The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised concerns over Nigeria’s low handwashing rates, with only 17 per cent of the population practising proper handwashing at critical times.

Jane Bevan, UNICEF chief of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), communicated this during the 2024 Global Handwashing Day event in Abuja, themed “Why Are Clean Hands Still Important.”

Ms Bevan said there was a need to establish handwashing as a social norm, highlighting its significance in public health.

“We need to move beyond simply expecting everyone to wash their hands and start holding people accountable when they do not.

“If you see someone eating without washing their hands, call them out; such behaviour can lead to illness,” said Ms Bevan.

She urged individuals to become “ambassadors for handwashing” by encouraging others to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet.

Ms Bevan also called on the members of the public to speak up if they saw someone leaving a public restroom without washing their hands.

Elizabeth Ugoh, the director of water quality control at the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, said the event was organised under the National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS) to raise awareness about the importance of handwashing.

She said handwashing with soap was a cost-effective and efficient method to prevent sanitation and hygiene-related diseases.

Ms Ugoh expressed confidence that the collective efforts of all stakeholders would help establish proper hand hygiene practices in homes, schools, healthcare facilities, markets, places of worship, workplaces, and public spaces.

Global Handwashing Day, observed annually on October 15, is a United Nations-designated day aimed at raising awareness about the importance of handwashing with soap.

(NAN)