global Hand Washing Day, thanked UNICEF for its support, especially for the provision of WASH stands in many schools in the state.

They pledged to embrace regular hand washing with soap for personal hygiene and public health.