Global Hand Washing Day in Uganda

2 November 2009

Credit: Global Handwashing Day

Thursday 15 October 2009 marked the second Global Hand Washing Day. It was celebrated in many parts of the world after a successful inaugural day in 2008 – the International Year of Sanitation.

In Uganda the day focused on providing lifelong skills to school children who currently suffer the most from poor sanitation, struggling with ill health that in turn leads to poor performance in class.

Together with the Ministry of Education and Sports and other partners on the National Hand Washing Steering Committee, WaterAid organised a number of events that included music, dance, drama and drawing competitions as well as constructing tippy taps in schools across the country. Special attention was accorded to urban poor schools, in informal settlements, which are greatly affected by poor hygiene and sanitation situations.
The hope, going forward, is that the children will take these practices home and spread the messages to their families. This way the changes will last a lifetime, which is fitting as it is often children who suffer the most and yet harnessing their energy helps shape a better future for all.

According to the Uganda Demographic Health Survey (UDHS 2006), 17 percent of the deaths to children under 5 years in Uganda are due to Diarrhoea. Hand-washing is a very effective way of preventing those diseases that harm the world's children the most, namely, diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses. Yet hand-washing is often overlooked as being a vital part of health care. The Millennium Development Goals call for a two-thirds reduction in the death rate for under 5 year olds by 2015, and so hand-washing has an important role to play.

Read a full report of WaterAid's Global Handwashing Day activities in Uganda ( PDF 425KB)

More details of Global Hand Washing Day's history, activities and other reference materials and resources can be found on the official website at www.globalhandwashingday.org.