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More than one million Sri Lankan children to participate
editor on 13 October, 2008 15:44:09 | 606 times read
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From Colombo to Dhaka, Kabul to Karachi, and Kathmandu to Kerala, Wednesday 15 October is likely to break all records as millions and millions of children practice the power of proper sanitation through soap suds and pledging not to leave their human excreta in the open. South Asia has the highest rate in the world of people using no toilet at all – 48% of the population. Because of this, six of the eight countries in the region are not on target to meet the sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG). However, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are on track to achieve the MDG goal of “Improved sanitation” and of reducing related deaths among children under five years of age, by 2015. Events in Sri Lanka on Global Hand Washing Day are centred around schools, and more than one million children will participate. The Ministry of Health and UNICEF have supported the training of 1500 Public Health Inspectors who will visit a record number of schools on the day and demonstrate how handwashing should be done according to the correct technique. Additional demonstrations will also be held in clinics, hospitals and tea plantations. “We know that this single, very ordinary act of washing hands with soap can have an extraordinary impact on saving the lives of Sri Lanka’s children,” said Dan Toole, Regional Director of UNICEF South Asia. “It is inspiring to see all our partners, teachers, politicians, and NGOs - and most importantly children themselves – put so much energy and enthusiasm into Global Hand Washing Day. We know that children can transform this day into an automatic act and this way dramatically improve the chances of their countries to reach the Millennium Development Goals.” UNICEF will also release a television advertisement staring Sachin Tendulkar, encouraging children to wash their hands. Said Tendulkar: “Having two young children, I constantly have to remind them to wash their hands before and after meals,” Tendulkar said. “I wanted to be a part of this campaign, because washing hands with soap can keep children safe and healthy and protect them against deadly disease.” Global Handwashing Day’s hygiene promotion activities are aimed at lifting the lid on open defecation, one of the world’s “last taboos”. ‘Open defecation’ presents serious health risks from diarrhoea, worm infestations, hepatitis and acute respiratory infections like pneumonia – all the biggest killers of children. It is also one of the greatest environmental hazards and the greatest contributor to malnutrition in the region. “Hand washing with soap before meals and after using the toilet, is the single most inexpensive health intervention in the world,” said Ananda Jayaweera, UNICEF’s Project water and sanitation specialist. “Studies have proven that effective hand washing - for at least 20 seconds with soap - cuts deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea by some 50 percent.”
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