Global Handwashing Day
is one of the most anticipated events on the GHEI calendar. Every year,
GHD is comprised of short educational outreach programs at every
school, marked by smiling youngsters singing about washing their hands.
While these may seem insignificant, GHD actually serves a very serious
purpose: explaining the benefits of and promoting the consistent
practice of handwashing with soap.
Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent communicable diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia.[1]
Children suffer disproportionately from these diseases. According to
the most recent yearly measurement in Ghana, diarrhea and pneumonia led to seven and 13%
of deaths in children under five, respectively.[2]
Handwashing not only means healthier children, it also translates to
more time in the classroom. Research shows that handwashing with soap at
the three critical times can reduce school absenteeism by 42%, allowing
children to do better in school and promoting their continued
education.[3]
The goal of our Handwashing with Soap program is to create a targeted change starting with a single group. Children are open to new ideas, and are powerful agents in spreading them to their families and larger community. We focus on handwashing at the three critical times: after using the toilet, before preparing food, and before eating to offer a manageable change when handwashing is most important.
In all nations - not just developing countries - rates of handwashing with soap at critical times range from zero to 34%.[4] Even in places like Ghana, low rates of handwashing with soap are rarely caused by a lack of suitable soap and water. People have access to these things, but neglect to use them. Our program works to go beyond education to changing behavior and encouraging people to form new habits. To do this, we make facilities accessible in schools and employ social pressure to persuade people to use them. Once handwashing behavior has been adopted, it sticks.
For
Global Handwashing Day, our health team led community education
outreach programs at eight local schools and preformed a live radio
broadcast for everybody in the district to hear. Since the true GHD,
October 15th, also happened to be a public holiday in Ghana, the first
day of Eid al-Adha, we ran our celebrations on the 14th and 16th.
Our first school outreach program was at Anglican Primary school. Aggie began by introducing the school’s handwashing monitors, student representatives chosen from each school as the first line of defense in maintaining their handwashing with soap program. Next, the students were led in singing the handwashing song “Soap and Water” in both English and Twi (scroll down to watch our community health workers singing below). While singing, the students mimed washing their hands and used the length of the song to ensure a thorough scrub. Following the song, two boys and two girls were chosen to demonstrate proper handwashing technique and Mensah began the educational component by asking the students “What are the critical times to wash your hands?” A bunch of eager students raised their hands, and the first one he called on answered correctly. Finally, the program ended with the presentation of a new supply of soap, educational handwashing posters and for Anglican Primary, an award for having the best handwashing record during surprise visits throughout the year. The headmaster was beaming as he accepted the award and then led the students in an excited encore of the handwashing song.
After Anglican Primary, the team moved on to do similar presentations at Anglican JHS and Wireko Memorial Primary on Monday, and Kojina Primary, Muoho Primary, Muoho JHS, and DC Primary and JHS on Wednesday. In total, more than 1,600 students attended our programs, with an average of 86% of each school’s total enrollment present at each.
For the first time in several years, the GHEI health team, our CHWs, and two brave handwashing monitors hosted a Twi language live radio broadcast celebrating GHD on a local station. After introductions, they performed the drama “Wash Your Hands with Clean Water and Soap to Stay Healthy,” sang the famous GHEI handwashing song, and led a short education section on the critical times for handwashing with soap and its importance. The group was well-prepared; rarely having to consult their scripts as they moved through the program. The show was about twenty minutes long. Click to watch a short segment of it below.
Back in the van, everybody was excited about the performance. Even after hosting school programs all day and a radio show, they elected to sing the handwashing song a couple more times through. The team returned home feeling victorious.
Over the three days in Humjibre, people were talking about tuning in to
hear the radio broadcast, Aggie singing “Soap and Water” on the
Humjibre morning announcements and the GHEI team coming to each of the
schools. We succeeded in not just disseminating information on the
benefits of handwashing with soap, but in creating a catalyst for
community-wide behavioral change. By educating and fostering energy and
enthusiasm around the simple practice of handwashing with soap, GHEI can
help improve the health and education of the community.
