Lydia Seyram Alhassan handing over the handwashing kits to school authorities
Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Lydia Seyram Alhassan has provided hand washing kits to schools in the Ayawaso West Wougon Constituency as part of activities marking the global hand washing day.
The event, held at the La Bawaleshie Presbyterian School Park, was on the theme, “Why Are Clean Hands Still Important”.
Madam Alhassan who doubles as the Ayawaso West Wougon Member of Parliament, (MP) stated that hand washing with soap is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent diseases and save lives.
“This simple practice has proven to significantly reduce the risk of illness such as diarrheal diseases by 30% and acute respiratory infections by up to 20%,” she added.
She said globally, 2.3 billion people still lacked access to basic hand washing facilities with soap and water at home, and 670 million have no hand washing facilities at all.
“In Sub-Saharan Africa, 7% of healthcare facilities do not have hand hygiene services, and globally, 462 million children attend schools without access to hygiene facilities (UNICEF & WHO, 2021),” she indicated.
The Minister thus encouraged the public to practice proper hand washing to help prevent the spread of illnesses.
The event was organised by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency in collaboration with other partners like Global Communities Ghana, UNICEF, World Vision and Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, to increase awareness about the importance of hand washing with soap.
Director of Extension and Commercial Services, CWSA, Theodora Adomako-Adjei, expressed concerns as more than half of Ghanaians do not have access to hand washing facilities in their premises. “According to the MICS report 2017/18 only 48% of Ghanaians have access to hand washing facilities in their premises with soap and water and leaves more than half of the people without access to hand washing facilities,” she said.
By Florence Adom Asamoah & Ransford Wlestu