Proper and frequent handwashing have been advocated among Plateau State citizens as a first-line defense in preventing outbreaks and reducing the toll of current and future pandemics.

Centre for Gospel Health and Development, CeGHaD, a health-based organization and its development partners used the occasion of this year’s Global Handwashing Day to draw the attention of people to the dangers associated with poor hygiene.

The Day celebrated on the 10th of October each year has this year’s theme as “Our Future is at Hand –Lets’ Move Forward Together,” CeGHaD with support from BMZ through CBM Nigeria on the North Central Transitional Aid in Nigeria (NoCTRAiN) project commemorated the event concurrently at Gongpang community in Danto Ward of Riyom LGA of Plateau State and at Tiza community, Awe LGA of Nasarawa state.

The NoCTRAiN project aims to strengthen the resilience of conflict-affected communities and internally displaced communities with attention to disability in Plateau and Nasarawa states.
Addressing villagers at Gongpang, Executive Director CeGHaD, Nansik Onu outlined the importance of hand washing in reducing spread of disease and disclosed the steps taken to encourage the practice.

She stressed her organization has distributed 20 branded hand washing stations to schools and health centres and has also “constructed and rehabilitated 14 accessible VIP latrines with handwashing stations.”

She challenged rural communities to imbibe proper hand washing to reduce the burden of many diseases which pose chronic challenges to health and development.
Earlier, Project Manager NoCTRAiN project, Dasu Yakubu said the project has promoted hand hygiene in the communities as 50 hygiene promoters including six persons with disabilities across 25 communities in Plateau and Nasarawa states were selected and trained to train others.

He stressed, “Global Handwashing Day provides opportunities for the Government and stakeholders to work together and draw attention to the dangers poor hand hygiene portends to the nation. We are increasing awareness about the importance of hand hygiene and stimulating changes from the policy level to community-driven action.”

The General Manager, Plateau State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, PRUWASSA, Peter Kassam represented at the event by the Director Sanitation and Hygiene, Magdalene Jibrin, maintained, “Handwashing with soap is critical to the prevention of COVID-19 and Cholera outbreak and helps people improve their health status.

“It is considered as an affordable, accessible “do-it-yourself” vaccine for sanitation and hygiene related diseases like diarrhea, cholera, typhoid fever and pneumonia which are prevalent in our communities.

“Despite its lifesaving potential; handwashing with soap at all critical times is seldom practiced and difficult to promote; hence a call for it to be part of ingrained habit or lifestyle.

This is a role that rightly needs a collaborative effort of all through sustained financing, government leadership, donor and private sector support as well as community-level action to address.