Keta: Residents in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region and beyond have been urged to adopt the habit of regular and proper handwashing to promote hand hygiene to enable drive away germs, diseases, and infections.
According to Ghana News Agency, this call reaffirms the critical role the simple act of handwashing plays in protecting patients, health workers, families, and entire communities from life-threatening infections. Madam Dora Kugbonu, Public Health Nurse at the Keta Municipal Health Directorate, emphasized the importance of this practice, indicating that the day is observed annually on May 5 and is championed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
She explained that the occasion serves as a powerful reminder that one of the most effective weapons against the spread of disease and infections is washing and maintaining proper hand hygiene through handwashing with soap regularly, thoroughly, and consistently under running water. "We are calling on all health workers and individuals across the municipality, the region, and the entire country to treat hand hygiene not just as a routine, but as a genuine act of care," she asserted.
Madam Kugbonu described the handwashing initiative as a conscious and daily commitment to the safety and dignity of everyone who walks through the doors of any health facility and in society. She highlighted that healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain one of the leading threats to patient safety globally, and a significant proportion could be prevented by cleaning hands at the right moments during patient care. She urged the public to always prioritize handwashing as a routine exercise to prevent many dangerous infections and germs.
"Hand hygiene is not only about protecting patients but equally about safeguarding health workers who care for the sick, deliver babies, and comfort the vulnerable, often at personal risk," she added. She also noted the cultural practice of handshaking, especially among men, and stressed the importance of washing hands properly before and after important activities, as even door handles can carry germs that transfer from one person to another.
She urged institutions, including schools, companies, churches, mosques, marketplaces, banks, households, and other public places, to have hand-washing bowls to enable individuals to wash their hands regularly under running water to promote personal hygiene. The Ghana Health Service also noted that good hand hygiene practices help reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by preventing infections and reducing the overuse of antibiotics.
Health authorities stressed that proper hand hygiene requires an enabling environment, including clean running water, soap, alcohol-based hand rub, and well-equipped facilities, and urged the government and partners to invest in these resources. Officials expressed hope that the observance would inspire a lasting culture of hand hygiene consciousness and stated that clean hands are a moral responsibility for all in saving lives and building healthier communities.
The World Hand Hygiene Day, celebrated on Tuesday, May 5, was marked under the global theme "Action Saves Lives-Safer Care Starts with Clean Hands."