Essay On Hand Hygiene In Nigeria

Community-Based Hand Hygiene Health Promotion Plan for Mushin Community, Lagos, Nigeria

Introduction (Brief Description of the Problem).

According to the CDC, regular hand washing is one of the best ways to reduce and prevent the spread of disease (CDC, 2013). It is one of the most important, effective and inexpensive public health interventions in the world. It helps to prevent the spread of diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia which is responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million under-five children annually (PPPHW, 2015). Hand hygiene is a key component of good sanitary practices in the home and community and can help significantly reduce the incidence of infectious diseases most especially gastrointestinal, respiratory and skin infections (Bloomfield S.F. et al, 2007).

According to the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), 43% of the Nigerian population had access to hand hygiene facilities in 2004 (NDHS, 2004). Although there isn’t much official data on hand hygiene practice in Nigeria, it is common knowledge from experience and observation that hygiene practice is quite low amongst the populace (Agberemi Z. O., et al, 2009).

In August 2014, the Federal Government of Nigeria launched a nationwide hand washing campaign in

Most activities are affected during this period- trading and business transactions, religious gatherings, social and other economic activities, except emergencies such as ambulance services and security concerns. The law was passed in the year 2000 to combat the refuse, waste management and sanitation problems plaguing the state and as a means to encourage and promote a healthy environment and communal environmental hygiene (Asiwaju Tinubu, 2009). It is thus a long-standing health promoting