By  Bose Adelaja

Nigerians from all walks of life have been urged to improve hygiene practices particularly the culture of regular hand-washing with soap and water, even as the nation has been declared free of the Ebola Virus Disease.

Making the appeal in Lagos during the launch of the “Give Life a Hand Campaign on this year’s hand washing day, General Manager, Reckitt Benckiser, West Africa, Mr. Rahul Murgai, described the campaign as another innovative solution for healthier lives and happier homes.

He said the company’s global antiseptic brand, Dettol, in keeping in line with the spirit of the vision and heritage in Nigeria, initiated the MOMentum campaign in 2014; a pledge to save 10 million lives in helping Nigeria reach its Millennium Development Goals to reduce infant mortality rate.

Marketing Director, West Africa, Reckitt Benckiser, Mr. Oguzhan Silivrili, said the campaign is carefully conceptualised to amplify the key message of this year’s Global Handwashing Day, with the theme ‘Choose hand washing, choose health.

Silivrili said regular hand washing is the first line of defence from preventable diseases such as diarrhoea, to the latest menace of EVD.

“If we want to protect our children from getting sick, the first thing to do is to educate them about washing their hands properly. Promoted on a wide enough scale, hand washing with soap can be thought of as a ‘do-it-yourself’ vaccine because it is easy, effective, and affordable. Ingraining the habit of hand washing could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention.

“A vast change tilting towards hand washing behaviour is therefore critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing two-third of deaths among children under the age of five by 2015,” he added.

In the view of Dettol Marketing Manager, West Africa, Reckitt Benckiser, Ahmed Wahap, ‘‘For every #handfie shared via social media platforms, Dettol pledges to educate a child in Nigeria on healthy handwashing habits. The more #handfie shared, the more kids will be educated. The process is open to everyone and is as simple as taking a picture of clean hand(s), and uploading on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram using #handfie,’’ he said