ABUJA – Dr Michael Ojo, the Country Representative, WaterAid, an NGO, on Wednesday urged children to imbibe the habit of washing their hands with soap regularly to prevent disease.
Ojo gave the advice while addressing children at the Police Officers Wives Association International School in Abuja as part of events organised to mark the Global Hand Washing Day.
October 15 of every year is set aside to mark the `Global Hand Washing Day`.
“As we are celebrating or we are marking the global hand washing day today in Nigeria, children in other schools across the world are doing the same thing.
“And what are we trying to do? We are trying to emphasise the importance of hand washing to preventing diseases and making sure that we keep ourselves in good health. [eap_ad_2] “So, if you don’t wash your hands regularly, you might spread diseases and germs.
“Washing our hands regularly with soap and water is the most important thing that we can do to actually stop ourselves from spreading diseases.
“So, we see the theme for this year’s celebration: `Choose Hand Washing, Choose Health`, and that as the thing we want you to do every day for the rest of your lives,“ Ojo advised.
He expressed appreciation to the government for containing the spread of the Ebola Virus across the country.
He said that the disease had claimed many lives across West Africa and parts of the world, adding that it had, therefore, become imperative for children to improve their health by keeping their hands clean to avoid contracting diseases.
“You have all heard about Ebola; many people across the world have died because of Ebola especially in West Africa; and Nigeria has done very well in controlling Ebola.
“But it’s still very important that we do everything we can to keep ourselves safe and to keep our hands clean so we don’t contract diseases like Ebola.
“And one of the best things to do is to wash our hands with soap and water always. As I’m speaking to the children, I want to speak to our teachers.
“I still remember some of the things my teachers taught me when I was in Primary School; So teachers, the things we teach our children today stay with them forever.
“It is also important that we make sure that we give them this lifetime message of washing their hands with soap,“ he said. (NAN) [eap_ad_3]
