P&G promotes hand washing for disease prevention

Procter and Gamble (P&G) Nigeria has urged Nigerians to imbibe good hygiene habits as a means of improving their health.

The company made the call at a workshop organised for children from select secondary schools in Lagos by P&G and its partner, Save the Children International and other stakeholders, as part of the company’s activities to commemorate the 2014 Global Hand Washing Day (GHWD).

Temitope Iluyemi, P&G’s director, global government relations, sub-Saharan Africa, described hand washing as an efficient way to improve health among Nigerians.

“Medical research findings have shown direct correlation between hand washing and improvement of health around the globe,” she said.

“The simple act of washing hands with soap can reduce the incidence of communicable diseases like diarrhoea among children by almost 50 per cent and respiratory infections by nearly 25 per cent,” she said.

She said children suffer disproportionately from diarrhoeal diseases as statistics show that more than 3.5 million children under five die every year from diarrhoea and pneumonia-related diseases.

She added that the company celebrates the Global Hand Washing Day as a day set aside by United Nations to mobilise and motivate millions to lather up in order to improve health, by increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of washing hands with soap.

Amaka Ifionu, school health and nutrition adviser, Save the Children International, expressed gratitude to P&G for creating a platform for the healthcare initiative targeted at children.

“We are very grateful to P&G Nigeria for the partnership to mark GHWD in Nigeria,” she said.

“We also enjoy partnerships with P&G in other countries and we are particularly grateful that the Nigerian branch has bought into the same global partnership. We also look forward to more partnership with P&G to help sustain the awareness on the need to wash hands always.”

Monsurat Adeleke, a doctor and associate director/school health programme coordinator, Lagos state ministry of health, also appreciated P&G for helping to promote good hygiene among school children.

In a related development, P&G also donated hundreds of cases of Safeguard soaps to the Ogun state government as part of its activities to mark the Global Hand Washing Day.

Speaking at the donation at the ministry of education in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Segun Odubela, commissioner of education, science and technology, commended P&G for the “timely” donation.

“The donation of 500 cases of Safeguard soap by P&G on the Global Hand Washing Day is very apt and timely and will go a long way in assisting schools in the state to combat the spread of communicable diseases, especially as the state government has had to postpone school resumption in the state twice because of the threat of communicable diseases,” he said.

The Global Hand Washing Day (GWHD) is a campaign dedicated to raising awareness of hand washing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention. The event, which comes up on October 15 every year, also aims to motivate and mobilise millions around the world to wash their hands with soap regularly.