WASH Technical Specialist for World Vision Ghana, Mr. Yaw Atta Arhin has revealed that, the hand is easily contaminated due to frequent contacts and therefore the need for regular hand washing to clean germs to ensure that whatever goes into our systems are not contaminated.
“That is why for us in World Vision Ghana, hand washing is so important that we prioritize it. He stressed that” our vision for every child is that there would be life in all fullness. To be able to have life in all fullness for every child, we need to ensure that anything that will cause illnesses to children is prevented.
Our commitment is to ensure access to safe drinking water, increase sanitation and hygiene'”.
He disclosed this in an interview during a Hand Washing Day celebration organized by World Vision Ghana at the Nima Cluster of Schools in Accra, ahead of this year’s Global Hand Washing Day.
The 2023 Global Handwashing Day theme is “Clean hands are within reach.” This year’s theme highlights the progress that has been made around hand hygiene commitment and action in recent years, while also calling for more concerted efforts to ensure hand hygiene targets are met.
October 15, 2023, is the Global Hand washing Day, and it is dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives.
Hand washing Mr. Atta Arhin indicated, is the easiest, the safest and the most cost effective way to prevent diseases and to keep one alive.
According to Mr. Ahirn, at World Vision, it is not just Limited to the Global celebration but, it is a daily occurrence saying, in all the places you go where Word Vision are in operations, they have been invested very heavily in water, sanitation and hygiene.
He said World Vision is investing in water, sanitation and hygiene in other to get children out of preventable diseases. “So, even after the celebration, we will continue to provide access to safe water for children and their families wherever they are. We will continue to invest to improve sanitation, ending open dedication and ensuring that, households and schools and healthcare facilities have access to toilet facilities and also ensuring that, schools, communities, public places and healthcare facilities have access to hand wash facilities so that, they can continue to wash the germs out of their hands and continue to stay healthy and continue to stay alive”.
UNICEF Mr. Arhin mentioned, has made it publicly that, about 1,600 children die every year because of preventable diseases meanwhile, just by the simple hand washing, substantial portion of death that happened to children can be prevented.
Mr. Atta Arhin pointed out that, when COVID occurred in Ghana and the world in general, everybody from the top policy makers to community members, invested heavily in hand washing and hand washing facilities. “But it appears that because COVID is no more, we have relaxed and you go to many places, people don’t have hand washing facilities even when they have, they don’t wash their hands because they say, there is no more COVID”.
Hand washing he averred, is not just to prevent Covid but also, hand washing prevent several diseases. “So, I want to encourage everybody everywhere to wash their hands. Ghana Education have to invest in school health education programmes and encouraged the children to become agent of change. Even they can go to their communities so that together, we can make hand washing a daily practice. That is how we can prevent the spread of deaths that occurred in the area of children”.
Children he emphasized, are the main target because, they are the future leaders of Ghana and of other countries added that, effective at the same time, children are vulnerable therefore, World Vision believes that if you target the children, you are saving their lives and inculcating a good practice in them so that when they grow up, they would continue with it.
Global Hand washing Day is an international hand washing promotion campaign to motivate and mobilize people around the world to improve their hand washing habits. Washing hands at critical points both during the day and washing with soap are important.
