The importance of handwashing among the children
If the Sowetans can treat the importance of hand washing as a pandemic, we would save a lot of lives in South Africa.
Dettol Mzansi Protect commemorated global Handwashing Day on October 11 in Johannesburg.
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The campaign aims at educating new mothers and all South Africans on the hygiene habits as well as the importance of hand washing with soap and water.
Lack of facilities around hygiene in township communities, especially proper sanitation has become another source of a high percentage of children dying from diarrhoea in SA.
Bayode Akanbi, marketing manager for Dettol said that, “Diarrhoea is the second leading cause of deaths in South Africa in children below the age of five years.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), each year diarrhoea claims about 525 000 lives of children under the age of five.
It is also important for parents to teach their children the importance of hand washing by demonstrating and making it a habit.
Children do not wash their hands because you tell them to do it, but they learn better when they see adults do it.
To fight against diseases, Dettol Mzansi protect partnered with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to help drive hygiene and hand washing education, as well as provide needed hygiene infrastructure to early childhood development centres across the country.
This ensures them that no child will be left behind, including those in informal settlements.
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It is important to understand that children from Soweto are raised under severe unhealthy environments, especially in informal settlements like Motsoaledi, Kliptown as well as Protea South.
These communities also deserve to be educated on issues around diarrhoea and on how to use home remedies to help their children since other campaigns are unreachable to them.
Prof Nicola Page, Principal Medical Scientist stated that diarrhoea can be cured with home remedies.
“Parents can boil one litre of water if they are unsure of the cleanliness of the water.
“Allow water to cool down, and then add five levelled spoons of brown sugar and a half spoon of salt for the child to drink,” she said.
If Sowetans can treat the importance of hand washing as a pandemic, we would save a lot of lives in South Africa.
“Dettol aims to reduce the burden of diarrhoea in SA by 50% by 2027. This includes educating children in schools across the country and reach about one million schools in 2023,” Akanbi concluded.
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