CHURCH OF CHRIST LAUNCHES HANDWASHING CAMPAIGN (PAGE 23, NOV 18, 2010)

THE Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), in collaboration with the Rural Water Development Programme of the Church of Christ, has launched a handwash campaign at Ashaiman aimed at improving upon the hygienic conditions of households within the municipality.
The wash day initiative sought to mobilise thousands of women in the community and its environs to wash their hands with soap in consolidation with global commitments.
The campaign dubbed, “Ashaiman Wash Day”, was to help break the cycle of disease transmissions while using women as agents of change for the adoption of hygienic behaviours and personal health conditions.
Speaking at the launch, the Extension Services Co-ordinator of the CWSA, Mrs Theodora Adomako-Adjei, indicated that studies conducted revealed over 2million children worldwide died of diarrhoea while 3.7million others died of respiratory infections annually.
According to her, 80 per cent of such infections leading to high incidence of deaths were caused by germs transferred into the body by hands, owing to the inability of majority of Ghanaians to wash their hands with soap at critical times, that is (during and after visiting the toilet), waste disposal amongst other tasks.
She said hand washing with soap was the most effective and inexpensive ways towards the prevention of diarrhoea and pneumonia, amongst other respiratory diseases.
It was for this reason, “We as an institution would not want to wait for an annual celebration of handwashing days before embarking upon campaigns aimed at improving sanitation and healthy life,” Mrs Adjei stated.
She challenged society to be inspired towards the adoption of simple but cost effective acts of washing with soap as a way of life.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Church of Christ Rural Development Programme, Mr Nathaniel Adams, said studies within Ashaiman and its environs revealed that, washing with soap at critical times was rarely practised.
He appealed to the general public to transform the idea of handwashing with soap from an abstract one to an automatic behaviour performed at homes, schools, communities to reduce deaths.
That, Mr Adams said, would make a significant contribution towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) on death among children below the age of five by 2015.
Gospel Musician, Grace Ashly, who is leading the campaign as a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) ambassador, charged the market women to vigorously campaign against unhygienic practices in their homes and work areas.
That she said would be a major contributor to the well-being of consumers who patronise their products.