Students of Queensland Academy with the Show Presenter, Adenike Rufai, at the School activation of 2012 Global Handwashing day,
organised by Reckitt Benckiser makers of Dettol, held at the school premises, Okota, Lagos

As the Global Hand Washing Day (GHWD) was being marked throughout the world, Monday, a multinational company, Reckitt Benckizer Limited has promised to ensure that about 1.2million students across the country are trained in the habit of regular hand washing in their daily activities.

While demonstrating the act of hand washing to students of Queensland Academy Okota, Lagos as part of activities marking the HWD, the company urged parents and teachers to inculcate the habit of hand washing in the students to save them from dying from diarrhoea and pneumonia diseases. Dr. Iyabo Olopade who addressed the students on how best to protect themselves against the attack of diarrhoea and pneumonia noted that regular hand washing helps to stop transmission of viral infections and urged the children to form the habit of washing their hands not less than three times in a day.

According to her, the most crucial times when hands should be washed are before eating, after returning from the play ground and after visiting the toilet, noting that toilet soap should be placed permanently in the toilet and other strategic position to make hand washing habit easy for people.

She observed that if children are trained in proper general hygiene through regular hand washing, about a million children who die in the country due to diarrhoea and pneumonia attacks could be protected from such deaths before attaining the age of five years.

The Head of the Primary section of the school, Mrs. Esther Ofulue, who expressed satisfaction over the selection of her school for the hand washing programme noted that, the decision will have a lasting effect on the students, stressing that hand washing has been a culture in the school but the demonstration will further reinforce the habit among the students.