By Maureen Sheyin
As the world marks this year’s Hand Washing Day, the Executive Secretary Kaduna State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Hamza Abubakar says the Agency in Collaboration with the State Ministry of Health and Human Services, RUWASSA and UNICEF have teamed up to create more awareness on the importance of keeping the hands clean.
Doctor Hamza Abubakar who was speaking at an event to mark the Day in Kaduna, explained that the World Health Organisation in 1988 in Sweden set aside 5th of May every year, to celebrate the global hand washing and Nigeria has been at the forefront by observing the day with the aim of sensitizing the public on the importance of hand washing.
Dr. Abubakar emphasized that frequent hand washing will prevent the people from contacting a lot of diseases.
A cross section of respondents said they washed their hands as frequent as five to ten times in a day.
According to Alhaji Hamza Garba, “I washed my hands after ten to twenty minutes or I used hand sanitizer to avoid contacting diseases because it is through the hands we get all manner of diseases”.
A medical practitioner says he sees patients every day hence the need for him to be conscious of the cleanliness of his hands.
A Primary school pupil, Abdulsamat said he usually washes his hand three times in day and anytime he finished playing and that his parents are ensuring that he observed the best practice of keeping the hands clean.
In her message on this year’s Day, WHO’s Assistant Director General Antimicrobial Resistance Disease, Professor Hannan Balkhy urged health workers at all levels and people assessing health care facilities across the globe to unite in ensuring clean hands .
The theme “Unite for Safety Clean Your Hands” encourages people to clean hands at the right times with the right product that will help lead to high quality safer care every where.
To priotize clean hands in health facilities, the Assistant Director General said people at all levels need to believe on the importance of hygiene to save lives, by acting as key players in achieving the appropriate behaviours and attitudes towards it.
The theme also focuses on quality and safety climate or culture, recognising that people at all levels can work together to influence the culture and climate of safety and quality through clean hands to meet the common goal of safety and quality in health care delivery system
