Only 16 per cent of Nigerians have access to basic handwashing facilities at home, a non-governmental organisation, Sightsavers has said.
In a press statement made available to our correspondent by the group’s Communications Officer, Joy Tarbo, in commemoration of the 2022 Global Handwashing Day, the group called on governments, organisations, donors, and communities to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene services as means to reducing and eventual elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases.
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.
It said, “Handwashing with soap is critical in the fight against infectious diseases, including NTDs and COVID-19. Yet only 16 per cent of Nigerians have access to basic handwashing facilities at home – leaving families and communities at risk of infectious diseases, with children particularly vulnerable. Globally, around three in 10 people – or 2.3 billion – do not have handwashing facilities with water and soap available at home.
“In Nigeria, 21 per cent of Nigerians had access to basic handwashing facilities at home in 2018, compared to 16 per cent in 2019, indicating a worrying downward trend.
“As a result, Sightsavers has joined forces with the Federal Ministry of Health and other partners to promote the need for improving access to hygiene services.”
The National Co-ordinator, Clean Nigeria Campaign, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Chizoma Opara, was quoted as saying “Hand hygiene is critical to our lives, we need to make hand washing a habit. Nigeria has developed a roadmap for hand hygiene, and we want to see increased intersectoral collaboration for hand hygiene.”
The Country Director, Sightsavers, Dr Sunday Isiyaku, said “Increasing access to WASH services in our communities and prioritising the delivery of services based on the needs of each community in the intervention units is key in improving hand hygiene practices and vital for the control and elimination of NTDs.”
