Health
SULEIMAN Adamu, the minister of Water Resources, on Thursday, October 5, said more than 59,000 children under the age of five die annually from preventable water and sanitation related diseases.
At a news conference to commemorate the 2017 Global Hand washing Day in Abuja, the Adamu noted that washing with soap before eating and after using toilet could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention.
He, however, regretted that 87 percent of Nigerians do not have access to hand washing facilities.
The minister, who spoke through Musa Ibrahim, the ministry’s permanent secretary, quoted the recently launched Nigeria WASH Diagnostic Report, which indicates that 69 percent of public health facilities do not have access to basic functioning hand hygiene station.
While calling for the strengthening of the nation’s healthcare systems through good hand hygiene, especially during medical procedure, the minister noted that 15 percent of patients globally develop one or more infections in hospital according to the 2015 reports of the World Health Organisation.
– Oct. 6, 2017 @ 11:52 GMT |
Tags: 2017 Global Hand washing Day Abuja Musa Ibrahim SULEIMAN Adamu
