Children studying in Government schools of Jharkhand will celebrate the Global Hand Washing Day by washing their hands before taking Mid-Day Meal (MDM).
Schools functioning across the State have planned different programmes to mark the occasion and kids will pledge for washing their hands before taking meals. Child cabinet in schools will be appointed as ‘Swachhta Mantri’ on sanitation and hygiene so that they can monitor the hand-washing in their schools before MDM.
Department of School Education and literacy have issued guidelines to ensure that all the students across the State adopt this healthy practice. Department Secretary, Aradhana Patnaik has asked the school managements to ensure that all facilities are available on school premises and teachers too must conduct various competitions on the topic ‘Hamara Vidyalaya Kaise Swacch Ho’.
Patnaik has also instructed the school management committee to organize cleanliness programmes on schools premises and carry out rally on importance of nutrition. Furthermore, in November cleanliness drive will be conducted in all government schools for two weeks.
According to research, hand-washing can reduce the rate of mortality from several diseases by almost 25 and 50 per cent. According to UNICEF, about 1.8 million children under the age of five die each year from diarrhea and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children around the world. Hand-washing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia.
Similarly, according to World Health Organization (WHO) report, hand-washing is equally important in health facilities. Across all settings, patients can acquire bloodstream infections, surgical site infections, urinary tract infections, chest/respiratory infections or gastrointestinal infections.
As per the experts, local Bodies such as panchayats, urban bodies should be included in the campaign. Poster, slogans, songs and painting exhibition should be arranged among children to promote the importance of hand washing habit. Advocacy for group hand-washing stations in all schools to be done as it is a need of an hour.