Dettol, FG reiterate importance of hand hygiene at 2021 global hand washing day
IN its continuous efforts to increase awareness around hand hygiene habits and the importance of regular hand washing with soap, Dettol Nigeria partnered with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to commemorate 2021 Global Hand washing Day to highlight the critical role hand hygiene plays in reducing disease transmission as the on going COVID- 19 pandemic continues.
The Global Hand washing Day is an international advocacy day dedicated to increasing public awareness and understanding about the importance of washing hands with soap, as an effective way of preventing diseases.
At the commemoration event in Abuja, with the theme “Our Future is at Hand – Let’s Move Forward Together”, Minister of Water Resources, Sulaimon Hussein Adamu represented by the Permanent Secretary, Didi Walson- Jack while commending the stakeholders for their support said, sustenance of sanitation and hygiene in Nigeria is vehemently important and so therefore it is important to create awareness to the issue of sanitation and hygiene.
Speaking on the role and support of Dettol, General Manager, Reckitt Sub- Saharan Africa, Akbar Ali Shah, stated: “As the world marks the 2021 Global Hand washing Day, Dettol remains committed to ensuring hand washing gets the needed attention it deserves. We believe it’s important to inculcate hand hygiene habits among citizens as a simple act of proper hand washing with soap has been proven to reduce risks of diseases, particularly respiratory and intestinal, by 20per cent- 25per cent.
“Dettol understands the importance of good hygiene and sanitation in the lives of Nigerians, it is one of the reasons we launched the Dettol Clean Naija Initiative in 2019 before the pandemic, and in line with its objectives, we have also recently launched a school hygiene curriculum which is an interactive and engaging hygiene lessons aimed at children in primary schools so as to create sustainable behavioral change at a young age. The curriculum is currently being deployed in schools in Lagos, with plans to extend to other states in 2023”.
Reckitt Nigeria, through the Dettol brand, has over the years developed several programs committed to tackling public health and hygiene issues, including School Hygiene Programme, New Mum’s Programme and the # Dettolhandwashchallenge through which they have educated millions of Nigerians over the past six years.