16TH OCT, 2023
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation,Engr. Prof. Joseph Utsev, FNSE, FNICE, FNIWE, has urged all stakeholders to join hands in creating more investment opportunities in Hygiene and Sanitation infrastructure and products to boost quick response to prevention and control of diseases.
The Hon. Minister who was represented by the Director,Water Quality Control and Sanitation,Mrs Elizabeth Ugoh, stated this in Abuja at the commemoration of 2023 Global Hand Washing Day, tagged "Clean Hands are within Our Reach," on Monday October 16, 2023.
Prof. Utsev emphasized the commitment of the Federal Government to hygiene promotion and highlighted the Nigerian Roadmap to Hand Hygiene for All, launched in 2022, as a blueprint for sustainable hand hygiene practices.
He stressed that accessibility to convenient hand hygiene facilities is crucial, making it more likely for people to embrace good hand hygiene habits and underscored the need for accelerated investment in hygiene infrastructure and products in schools, homes, healthcare facilities, and public places.
He stressed that accessibility to convenient hand hygiene facilities is crucial, making it more likely for people to embrace good hand hygiene habits and underscored the need for accelerated investment in hygiene infrastructure and products in schools, homes, healthcare facilities, and public places.
The Minister also called for the adaptation of these facilities to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities with the aim of eliminating disparities and inequalities in access to effective hand washing.
Prof. Utsev underscored the importance of sustained financing, government leadership, private sector support, contributions from researchers, and community-level action to achieve these objectives.
He further noted that the Ministry's inclusion of Sanitation in its nomenclature will address institutional gaps in the sector and pledged his commitment to drive lasting change in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector, with emphasis on the essential role of collective action and behavioral change for a healthy and economically-viable nation.
The Representative of the Minister of Education, Mr Peters Ojonuba highlighted the importance of WASH services in schools and stressed that good hygiene practices are crucial for children's health and educational attendance, reducing school absenteeism.
He also remarked that the Ministry of Education promotes a child-to-child approach to hygiene activities, empowering students to become hygiene agents of change.
In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, OON, mni, represented by Mr Habu Jamilu, Director ll, Water Quality Control and Sanitation, stressed the need for strong leadership and collective action to increase access to hand washing services and emphasized that holistic sensitization of the Nigerian populace is key to behavioural change and the establishment of a hand washing culture that will lead to a healthy Nation.
Dr. Jane Bevan, UNICEF Chief of WASH, emphasized the importance of behaviour change in hand washing at critical times, noting that it is a simple and cost-effective way to prevent diseases.
She added that the hand hygiene Roadmap has been incorporated into the Clean Nigeria Use the Toilet Campaign, with an appeal for young people to demand hand washing facilities at all times.
Kolawole Banwo, Representative of WaterAid Nigeria , called for a rethink of behavioural change approaches to encourage more people to wash their hands as a way of moving from awareness to action. He stressed the urgency of closing the gap between knowledge and practice and the need to comprehensively cost the Nigeria Roadmap to Hand Hygiene for All to reflect new funding realities.
The commemoration included a quiz competition among school students and a symbolic demonstration of effective hand washing, among other activities.
Mrs. Funmi Imuetinyan
Head, Press and PR
Federal Ministry of Water Resources
Email: fmwrpressunit@gmail.com
Website: waterresources.gov.ng
