By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Ghana has joined the rest of the world to mark the 2024 edition of the Global Handwashing Day (GHD) with a call on the citizenry to make hand washing with soap a regular feature in their everyday activities.
The commemoration of the GHD was marked with a durbar of traditional rulers, state officials, the diplomatic corps, management of both international and local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), food vendors, students and journalists at the forecourt of the La-Bawaleshie Presbyterian Cluster of Schools located in East Legon, Accra.
The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan, delivering her keynote address called for a national commitment to regular handwashing with soap since measures put in place to ensure regular handwashing during the era of Coronavirus pandemic have been abandoned.
Emphasising on the importance of regular handwashing with soap, Madam Alhassan said looks simple, yet critical practice which reduced the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections.
“Handwashing with soap removes harmful microorganisms before they enter our bodies or are passed on to others.
It breaks the chain of disease transmission and that can reduce school absenteeism caused by diarrhoea and influenza by up to 50 per cent,” The Minister of Sanitation said.
Despite the overwhelming evidence of the simple act of handwashing, there has been a decline in that hygienic practice, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, this situation has become a source of concern for the minister, thus calling for a renewed focus on implementing measures and facilities put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure safety of children and the general public.
Madam Alhassan has again called for the maintenance of handwashing facilities, especially in schools, hospitals, and public places.
“Many handwashing stations have disappeared, and even where they exist, they are often non-functional, lacking soap or water,” the minister added
She urged parents, teachers, institutional heads, the private sector, and the media to work together to make hand hygiene a national priority.
“The power to save lives is in our hands. Let us choose handwashing with soap as a priority in our everyday activities,” Madam Alhassan emphasized.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Mr. Aloysius Adjetey, in a speech read on his behalf by Mrs Theodora Adomako-Adjei, Head of Extension Services, CWSA also called for increased efforts to ensure that hand hygiene became a national priority.
Mr Adjetey’s speech highlighted the significant progress made by the CWSA in promoting hand hygiene across the country.
However, Mr. Adjetey stressed that there is more work needed to be done in order to maintain the gains made so far.
The CEO of CWSA acknowledged the ongoing challenges in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), citing data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) of 2017/18 to back his claims.
Per the MICS report only 48 per cent of Ghanaians have access to handwashing facilities with soap and water on their premises.
This according to Adjetey leaves more than half of the population without access to handwashing facilities.
He noted that addressing the gap identified in the MICS report was critical to reducing preventable diseases and promoting overall well-being.
“CWSA will continue to engage key stakeholders to ensure that the practice of handwashing is accepted and becomes a norm in this country.
Let us all come on board to promote a future Ghana where handwashing with soap is readily accepted and practiced by all, both inside and outside the home,” he assured.
The CEO of CWSA expressed his profound appreciation for the support of development partners, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), WaterAid, World Vision Ghana, Plan International Ghana, among many others for their role in improving hygiene standards across the country.