[1] Why Handwashing? The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing, accessed September 30, 2013, http://globalhandwashing.org/why.
[2] Robert E. Black et al., “Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2008,” The Lancet 375 (2010): 9730, accessed September 30, 2013, doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60549-1.
[3] A Bowen et al. “A cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of a handwashing-promotion program in Chinese primary schools.” The American Center of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 6 (2007): 76, accessed 30 September, 2013, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556631.
[4] Why Handwashing?
Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent communicable diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia.[1]
Children suffer disproportionately from these diseases. According to
the most recent yearly measurement in Ghana, diarrhea and pneumonia led to seven and 13%
of deaths in children under five, respectively.[2]
Handwashing not only means healthier children, it also translates to
more time in the classroom. Research shows that handwashing with soap at
the three critical times can reduce school absenteeism by 42%, allowing
children to do better in school and promoting their continued
education.[3] The goal of our Handwashing with Soap program is to create a targeted change starting with a single group. Children are open to new ideas, and are powerful agents in spreading them to their families and larger community. We focus on handwashing at the three critical times: after using the toilet, before preparing food, and before eating to offer a manageable change when handwashing is most important.
In all nations - not just developing countries - rates of handwashing with soap at critical times range from zero to 34%.[4] Even in places like Ghana, low rates of handwashing with soap are rarely caused by a lack of suitable soap and water. People have access to these things, but neglect to use them. Our program works to go beyond education to changing behavior and encouraging people to form new habits. To do this, we make facilities accessible in schools and employ social pressure to persuade people to use them. Once handwashing behavior has been adopted, it sticks.
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| Wireko Memorial students practicing handwashing technique |
Our first school outreach program was at Anglican Primary school. Aggie began by introducing the school’s handwashing monitors, student representatives chosen from each school as the first line of defense in maintaining their handwashing with soap program. Next, the students were led in singing the handwashing song “Soap and Water” in both English and Twi (scroll down to watch our community health workers singing below). While singing, the students mimed washing their hands and used the length of the song to ensure a thorough scrub. Following the song, two boys and two girls were chosen to demonstrate proper handwashing technique and Mensah began the educational component by asking the students “What are the critical times to wash your hands?” A bunch of eager students raised their hands, and the first one he called on answered correctly. Finally, the program ended with the presentation of a new supply of soap, educational handwashing posters and for Anglican Primary, an award for having the best handwashing record during surprise visits throughout the year. The headmaster was beaming as he accepted the award and then led the students in an excited encore of the handwashing song.
After Anglican Primary, the team moved on to do similar presentations at Anglican JHS and Wireko Memorial Primary on Monday, and Kojina Primary, Muoho Primary, Muoho JHS, and DC Primary and JHS on Wednesday. In total, more than 1,600 students attended our programs, with an average of 86% of each school’s total enrollment present at each.
For the first time in several years, the GHEI health team, our CHWs, and two brave handwashing monitors hosted a Twi language live radio broadcast celebrating GHD on a local station. After introductions, they performed the drama “Wash Your Hands with Clean Water and Soap to Stay Healthy,” sang the famous GHEI handwashing song, and led a short education section on the critical times for handwashing with soap and its importance. The group was well-prepared; rarely having to consult their scripts as they moved through the program. The show was about twenty minutes long. Click to watch a short segment of it below.
Back in the van, everybody was excited about the performance. Even after hosting school programs all day and a radio show, they elected to sing the handwashing song a couple more times through. The team returned home feeling victorious.
 |
| CHWs and Handwashing Monitors at Unique FM |
[1] Why Handwashing? The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing, accessed September 30, 2013, http://globalhandwashing.org/why.
[2] Robert E. Black et al., “Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2008,” The Lancet 375 (2010): 9730, accessed September 30, 2013, doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60549-1.
[3] A Bowen et al. “A cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of a handwashing-promotion program in Chinese primary schools.” The American Center of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 6 (2007): 76, accessed 30 September, 2013, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556631.
[4] Why Handwashing?
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