As the Lagos State Government joined the rest of the world today, to mark the Year 2020 World Hand Hygiene Day with the theme: “Save Lives: Clean Your Hands”, Dr. Adeyinka Adeniran, a Consultant Public Health Physician at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has underscored the need for Nigerians to keep a healthy lifestyle by cultivating the habit of regular handwashing, especially in the face of the global pandemic
Dr. Adeniran, who stated this in an interview held, on Tuesday, in his office at LASUTH, Ikeja, noted that although not much attention had been paid to creating awareness in the past on habitual handwashing, the on-going Coronavirus pandemic has forced people from all parts of society to strictly adhere to the practice.
He said, “From observation, it is obvious that hand hygiene practices will never be the same again. People are more careful and they take extra effort in keeping up with personal hygiene. If they are not using sanitisers, they ensure they have soap and water to wash their hands thoroughly for fear of being infected by the disease”.
The Consultant opined that beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, improper hygiene practices can cause health challenges like Typhoid, E. Coli and Respiratory diseases, emphasising that “there has to be behavioural, cultural and social change in beliefs and ideologies that can become sustainable by all”.
According to him, the call to action by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on clean healthcare, is among the most urgent challenges identified by the United Nations to be tackled in the next 10 years by the global community towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) deadline.
“Therefore, clean care, including hand hygiene best practices and the central role played by Nurses and Midwives in achieving this, is the focus of this year’s World Hygiene Day campaign”, Adeniran declared.
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