Global Handwashing day

October 15 is Global Handwashing Day, a global advocacy day 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.

Handwashing with soap and water is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent the spread of disease. Yet, 3 billion people still lack basic handwashing facilities with soap and water at home.  How Clean has your hand been this year or you one amongst the 3 billions with lack of basic handwashing facilities or as a leader what have you done for the school, health facility and public place or even in your home to make hand washing the norm?.

It is still a reality that, as the world celebrates clean hands for all, many people have shortage of water in homes, schools and other public facilities and thus ends up forgetting to keep their hands clean and more so children and this situation is even worsened by insecurity and infrastructure like roads  where access has been deliberately denied to actors with such facilities . The operations team  have been instrumental in ensuring advocacy and implementations are memorable through having clear message which are understandable, easily translated and transmitted to all. The more the masses are sensitized through the right channel of communication, at the right time and at the right place then the quicker the minds of people will change. The focus of operations team is supposed to be around this areas of timely delivery of such messages and in the most understood way to create change.

Though at the same point, road access, insecurity are key areas that have hindered effective dissemination and support, governments needs to work to ensure support reaches out to other masses through engaging in peaceful resolution and improving the road networks and there is also need to ensure soap or simple healthy tradition of using ash is promoted where families can not afford soap for clean hand washing.

There is also need for more inclusive efforts in making available water containers as contamination can also be through use of dirty containers for fetching water. In one of our programmes we have empowered women to repair and manage boreholes and this has enhanced gender inclusion in the work believed to be for men and above all it has increased availability for clean water for cleaning hands.

As we wish every one a global handwashing days, we believe we can achieve clean hands for all through promoting cost effective clean water and hand washing facilities in homes, schools and other public facilities and also encouraging people to  always wash hands.