By Yetunde Oke
The Oyo State government and United Nations Children’s Fund have called on the public to be Hand Washing Heroes.
They made the call while reiterating the importance of hand washing at the 2025 Global Hand Washing Day Celebration, with the theme “Be a Hand Washing Hero”, held at the State secretariat, Ibadan.
In a welcome address, the General Manager of Oyo State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, OYORUWASSA, Mr Adeniyi Adeduntan said the importance of proper hand washing is the first step in preventing diseases in the society.
Mr Adeduntan called on everyone to cultivate the habit of proper hand washing for a healthier society.
Also in a Keynote address, the Chairman, OYORUWASSA, Alhaji Babalola Afobaje, noted that to achieve a safer and healthier society everybody must be involved and not just the government.
Alhaji Afobaje added that the state government would make all efforts to ensure all communities in the state have access to basic WASH facilities.
On its part, UNICEF WASH Facilitator, Lagos Field Office, Mr Shakiru Otunsanya, said according to a 2021 statistics by UNICEF, World Bank and Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, only 8% of Oyo residents have access to basic WASH facilities.
Highlights of the event were demonstration of proper hand washing techniques and sensitisation talk where stakeholders identified lack of access to safe water and soap as major challenges to proper hand washing.
Present at the event were private partners on proper hand washing, Community Development Council, Ward Development Committee, law makers, religious and traditional leaders.
