The World Health Organization has reiterated the importance of hand hygiene in infection prevention and control. WHO also underscored the importance of training health workers to ensure improvement, strong engagement and advancements in scaling up IPC. The global health body stated this during World Hand Hygiene Day celebrated on May 5, an occasion aimed at raising awareness about the significance of hand washing in preventing disease transmission.
However, this celebration seems similar to the Global Hand washing Day, celebrated annually on October 15, as they both emphasize the vital role of hand washing with soap and water in disease prevention. Despite concerted awareness efforts, Nigeria still faces significant challenges in achieving hand hygiene due to water scarcity and poor sanitation practices. According to the United Nations International Children’s Fund, three in five Nigerians lack basic hand washing facilities at home, further increasing the transmission of infectious diseases.
A report by a non-governmental organization, Sight Savers, reveals that only 16 per cent of Nigerians have access to hand washing facilities, with three in 10 people globally lacking adequate access to water and soap for hand washing. Consequently, this lack of basic water resources, particularly in rural areas, contributes to poor hand hygiene practices and increases the risk of disease outbreaks.
On her part, the Country Director of Water Aid, Evelyn Mere, during the public presentation of the new Hand Hygiene Roadmap for All, stated that only 17 per cent of Nigeria’s population has access to basic hygiene services. Citing data from the 2021 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping Survey, she said only four per cent of the population are likely to practice proper hand washing with water and soap at critical times.
The National Co-ordinator for the Clean Nigeria Campaign, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Chioma Opara, called for the adoption of habitual hand washing, noting that the country had developed a roadmap for hand hygiene.
Despite these efforts, disease outbreaks, waterborne diseases and deaths attributed to lack of proper water, food and hand hygiene persists, notably in rural areas. Following the outbreak, the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jide Idris, announced an investigation into the yet-to-be-identified disease that had killed 164 children between four and 13 years in Sokoto State. Although the unknown disease is suspected to have emanated from illegal mining activities in the area, UNICEF’s report had ranked the three states as part of states with hand washing service levels including access to soap.
The NCDC in 2021, in response to the outbreak of cholera in several states in Nigeria, stated that it was caused by poor access to clean water, open defecation, poor sanitation and hygiene. Sokoto, Zamfara and Sokoto were among the states listed as affected by the disease outbreak. Furthermore, a progress report on the quality of drinking water in the Northern part of the country indicates that only 13.11 per cent of residents have access to clean water, hindering the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6, which focuses on ‘clean water and sanitation for all’. Additionally, the 2021 WASH National Outcome Routine Mapping reported that 23 per cent of all publicly owned water facilities were non-functional, due to lack of maintenance and unreliable operation. The WHO further asserted that efforts are focused on training and educating the global workforce of 65 million health workers to priorities hand hygiene as a critical measure in preventing infectious diseases.
