Hand Washing Day: Group urges Plateau Govt. to provide hand washing facilities in public places

An NGO, Society for Water and Sanitation (NEWSAN), has advised the Plateau Government to provide hand washing facilities in public places.

The Programme Officer of the organisation, Mr Jephtha Daleng, gave the advice in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Jos.

Daleng, who spoke in commemoration of the 2020 Global Hand Washing Day, said such move would prevent people from contracting the novel COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) had said that 80 per cent ways of contracting COVID-19 is through our hands, and so, regular hand washing is very key.

“We call on Plateau Government to provide hand washing facilities in public places such as offices, markets and worship centres.

“This will improve the culture of hand washing and address the challenge of contracting COVID-19 and other communicable diseases,”he said

The programme officer also called on residents of the state to imbibe the culture of regular hand washing so as to maintain personal hygiene and stay safe from diseases.
He urged the state government to prioritise access to water and make the commodity available and affordable for the populace.

According to him, achieving total personal hygiene was largely dependent on the availability of water, hence, government must intensify efforts at making the commodity available.

ROYAL NEWS reports that the Global Hand Washing Day was first celebrated in 2008 where over two million children from 70 countries came together and washed their hands.
The theme of the 2020 celebration is: “Hand Hygiene for All”.