Global Handwashing Day

NEWS COMMENTARY THE PROMOTION OF REGENERATIVE HEALTH AMONG GHANAIANS THROUGH HAND WASHING, AS THE WORLD CELEBRATES WORLD HANDWASHING DAY

Global Handwashing Day is observed on the 15th October each year. The international handwashing day is one of the United Nation’s critical health promotion observations. The Day is used to motivate and mobilise people around the world to improve their handwashing habits. The Global Handwashing Partnership formerly called “Public Private Partnership for Handwashing,” established Global Handwashing Day in 2008 to promote a global and local vision of handwashing with soap. Washing hands at critical points during the day and washing with soap are both important. The campaign raises awareness about handwashing with soap as a key factor in disease prevention.

The significance of handwashing cannot be over emphasised, due to its benefits to disease prevention. According to health experts, respiratory and intestinal diseases can be reduced by 25-50 percent if hand washing is taken seriously. Though, no one will deliberately infest his or her hands with bacteria, it is vital for the hand to be washed regularly, since the disease causing micro-organisms cannot be seen with the naked eyes. When our hands are contaminated, we become suceptible to Diarrhea, Cholera, Hepatitis, worms among other infectious diseases.

In 2007 when Ghana shifted from curative to preventive health care policy led by then Minister for Health, late Major Courage Quashigah, dubbed “REGENERATIVE HEALTH & NUTRITION PROGRAMME,” the Ministry took proper hand washing sensitisation as one of its critical regular campaigns.

It consequently liaised with schools, churches, community leaders, heads of institutions among others to promote proper hand washing among the citizenry. The education was successful, but a few years down the lane, the story is different. One would ask what has happened? It is essential for the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service to revamp the campaign and engage with partners to start rigorous sensitisation on proper hand washing to prevent spread of diseases.

As a nation with preventive health policy, it is long overdue for our policy makers to focus and invest in preventive health measures so that our national purse can be protected from needless health related expenditure. Why should we always think about putting up hospitals and equipped them at the expense of basic ill-health prevention crusade, which will reduce cost and also improve life expectancy?  It is time that our policy makers think about useful and less cost effective interventions.

Basic good health enhancement practices such as proper hand washing must be tackled with multifaceted approach to achieve the desired results. Individuals, families, communities, employers and the nation as a whole should join in promoting proper handwashing with soap. Indeed, it is time Ghanaians stand up, to demand better policies and programmes that will enhance their wellbeing. It is equally critical for the State to ensure the provision of portable and affordable water in every community to help in the proper handwashing campaign. It is a fact that lack of water or irregular supply of water will undermine the handwashing education campaign.

Let’s all learn to adopt proper hand washing culture to reduce the disease burden of the country.

BY PHILIP NANA ASANTE HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT EXPERT & CONSULTANT.