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By Madu Obi
The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, has urged the various state governments in Nigeria to set up regulatory bodies that would ensure clean water available to curb water-borne diseases in the country.
The WASH specialist at the UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Mrs Rebecca Gabriel, who spoke at the zonal media briefing to mark the World Hand washing day, said although there are Water Corporations in the states, there is need for regular monitoring of water produced by the water boards.
She lamented that sometimes Water Corporations use even expired chemicals to treat water, arguing that only regulatory bodies in place could monitor and ensure clean water supply for the populace.
"Water recycling is a serious concern in the country and that is why governments must do everything possible to collaborate with the private sector to make clean water available"she said.
The Officer in charge of UNICEF Enugu Field Office described hand washing as a simple, yet incredibly effective way to prevent the spread of diseases and protect public health.
She said: "As we celebrate global hand washing day with the theme – 'Why are clean hands still important?’, I want to emphasize the significance of this simple yet powerful act in safeguarding our health and well-being. Hand washing is a cornerstone of disease prevention, and its impact on public health cannot be overstated.
UNICEF is committed to promoting hand hygiene among the communities we serve. We believe that by fostering a culture of hand washing, we can contribute to a healthier and safer world for all.
UNICEF supports national hand washing campaigns and helps integrate hand washing into other existing programmes – like health, education and nutrition – in over 90 countries.
Together with governments, we can develop hand washing policies, strategies and action plans to promote hand washing and make services and supplies available".
She said that in collaboration with the World Health Organization, UNICEF monitors hand washing in households, schools and health-care facilities around the world and has supported hand hygiene initiatives to combat some of the worst epidemics, including Ebola and cholera, for many years.
Since the emergence of the global COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF has scaled up hand hygiene efforts in various countries and regions through the Hand Hygiene for All Initiative.
"Our global coordination with partners will help ensure that countries hold on to the gains made in hand hygiene beyond the pandemic. All of society must work together to achieve universal hand hygiene.
To move forward together, we must understand where we stand. To support this, UNICEF and WHO launched a joint report, which brings together hand hygiene critical data sets and insights to present the sector’s current status and highlight lagging progress," she stated.
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