16 Oct 2014

Botswana recently joined the international community for the first time to commemorate the annual Global Hand washing Day.

The event that was in its seventh year was started by the public private partnerships for Hand Washing in 2008 specifically targeting school children. Through the commemorations, the event connected more than 70 countries and ensured that over 120 million children washed their hands with soap.

Speaking during the commemoration in Maun, the chief health officer from the Ministry of Health, Mr Samuel Kolane said, “I take this pride in the realisation that Botswana joins the international communities in commemorating this day for the first time this year a feat we hope to uphold and carry forth in the years to come”.

He said the theme: Clean Hands Saves Lives, was befitting as the event also aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of hand washing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent disease around the world; supporting a global and local culture of hand washing with soap and raising awareness about the benefits of doing so.

Mr Kolane mentioned that the event also highlighted the health impact of hand washing with soap particularly the reduction of childhood illness and mortality.

He revealed that evidence showed that diarrhoea disease and respiratory tract infections were the two biggest killers of children in the developing world noting that approximately 2.2 million children aged five years die each year from diarrhoea diseases, making diarrhoea the second most common cause of death among children under five.

On the other hand, he said UNICEF estimates that diarrhoea kills one child every 30 seconds. In addition, Mr Kolane noted that hand washing with soap can reduce the incidence of diarrhoea among children by 30 per cent and the incidence of respiratory infections by 21 per cent.

He said Botswana was not immune to childhood illness indicating that on a weekly basis diarrhoea cases sometimes with fatalities were reported. “These are illness that can easily be avoided by applying basic traditional methods of hand washing with soap”, he added.

He explained that in 2011 the Ministry of Health on collaboration with UNICEF conducted a school sanitation and hand washing study in selected districts namely; Mahalapye, Chobe, Northwest and Lobatse focusing mainly on primary schools and pre-schools.

The whole purpose of the study was to establish if the schools had enabling infrastructure for sanitation and hand washing and if they had adequate resources.

The survey also intended to promote awareness on communicable diseases among school children.

Mr Kolane said the result of the study showed the nation had a long way to go noting even today more knowledge and skills are needed on how to wash hands with soap.

He urged relevant department to advocate for the erection of structures with hand washing facilities. He also pointed out that emergence of other public health threats such as Ebola only served to buttress the need for proper infection control measures. 

“While a healthy immune system and taking precautionary measures are the best defence mechanism, basic hygiene such as proper hand washing with soap can help defend against harmful microorganisms”, he said. ENDS