Some 30,000 students from 114 schools in eight local government areas of Sokoto are to participate in this year’s global hand washing campaign in the state.
Promoting handwashing is key to preventing diarrhoeal diseases.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says diarrhoeal diseases account for nearly half a million deaths a year worldwide.
“When children wash their hands with soap after going to the toilet or before eating, they reduce their risk of getting diarrhoea by more than 40 percent,” the fund said.
Speaking at a forum by UNICEF and the Sokoto state government to mark 2017 Global Handwashing Day with theme ‘Our hands, our future’, Chief, Sokoto Zonal office, Mohammad Mohiuddin stressed the importance of handwashing to health, nutrition, school attendance and overall wellbeing.
“While working towards increasing access to safe drinking water for more communities, schools, health institutions, market, offices, industries and other public places, it is important that everyone with a circle of influence should work towards ensuring that every child and adult adopts effective handwashing with soap, under running water at all times,” he urged.
“Result from 2016 MICS showed that in Sokoto state only 0.7percent of household have specific place for handwashing where water and soap or other cleansing agent are present while 5.3% in Kebbi state and 7.1% in Zamfara state,” he disclosed.
Mohiuddin said as part of the recently signed Media partnership agreement, UNICEF Sokoto Field office would engage households and the general populace in accelerating adoption of effective handwashing at critical times in Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
He noted critical times for handwashing to include after using a toilet, after cleaning up a child, before breastfeeding, before eating and after handling animals.
Commissioner for Water Resources ,Sokoto, Tureta expressed the state government’s commitment towards tackling rural water and sanitation challenges.
