By CHIOMA OBINNA

As Nigerians grapple with uncheering child and maternal mortality ratio, experts have recommended simple hand washing with soap as a major strategy towards attaining the Millennium Development Goal, MDG, 4, aimed at reducing child mortality by two thirds by 2015.

It is believed that in some ways,  simple, but cost effective healthy habits such as good hand hygiene, works.

According to experts, the hand as a part of the human body plays significant role in the spread of disease-causing germs and other organism, so  cultivating cost effective healthy habits such as good hand hygiene would effectively ward off ill-health.

Permanent Secretary, Office of the Secretary of Federation, Dr Henry Akpan noted that efforts at cultivating healthy hand hygiene should involve washing the hands with soap to help rid the hands of every minute germs.

Akpan who spoke at the media unveiling of the 21 Days Healthy Hands Habit Campaign by Reckitt Benckiser in Lagos stressed the need for people to imbibe the culture of adding  value to their health as well as care for their hands.

“The hand is the body organ which carries out most of the physical actions involving touch. It is used for virtually everything.

You find out that the hand is one of the very important and very busy parts of your body. Therefore, caring for it is very, important and essential. That is why we must commend Reckitt Benckiser for bringing this culture back to us.”

Further, Akpan who was represented by Mrs. Philomena Oshodin,  observed: “Some people don’t have latrines or toilets. Let us have zero tolerance to open air defecation.”

Speaking, the National President, Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Dr. Osahon Enabulele  stated that diseases are easily spread from hand to the mouth,  and germs are too small to see, hence the need for regular hand washing. “Hand washing with soap help prevent diarrhea-related diseases like typhoid fever, cholera, respiratory infections”.

Represented by Dr. Martin Mommoh, Enebulele  pointed out that hand washing is very important in all parts of the world where people do not haveaccess to clean water and toilets.

According to him, hand-washing with soap, especially before preparing meals and after using the toilet is among the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent diarrhoea disease and pneumonia, which together are responsible for the deaths of 3.5 million children under five every year.

Assistant Director from the Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Oyebanji Oyenuga stated that 21 Days programme was capable of reviving the old habit of hand washing. He explained that the greatest challenges in epidemiology are communicable diseases such as cholera.

In his address, the General Manager, East and Central Africa Region, Mr. Ashok Bashin said everyone, including children can play a role in creating awareness and sensitising the public on the importance of hand hygiene, describing the Dettol hand-washing campaign as a step in the journey to communicate and educate the populace on benefits of hand-washing.