It is common knowledge in most parts of the world ? even in many poor countries ? that hand hygiene is of vital importance for the overall wellbeing of society and washing our hands is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.
Washing our hands regularly with soap and clean running water can help stop the spread of germs and prevent illnesses like influenza, bronchitis, swine flu, diphtheria, measles, conjunctivitis, leprosy and chicken pox among many more, not to mention acne and other skin problems and diseases and has the potential to save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention and billions of dollars in medical expenses and medicines.
There are more than 3.5 million children under the age of five who die every year from diarrhoeal disease and pneumonia ? and many are preventable.
Although many people clean their hands with water, medical science tells us that on its own it is insufficient to prevent diseases either in their contraction or spreading, and that soap must be used.
The government of Bangladesh is preparing to launch a hygiene campaign across the country soon and we should all put our (clean) hands together and applaud its effort. The aim of the campaign will be to promote awareness among the people increasingly at risk of communicable diseases and advice washing hands before taking food.
In view of that and in consideration of the money already spent by the government and NGOs on ?Wash your Hands? public awareness campaigns over the years, I was shocked to find no soap or any means to dry my hands in the two rest rooms I visited at a diagnostic centre recently.
While ?Cleanliness is next to Godliness?, in more ways than one, it also prevents spreading a host of diseases. People take diseases to hospitals to be cured of them, not to shop for more. Then there are the restaurant kitchens ?or anywhere that food is sold to the public ?those also need special attention.
To convey the message of hygiene to the populace effectively, it would help enormously if hospitals, diagnostic centres, doctors and such like set the example in their own facilities, and not merely hang posters on their premises.
No doubt the government needs to inspect these premises more regularly, but there is only so much a small team can do. Basic commonsense should kick-in and prevail.
It?s time the standards of hygiene in Bangladesh were raised with every individual playing their part; preventable diseases prevented, and vile and disgusting bad habits like picking one?s nose or spitting on the pavement are deemed unacceptable anti-social behaviour, and stopped. The carrying and proper use of a handkerchief seems to be a remote thought among the general populace, but one is never too young or too old to learn proper hygiene practices.
Hand washing is easy. It requires little or no effort and is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of many types of infection and illness in the home, workplace, child-care facilities and hospitals.
While TV, magazine and newspaper adverts and posters are productive and play an essential and supporting role in conveying the vital messages and importance of hand hygiene to the masses, TV soap operas reign supreme, but in Bangladesh they are totally under-utilised.
The writer is a former newspaper publisher, editor and an award winning writer.
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