‘Don't take hand washing for granted’

Madam Josephine Owusu-Yeboah, Ahanta West District Disease Control Officer, has advised Ghanaians to maintain personal hygiene and properly wash their hands with soap under running water to avoid contracting infectious diseases.

She said the fingers pick germs and other micro-organisms after playing and touching many dirty items in the environment, therefore, there was the need to wash the hands with soap before and after eating.

She also stressed the need to wash the hands after visiting the toilet, removing mucus from the nose, handling garbage and caring for sick people to avoid infections.

Madam Owusu-Yeboah gave the advice during the celebration of this year’s Global Hand Washing Day at Agona-Nkwanta, in the Ahanta West District.

The Day is celebrated annually on October 15, throughout the world by various organizations and agencies that are championing hand washing with soap and water by individuals to reduce infections.

This year’s global theme is, “Choose Hand Washing, Choose Health”.

Mr. Stephen Yaw Owusu-Sekyere, Executive Director of Conservation Foundation, a non-governmental organization, concerned with conservation of natural resources, said hand washing with soap prevents diseases in a more straightforward and cost-effective manner than any single vaccine.

“Hand washing can prevent the transmission of a variety of pathogens and it may be more effective than any single vaccine,” he said.

According to statistics by United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), 4,000 children die daily, while one child dies every 30 seconds from diarrhoea.

Human faeces are the main source of diarrheal pathogens, shigellosis, typhoid, cholera, and all other common endemic gastro-enteric infections and some respiratory infections.

However, he said hand washing with soap stops the transmission of disease agents and could significantly reduce diarrhoeal infections and even the Ebola virus.

There was a demonstration on proper hand washing by health personnel.