Hand-washing Day: Bauchi NGO Conducts WASH Media Facility Tour
By Suzan Edeh, Bauchi
As part of the activities marking the Global Hand-washing day slated for Sunday, the 15th of October 2023, the Women Development Association for Self-sustainance (WODASS) with support from WaterAid Nigeria and Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, (RUWASSA) has organized a WASH Media facility tour in the state.
Our correspondent reports that the NGO lead a team of journalists on a visit to Gital Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) in Tafawa Balewa local government and Federal Locust Primary Health Care facility, to access the impact of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in healthcare delivery facilities in the state.
At the Gital Primary Health Care Center(PHCC) in Tafawa Balewa local government, the Officer in charge of the facility, Charity Joseph while speaking to WASH Media members at the facility, said that since the introduction of hand-washing and other WASH facilities at the PHCC, cases of of cholera, diarrhea and other water borne diseases in the community has drastically reduced.
She said that some of the strategies put in place for the sustainance of hygiene at the facility include massive house to house sensitization on hygiene practices, training of guides who teach women and children on how to use the WASH facilities, continuous availability of water at the facility and effective collaboration with the Ward Development Committee and Village Development Committee to ensure the smooth day to day running of the health facility.
She said that the hand-washing and WASH facilities at the PHCC, has resulted to an improvement in the number of women who turn out for antenatal services as well as increase in the number of children who come for routine immunization, adding that the women are now advocates of hygiene behavioral change in their respective communities.
Collaborating the claims of Charity Joseph, the officer in charge of the Federal Low cost Primary Health Care facility in Bauchi, Sani Hassan, said that there have been a great improvement in hygiene practices since the introduction of WASH facilities at the Primary Health Care facility, stressing that there have been a reduction in childhood killer diseases such as diarrhea, measles and cholera.
He said the health facility conduct training for staff on hygiene practices, ensure the maintenance of WASH facilities, deploy health workers who usually guide clients coming to the facility on how to use the hand-washing facilities and conduct sensitization programmes for clients on hygiene practices as part of strategies to sustain hygiene at the facility.
Speaking to a volunteer Hygiene promoter on Persons Living with Disabilities in Tafawa Balewa local government, Mustapha Abdullahi, the sensitization of hygiene practices to persons living with Disabilities in his community has improved their living conditions as they are now aware on how to use the toilets in public places and their houses without fear of contacting any disease.
“We teach disabled persons in this community how to ensure hygiene after using the toilet by ensuring that they wash their hands with water and soap as well as wash their clothes after using the toilet so that they do not contact any bacteria. We teach to always wash their hands before eating and ensure that their environment is always clean,” he said.
