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Dettol has today launched a handwashing campaign targeting over 10,000 school-going children in Nairobi’s slums. This timely endeavor coincides with the global observance of Global Handwashing Day, with the theme: “Clean hands are within reach”.
Speaking in Kibera Primary School, Yego Romana, Director, Community Health at the Executive Office of the President under Gender and Women’s Rights said access to water and sanitation is fundamental for health, dignity and prosperity in every person’s life.
“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides us with the necessary guidelines for integrated action,” she noted.
Romana added that the latest evidence on hand hygiene behavior change shows that awareness campaigns and education initiatives have made a difference.
However, there is still work to be done by ensuring that the knowledge and resources reach every corner of our nation.
The director noted that Community Health Workers (CHWs) continue to play a pivotal role in advancing the goals of WASH initiatives.
“Their tireless dedication and on-the-ground presence are instrumental in ensuring that WASH practices are effectively implemented and sustained within local communities. They are the unsung heroes of WASH programs, working tirelessly to promote clean water, proper sanitation, and effective hygiene practices in the communities they serve,” she added.
Furthermore, she reiterated that it is imperative that we must acknowledge, support, and empower these essential individuals who make WASH a reality for countless communities across the country.
She thanked development partners, civil society and the private sector actors working in the global health space, for their dedication and support especially Reckitt and Dettol who aim at scaling hand hygiene in Kenya’s informal settlements and other low-income homes.
She assured that the Executive Office of the President is committed to working with all stakeholders to make hand hygiene a priority in policy and practice.
Photo: Romana Yego, Director, Community Health, Executive Office of the President under Gender and Women’s Rights
Speaking at the same event, Asif Hashimi, Country Director, Reckitt Kenya noted that hand hygiene plays major role in preventing infectious diseases and can reduce child deaths from respiratory and diarrheal diseases by 21 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
“Hand hygiene is not just about cleanliness; it is essential for primary healtcare, universal health coverage, and disease control,” he said in a speech read on his behalf by Dr. James Mukoro, Regulatory Affairs Manager (EA) Reckitt Benckiser Kenya.
In addition, he noted their unwavering commitment to promoting hand hygiene education throughout the country has made them partner with Shining of Hope for Communities (Shofco), a local advocacy organization that serves the needs of over 350, 000 urban slum residents across ten different slum communities in three major cities in Kenya.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), two out of every five schools worldwide lack essential handwashing facilities, thus exposing students to a multitude of diseases.
Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that unclean hands are the main mode of illness transmission in approximately 80 percent of cases, and bringing it home, the 2023 Kenya Economic Survey shows that in 2022, healthcare facilities reported four million cases of diarrheal diseases, with the majority of these cases affecting children.
Under the banner of “Dettol Global Handwashing Campaign,” the month-long campaign will extend crucial support to five schools located in Nairobi’s Kibra and Mathare slums.
The initiative entails the provision of essential water tanks and state-of-the-art handwashing stations along with essential hygiene education within these schools ensuring that clean hands are truly within reach for these deserving children.