I am pleased to address you at this media briefing event as we highlight the activities outlined for the commemoration of the 2020 edition of the Global Handwashing Day. As you may be aware, October 15 was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as a global advocacy day dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of handwashing with soap, which is an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases. This day is expected to catalyse local, national and global actions and build the culture of hand washing with soap.
• The 2020 Global Handwashing Day theme of ‘Hand Hygiene for All’ is aligned to the recent Hand Hygiene Global Initiative launched by World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF to implement the recommendations on the prevention and control of COVID-19. This initiative is aimed at ensuring behaviour change and lasting infrastructure beyond the pandemic and requires putting in place policies, institutional environment, handwashing facilities and scaling up successful evidence-based approaches for a sustained hand hygiene practice. As a country, we need to develop a comprehensive roadmap to ensure that hand hygiene remains a mainstay among the populace, long after the pandemic.
• Handwashing with soap is critical to disease prevention and not only helps people improve their health, but also removes barriers to economic opportunity, allows children to learn and grow, and helps strengthen communities. It is considered as an affordable, accessible “do-it-yourself” vaccine for sanitation and hygiene related diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid fever and pneumonia which are prevalent in our communities. It is estimated to cut deaths from diarrhoea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by a quarter. A recent study showed that regular handwashing with soap can reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 infection by 36%. Handwashing with soap also helps to ensure the sustenance of efforts to end Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) such as River Blindness, Lymphatic Filariasis, Onchocerciasis, Soil Transmitted Helminthes and Schistosomiasis.
• According to the 2019 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASHNORM) report, national access to basic hygiene services indicated by availability of handwashing facility with water and soap is 16% with an estimated 167million people lacking access and disparity across locations and wealth quintiles. In schools and health care facilities, access to basic hygiene is 10% and 20% respectively while only 5% of public places such as markets and parks have basic hygiene facilities.
• These figures signified a marked reduction in access to hygiene services compared to the 2018 WASHNORM survey. While a high knowledge of handwashing practices estimated at 81% was reported in the 2019 WASHNORM survey, only 10% of the population can demonstrate proper handwashing with water and soap under running water while a minimal 5% are likely to practice proper handwashing with water and soap at critical times which includes after defecation, touching animals or sick persons, playing and before cooking, eating, handling food, or feeding others.
• We understand that the outbreak of COVID-19 has reawakened a consciousness of handwashing practices and it is important that we maximise this opportunity and ensure the sustainability of these infrastructures and behaviour, to achieve hand hygiene for all. This calls for collaboration and partnership with all Stakeholders because everyone has a role to play. My Ministry was recently admitted as a partner of the Global Handwashing Partnership which is the umbrella body of organizations promoting the cause of handwashing with soap globally. We will be leveraging on the opportunities that this global partnership presents to Nigeria towards improving the culture of handwashing with soap in the country.
• As you may be aware, the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ Campaign to end open defecation in the country by the target year of 2025 is ongoing and hygiene promotion is an integral component, with emphasis on handwashing at critical times, to break the faeco-oral route of disease transmission. A national study to analyse the handwashing programming landscape in the country was also carried out this year with the support of our partners and the report of that study will be shared as part of the planned activities for commemorating this year’s event.
• The National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS) which is a coordinating mechanism for sanitation and hygiene at the national level, has planned the following activities for the commemoration of the 2020 Global Handwashing Day:
• On Tuesday, 13th October 2020, a webinar will be held to discuss the state of handwashing in the country and unveil the national handwashing study report which is expected to inform handwashing programming in the country.
• There will be a month long electronic and social media engagements on Radio, Television and Social Media platforms. This includes discussion programmes, airing of jingles in local languages across different States; digital posters, banners, short videos, bulk SMS messages, etc.
• Awareness and sensitization visits will be carried out on Thursday, 15thOctober 2020 to designated markets and motor parks across the Area Councils in FCT to highlight effective handwashing techniques and distribute handwashing materials.
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• The main commemoration event on Thursday, 15th October, 2020 will be a visit to the Medium Security Custodial Centre at Kuje, where I will be presenting alongside my colleagues, handwashing facilities and products to the Facility, and also perform the symbolic handwashing.
• The Honourable Ministers of Education, Health and myself will also be participating in an early morning live TV programme on Thursday, 15thOctober.
• In the afternoon of Thursday, 15th October, a live Facebook talk show event will be held to engage online audience on the significance of effective handwashing with soap.
There will also be presentation of handwashing facilities to selected schools, healthcare facilities and markets across the FCT in the course of this month.
• All these activities are with the support of our partners – Action Against Hunger, OPS-WASH, Procter and Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, UNICEF, WaterAid and WSSCC. Across the country, state level activities are also being carried out during this period to commemorate the day which are all aimed at creating massive awareness across the country on the adoption of the habit of handwashing at critical times.
• As I conclude, the tagline: Hand Hygiene for All, reminds us to ensure that we make available opportunities for everyone to practice handwashing with soap at all critical times as we build a culture of good hygiene practices which lasts well beyond this pandemic period. I therefore enjoin us all to always remember that handwashing with soap is for all – great and small, young and old, rich and poor. We should therefore be an advocate for making it a habit as we celebrate the 2020 Global Handwashing Day. Let us all choose handwashing not only on Global Handwashing Day and during Pandemic alone, but every day.
‘Hand Hygiene for All’
WELCOME ADDRESS BY MRS DIDI WALSON-JACK, PERMANENT SECRETARY, FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES ON THE OCCASION OF MINISTERIAL MEDIA BRIEFING ON GLOBAL HANDWASHING DAY COMMEMORATION, 12TH OCTOBER, 2020
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I am happy to welcome you to this media briefing event to highlight planned activities to commemorate the 2020 Global Handwashing Day. We are commemorating the 2020 Global Handwashing Day under the platform of the National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS) and with the support of our Partners.
• Handwashing with soap is a lifeline to preventing many sanitation and hygiene related diseases. In the context of the COVID-19 situation, it is one of the main non-pharmaceutical preventive measures. The essence of commemorating global days such as the Global Handwashing Day is to create awareness, advocate for increased collaboration and partnership in the national effort to improve access to handwashing services and mobilize the populace on a sustainable behaviour change path. This is expected to provide the basis for our developmental efforts in building a healthy and virile nation.
• Today’s event is being hosted by the Honourable Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, joined by his colleagues from line Ministries such as Agriculture and Rural Development; Education; Environment; Finance, Budget and National Planning, Health, Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development; Information; Women Affairs; Works and Housing, as well as our Development and Private Sector Partners.
• This is being done in the spirit of collaboration and partnership as we build a culture of handwashing with soap and ensure good progress in our national aspiration of making Nigeria an enviable place to live for all citizens: where we all wash our hands at critical times! 5. I welcome you all once again and wish us all a fruitful media parley. Thank you.
