CHUCHULIGA in the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region joined the rest of the world to mark this year’s Global Handwashing Day, with a call on the people to make handwashing a lifelong habit.
The programme, organised by WaterAid Ghana through the Sexual Reproductive and Health Education (SHARE) project at the Chuchuliga Health Centre on Wednesday, attracted health workers, traditional leaders, teachers, learners, community leaders, and women groups.
In an address read on her behalf at the occasion, the Country Director for WaterAid Ghana, Ewurabena Yanyi-Akofur, noted that there was the need for everybody to prioritise regular handwashing to prevent infections.
She called on the people in the region to be conscious and deliberate in the routine washing of hands with soap and under running water, emphasising it was a simple activity that saved lives.
Held on the theme: “Be a Handwashing Hero; Clean Hands Are Within Reach,” Mrs Yanyi-Akofur said it was a responsibility of children, parents, teachers, and opinion leaders to give attention to the cleaning of surroundings and washing of hands at all times.
“Clean hands are not a luxury; they are a basic right. When we wash our hands with soap at critical times, we prevent infections, protect mothers and new-borns, keep children in school, and safeguard the dignity of every woman and girl,”
the Country Director disclosed in a speech read by Fauzia Aliu, Advocacy, Complaints and Inclusion Manager.
She told the gathering that the country could only achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Six on clean water and sanitation if individuals challenged themselves to practise good hygiene without fail.
The Builsa North Municipal Director of Health Services, Cabral Vwawojei Bantiu, said it was both economically and health-wise to practise regular handwashing, saying that:
“Because if you get infections through bad sanitation practices, you will spend thousands of cedis to go for treatment.”
Herbertha Simpson, Regional Senior Extension Services Specialist of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), appealed to the chiefs to lead the crusade on the need for regular handwashing in their respective communities.
The SHARE project is a five-year project being implemented by WaterAid Ghana, an international non-profit-making organisation, alongside the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Ghana and Right to Play (Lead implementers), with technical assistance from FHI 360.
The project had since supported schools, health centres, and communities to strengthen hygiene systems and ensure educational institutions and health facilities get access to reliable handwashing stations. It also integrates handwashing with menstrual hygiene and adolescent health education, and empowers youth and women’s groups to lead community actions and hold duty bearers accountable for hygiene financing and services.
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, CHUCHULIGA
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