Handwashing with soap could save lives of millions
UNICEF (Georgetown)  CHILDREN in thirty schools across Guyana will join their counterparts across the globe in observing Global Handwashing Day today, under the theme – ‘more than just a day.’

This year’s theme aims to make the simple, life-saving practice of washing hands a regular habit long after the sun sets this afternoon.
Global Handwashing Day seeks to promote this behavioural change not only by organizing activities in more than 80 countries to raise awareness of the benefits of handwashing, but by ensuring that schools and communities have the support they need to make the practice a routine.

This year as part of UNICEF’s commitment to promote the rights of the child to participate as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of Child, together with the Ministry of Education will be facilitating several activities of children’s artistic expressions including: poetry, jingle presentation a fancy dress parade articulating their perspectives of the issue of hand washing.

According to UNICEF’s Project Officer Michelle Rodrigues, the Ministry of Education should be commended on this year’s planning and implementation since children were involved as equal partners from the conceptualization to implementation and will be involved in the evaluation of their programmes.

Also, as part of UNICEF’s commitment to the Ministry of Education, continuous technical support is being provided for capacity building of students in various clubs across Guyana, teaching competencies and upgrade of schools as part of the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programme.

In 2009, under the UNICEF led WASH programme students from nineteen schools in Region 2 (Essequibo/Pomeroon) benefitted from upgraded water and sanitation facilities, including handwashing points, through the Ministry of Education’s School Improvement Plan (SIPS).

Globally, each year, diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections are responsible for the deaths of more than 3.5 million children under the age of five. The third annual Global Handwashing Day shines a spotlight on the importance of handwashing with soap and water as one of the most effective and affordable health interventions.

Water alone is not enough. Washing hands with soap and water especially at the critical times – after using the toilet and before handling food — helps reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal disease by more than 40 per cent and respiratory infections by nearly 25 per cent.  Furthermore, washing hands with soap is also being recommended as a critical action to prevent the spread of influenza.

Yet, despite its life-saving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practiced and not always easy to promote.

Although soap is available in most households, observed rates of handwashing with soap at critical moments range from zero to 34 per cent.  Unsafe water and inadequate sanitation are often major causes of lost work and missed school days, perpetuating the cycle of economic and social stagnation in many countries.  Investments in health, child survival, education, water supply, and sanitation are all jeopardized if there is a lack of emphasis on handwashing with soap.

Handwashing with soap represents a cornerstone of public health and can be considered an affordable, accessible “do-it-yourself” vaccine.

Improved sanitation and hygiene programmes combined with handwashing education directly impact the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 2: universal primary education and MDG 3: gender equality via higher enrolment, attendance and retention rates in schools for both girls and boys. Additionally, higher rates of handwashing with soap would significantly contribute towards meeting the MDG 4 of reducing deaths of children under the age of five by two-thirds by 2015.

Approximately 200 million children lathered up for last year’s Global Handwashing Day in 86 countries across five continents including Guyana, as schools and communities worldwide organized and participated in celebrations and handwashing campaigns.

Global Handwashing Day is an initiative of the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap, and is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies and individuals worldwide.