ABUJA - Hand washing with soap has been scientifically proven to reduce by 44 per cent diarrhoea morbidity globally, the UNICEF said yesterday in Abuja .
Mr. Bisi Agberemi, UNICEF’s Water and Sanitation ( WASH ) Specialist, gave this figure at a media forum on the International Year of Sanitation (IYS)/Global Hand Washing Day.
Agberemi said hand wash had been found to be the most effective way to reduce diarrhoea followed by water treatment which prevent diseases by 39 per cent.
Other ways of preventing morbidity, he said, included sanitation and hygiene practices (32 per cent), hygiene education (28 per cent), Water supply (25 percent), and water treatment at source (11 per cent).
He said that adequate attention must be given to sanitation if Nigeria wanted to join the league of developed countries.
“Thirty per cent of Nigerians have basic access to good sanitation while 20 per cent are exposed to open defecation,” he said.
Agberemi stressed the need to pay attention to human excreta disposal and hygiene saying: “It helps to prevent diarrhoea which is the second highest cause of child mortality after malaria”.
“High diarrhoea prevalence weakens children, increasing effects of malnutrition, mental stunting among others.
“Good sanitation and washing facilities contribute to increase in school enrolment, attendance and achievement, especially among girls.
“It is vital for human dignity, for safety of women as well as linking to social and economic development,” he said.
Agberemi underscored the importance of sanitation in the attainment of the seven MDGs by 2015, adding:“If we don’t address it, we will be wasting our economic resources”.
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