Ghana marks Global Handwashing Day with renewed call for improved hygiene

In a bid to reinforce the critical importance of hygiene, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, has called for a national commitment to regular handwashing with soap. 

She emphasised that handwashing with soap was a simple, yet critical practice which reduced the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections.  

“Handwashing with soap removes harmful microorganisms before they enter our bodies or are passed on to others. It breaks the chain of disease transmission and that can reduce school absenteeism caused by diarrhoea and influenza by up to 50 per cent ," she stated.

World Handwashing Day

Ms Alhassan made the appeal during the celebration of Global Handwashing Day yesterday, in Accra.

The event brought together officials from various sectors, including traditional leaders, development partners, students, journalists, all joining forces to raise awareness of the importance of hand hygiene.

Decline, call to action

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the simple act of handwashing, there has been a decline in that hygienic practice, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, a situation which was a source of concern for the minister, who called for a renewed focus on maintaining these facilities, especially in schools, hospitals and public places.

“Many handwashing stations have disappeared, and even where they exist, they are often non-functional, lacking soap or water.”

She urged parents, teachers, institutional heads, the private sector, and the media to work together to make hand hygiene a national priority.

“The power to save lives is in our hands. Let us choose handwashing with soap as a priority in our everyday activities," Ms Alhassan emphasised.

Efforts, challenges

The Chief Executive of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Aloysius Adjetey, also called for increased efforts to ensure that hand hygiene became a national priority.

He highlighted the significant progress made by the CWSA in promoting hand hygiene across the country but stressed that more work needed to be done.

"Community Water and Sanitation Agency, with the support of its partners, has initiated and undertaken several activities at the national, regional, district and community levels, which have led to the visibility of handwashing with soap in Ghana," he said.

Despite the efforts, the CWSA Chief Executive acknowledged the ongoing challenges, citing data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) of 2017/18. He noted that only 48 per cent of Ghanaians have access to handwashing facilities with soap and water on their premises.

“This leaves more than half of the population without access to handwashing facilities,” he pointed out, stressing that addressing this gap was critical to reducing preventable diseases and promoting overall well-being.

"CWSA will continue to engage key stakeholders to ensure that the practice of handwashing is accepted and becomes a norm in this country.

"Let us all come on board to promote a future Ghana where handwashing with soap is readily accepted and practised by all, both inside and outside the home," he emphasised and expressed appreciation for the support of development partners, including the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and WaterAid, for their role in improving hygiene standards across the country.