NAN-H-49
Sanitary
By David Adeoye
Ikole (Ekiti), Oct. 15, 2016 (NAN) An Environmentalist, Tunde Famuyisan has urged government and relevant UN agencies to focus more in sensitising rural dwellers on the need to inculcate the habit of hand washing with soaps.
Famuyisan, who heads the Environment and Health Department, Ikole Local Government of Ekiti, stated this on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ikole Ekiti, on 2016 Global Hand Washing Day.
He said that inculcating the hand washing habits among rural dwellers would reduce spate of cholera outbreak and other communicable diseases that characterised rural habitation.
He implored government to show greater commitment to hand washing awareness and to other hygienic practices in order to save people, especially children from dying through unhygienic practices.
He cautioned rural dwellers to embrace washing hands with soap after visiting toilet, before eating and also inculcate the habits in their children so as to protect them from germs.
He frowned at the habit of some farmers, who used leaves to clean-up after toileting in the bush and at the same time eat food without washing same hands with water let alone soap.
“The habit is barbaric and people practicing it should desist, even poorly washed hands after toilet is much contaminated as unwashed hands, so people should know how to wash hands properly,’’ he stressed.
Famuyisan further urged teachers to always inculcating the washing with soap habits in their pupils, saying they should not wait until the annual commemoration of the Global Washing Hands Day before carrying out sensitisation.
He said that Ikole Local Government Council in collaboration with WaterAid Nigeria, trained teachers from 13 selected schools in the area, on hand washings practices to commemorate 2016 Global Hand washing Day. (NAN)
DAK/ACO/AFA
Edited by Oluleye Abiodun/Felix Ajide
============================