The Federal Ministry of Water Resources and UNICEF have organized a four-day workshop, from November 23 — 26, for in-depth discussions on hygiene-related interventions in communities, primary schools, health facilities and market places, and on finding ways to intensify proper hand-washing practices, one of the most effective means to reduce diarrhoea. The planned outcome of the workshop will pave the way for a clear national strategy for cost-effective interventions for healthy and sustainable hygiene practices, focusing on school children as effective agents of change for families and communities.
Media are invited to attend the first day of the workshop Monday, 23 November, from 09:00 to 11:00 at the Rockview Classic Hotel, Gurara Hall.
Key stakeholders at the workshop will include the Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Health from the Federal Government of Nigeria, along with other members of the National Sanitation Task Group, donors such as DFID, the EU and the World Bank, and key representatives from various states.
Some 50 million Nigerians do not have access to toilets and are obliged to defecate in the open, with Nigeria among the five countries in the world with the greatest rates of open defecation. Handwashing practices, especially at critical times — after using the toilet, after cleaning a child’s faeces and before eating food — is very low among households in Nigeria.
A recent survey carried out by UNICEF in 6 states found that 82 per cent of people wash their hands with soap before eating meals, but only 53 per cent do so after defecation. The practice of washing hands with soap after cleaning a child’s faeces is alarmingly low at an average of only 14 per cent.
Open defecation and poor hygiene practices lead to 88 per cent of diarrhoeal deaths in Nigeria — 400 children under the age of five die every day as a result.
UNICEF and partners are exploring solutions. This year, for example, UNICEF introduced “Group Hand Washing” in 14 schools in Chikun LGA, Kaduna State. Teachers were trained to install low or no cost systems of simple “Tippy Taps” in schools with support from pupils, parents and the community. Installation of the taps was rapid and within only a few days, 4,000 children were washing their hands with soap in groups before eating their meals.
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