Harare, 17 Oct. 2012 -- Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world in commemorating Global Handwashing Day at an event held at Zengeza High School in Chitungwiza. The event, which was held under the theme Help more children reach their 5th birthday was targeted at schoolchildren, because children are enthusiastic and open to new ideas and often act as agents of change by taking the “handwashing lessons” back into their homes and communities.

The active participation and involvement of children who are ideally situated at the intersection of the home, school, and community can ensure sustained behavioral change when combined with culturally sensitive community based interventions. The commemoration therefore aimed at motivating children to embrace and share proper handwashing practices, and place them as handwashing ambassadors at the heart of national and local initiatives.

In a statement read on his behalf by Mr Maphosa NPO/DPR, the WHO Representative said that handwashing with soap or ash is the single most cost-effective health intervention. He said handwashing is cost effective when compared with other health interventions like immunization and responding to disease outbreaks. He also emphasized the importance of clean hands in preparing, dishing and eating food. “Hands often act as vectors that carry disease-causing pathogens from person to person, either through direct contact or indirectly via surfaces.

When not washed with soap, hands that have been in contact with human or animal feces, bodily fluids, and contaminated foods or water can transport bacteria, viruses and parasites to unsuspecting hosts”, he said and emphasized that hand washing with soap is among the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, which together are responsible for the majority of child deaths. The same sentiments were also echoed by the UNICEF Representative who said with proper handwashing with soap and ash, more children will not succumb to diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections and will ultimately reach their 5th birthday.

In his statement, Dr Obadiah Moyo, the CEO of Chitungwiza General Hospital, who was the guest of honour said washing hands with alone, which is a common practice, is not enough. “Proper hand-washing requires soap or ash because with proper use, soap and ash are effective at rinsing away disease causing germs”, he said. Dr Moyo also encouraged the people of Chitungwiza to embrace proper handwashing techniques as it will go a long way in reducing the incidence of cholera and typhoid in their city which is one of the hardest hit areas.

The commemoration was characterized by poems, drama and songs extolling the virtues of proper handwashing, as well as demonstrations of the 10 steps of proper handwashing and a handwashing competition. The students demonstrated good knowledge of proper handwashing and the poems, songs and dramas all had pleas to parents and caregivers to embrace the handwashing practice and save Zimbabwe’s children from unnecessary and preventable deaths from diarrheal diseases and acute respiratory infections

Contact:

juliasw [at] zw.afro.who.int for more information