Oghuzan Silivrili, the Marketing Director, West Africa, Reckitt Benckiser, has said that only four per cent of Nigerians regularly wash their hands.
Silivrili stated this during a media session to celebrate the 2014 Global Hand Washing Day tagged, ‘Give Life a Hand Campaign,’ on Wednesday, quoting a consumer analysis report.
“According to a consumer study, regular hand washing is only limited with four per cent in Nigeria. Regular hand washing is the first line of defence from preventable diseases like Diarrhea, to the latest menace of Ebola Virus Disease. If we want to protect our children from getting sick, the first thing to do is to educate them about washing their hands properly,” he said.
Silivrili likened hand washing to a do-it-all vaccine capable of preventing children from diseases.
He said ingraining the habit of hand washing could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention.
Silivrili said vast change tilting towards hand washing behaviour is therefore critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal, MDG of reducing two-thirds of deaths among children under the age of five by 2015.
Scientists say hand washing is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections, which claim the lives of millions of children every year.
This, they said, is the reason the culture of hand washing with soaps should be embraced.
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