Development Partners Want Hand Washing Included In School Curriculums

Development partners have called on school authorities to include hand washing into the primary and secondary schools' curriculum.

They said this at the sideline of anevent to commemorate the 2015 Global Hand Washing Day in Abuja on Thursday.

According to them, no nation can develop if it fails to carry the younger generation along, because they are the future that we desire to see.

Ms Tolani Busari, Head, Governance, WaterAid Nigeria, said hand washing habit taught early in children had a lasting impact on the future.

She said the benefits of hand washing
outweigh the disadvantages, saying that it breaks the cycle of transmitting faecal oral diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and diarrhoea into the body.

Busari said Nigeria needed to step up its actions to make laws that promote the well being of a child, adding that access to water, sanitation and hygiene was critical to development.

She also urged all stakeholders to do more to reduce the number of children that died from preventable causes.

Mr Kanaan Nadar, Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, UNICEF Nigeria, also said hand washing at critical times was a major means to living healthy lives.

Nadar said critical times to wash the hand includes; after playing, before breastfeeding a child, after shaking hands, before and after eating food, and after using the toilets.

He said that hand washing should be observed after changing a babies’ diapers, after blowing your nose or sneezing, and after touching or playing with an animal.

Mr Nanpet Chuktu, the Programme Manager, Global Sanitation Fund Nigeria, appealed to all stakeholders to inculcate in children the culture of hand washing.

He said this was necessary to promote hand washing in schools, homes and communities.

According to him, over 70 per cent of ailments are caused by lack of good sanitation and potable water.

He said hygiene-related diseases were the leading cause of death in one among five children annually, saying this could be prevented by washing of hands with soap and water.

"Empowering children on hand washing skills will go a long way in promoting a hygiene culture in the society.

"Children can tell their parents, friends and teachers the benefits of washing their hands at critical times.

"They could also act as change agents to reduce increasing rate of preventable deaths,” he said.

He called for continuous awareness to enable more Nigerians to know the benefits of hygiene and sanitation to reduce deaths arising from them.

The theme for the 2015 Global Hand Washing day is ``Raise a Hand for Hygiene.’