Editorial: Make handwashing an everyday habit
Global Handwashing Day is celebrated on October 15 every year.
It is an international handwashing promotion campaign to motivate and mobilise people around the world to improve their handwashing habits.
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The global campaign is also dedicated to raising awareness and understanding the vital importance of handwashing with soap as an easy, effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives.
The first Global Handwashing Day was held in 2008 when over 120 million children around the world washed their hands with soap in more than 70 countries. Since 2008, community and national leaders have used the day to spread the word about handwashing and demonstrate the simplicity and value of clean hands.
The theme for this year is: “Unite for Universal Hand Hygiene.”
As children, you should know that good handwashing practices help protect you against diseases from the common cold to more serious infections, such as meningitis, bronchiolitis, hepatitis A as well as diarrhoea.
Recent research has shown that adhering to hand hygiene and other safety measures reduces the spread of cholera tremendously so it goes without saying that washing your hands frequently is very important.
Children should still be encouraged to wash their hands with soap under running water always so that they will stay healthy to enjoy their childhood and also have the peace of mind to study to achieve their full potential.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone has become conscious of the need to observe hand hygiene to stay safe from diseases.
Children must continue to wash their hands before and after meals, after visiting the toilet either at home or in school because they pick germs as they go about their daily duties.
They must also remember to wash their hands or use hand sanitisers after shaking hands with others, playing outside and touching things.
The Junior Graphic believes that children can only stay safe from diseases when they are provided with water and soap to wash their hands regularly.
This is why it is important for institutions, churches and organisations to continue to provide water in Veronica buckets, soap, sanitisers and tissues so people can constantly observe hand hygiene to stay healthy.
Schools should also ensure that there is constant water supply in all washrooms so that children can wash their hands with soap after each visit.
Moreover, authorities are also encouraged to provide Veronica buckets in the schools to enable schoolchildren to continue to practice hand hygiene even after the government had relaxed COVID-19 safety restrictions.
The Junior Graphic, therefore, urges teachers and parents to ensure that children practice this habit every day.
Parents must also make sure that their children wash their hands with soap under running water after playing and when they return from school.
That is a less expensive way to stay safe from diseases.
It is prudent for children to protect themselves from preventable diseases so they can continue to attend school regularly and achieve their dreams.
