Washing hands with soap can reduce incidence of diseases by half

New Delhi, Mar 23 (UNI) Risk of diarrhoeal infection can be reduced by about 40 per cent by the simple process of washing your hands with soap! Globally, diarrhoea caused the death of one child every 30 seconds. However the risk of diarrhoeal infection could be reduced by about 40 per cent by the simple process of washing hands with soap, UNICEF has said.

Children were always the first to suffer from diseases caused by dirty water and poor hygiene.

In India, an estimated 400,000 children under five years of age die annually because of diarrhoea caused by poor hygiene. Many of those who survive suffer from malnutrition.

While the incidence of diarrhoea, a major public health concern, could be apprehended by a simple act like hand washing with soap.

Evidence suggested that proper hand washing at the right times could prevent the spread of infection and related deaths. However, a study carried out in one state suggested that less than 20 people of the people wash their hands with soap at the critical times.

In the Indian context, this meant that more than 80 million people had to be informed on the importance of washing hands.

Water Aid India in collaboration with UNICEF had launched a nation-wide campaign to promote hand washing, with special emphasis on school children.

The launch of the campaign marked the 14th United Nations World Water Day celebrations and was inaugurated by Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, in the presence of Home Guards and Civil Defence Director General Kiran Bedi.

The launch of the hand washing campaign saw participation from school children, parents, teachers, panchayati raj Institutions and NGO's and Water and Sanitation experts, besides UNICEF representatives.

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