Global Handwashing Day: UNICEF targets 10m Nigerian children for awareness

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has announced that it will reach at least 10 million Nigerians through high profile handwashing demonstrations in schools and communities, mass rallies, road shows, airing of jingles on radio and television, and dissemination of handwashing messages on U-Report, Facebook and Twitter. A statement on Thursday, signed by Doune Porter, UNICEF Chief of Communication, said that it is organizing the programme in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, the National Task Group on Sanitation and other partners. Every year Nigeria loses over 150,000 children from diarrhoea alone, largely caused by unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene practices. This is equivalent to a big passenger aircraft crashing every day. Regular handwashing with soap after using toilets, after changing children’s nappies and before eating or handling food saves more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, according to experts. It can r