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Abuja, 23 October, 2020 - With people advised to observe physical distancing and good hygiene habits amidst the pandemic, health experts have constantly reminded that the simple practice of handwashing with soap and clean water is also one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs and viruses.
For Bolanle Popoola, a laboratory technician, imbibing the act of handwashing regularly with soap had required deliberate effort despite the knowledge that this could save her and her family from contracting infections as well as prevent them from spreading germs and viruses. She explained that she found it easier to continue with her work without washing her hands with soap because she most times wears a glove.
"With the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been taking extra effort to wash my hands with soap and water. I knew this before the outbreak, but there are times you neglect doing the right thing. We are told right from childhood to always wash our hands after playing, before eating, after using the toilet, and as often as possible. Handwashing is not only for people working in laboratories or hospitals. It is for everybody. You don't know what bacteria or germ you might have picked from the rails, from door handles, or other surfaces, she says.
Raising awareness on the importance of hygiene
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO with support of international health partners like UNICEF, UNIDO, UNFPA, IOM, OCHA and UNHCR, has been supporting the Federal Government in raising awareness on the importance of hand hygiene and integrated waste management to reduce risk behaviours among Nigerians. Many of which are beginning to yield success.
To Influence behavioural change, WHO developed and disseminated 1000 Metallic Handwashing Notices to agencies and ministries, departments and agencies. The notices contain the steps for proper handwashing and emphatic orientation that proper hand hygiene prevents coronavirus, Lassa fever, Cholera and several diseases and between March to October, over 50,250 persons have been influenced in both government and humanitarian space with the intervention.
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