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The Federal Government has intensified efforts to prevent cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid and other infectious diseases through improved handwashing practices and community-based hygiene awareness campaigns.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, made this known in Abuja at a media briefing ahead of the 2026 Global Handwashing Day, scheduled for October 15.
Utsev said proper handwashing with soap and clean water remained a simple and affordable way to prevent infections, protect public health and save lives.
The minister, who spoke under this year’s theme, “Be a Handwashing Hero!”, said outbreaks of cholera and diphtheria, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, had demonstrated the importance of personal hygiene in controlling the spread of infectious diseases.
He, however, stressed that public awareness alone would not guarantee improved hygiene without adequate access to clean water, soap and functional handwashing facilities.
Utsev said sustained public enlightenment and behavioural change were necessary to improve hygiene practices and advance Sustainable Development Goal 6.2, which seeks universal access to adequate sanitation and hygiene.
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He stated that the National Task Group on Sanitation and its partners had planned media campaigns, a road walk and community sensitisation programmes to mark the occasion.
The minister urged state governments, development partners, civil society groups and private sector operators to strengthen collaboration in expanding access to handwashing facilities and promoting hygiene education.
He also called on the media to intensify public enlightenment before, during and after the commemoration, noting that journalists had an important role to play in shaping public behaviour and promoting healthy practices.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Emanso Umobong, represented by the Director of Water Quality Control and Sanitation, Habu Jamilu, urged the media to sustain campaigns on proper handwashing to prevent avoidable diseases.
Umobong identified inadequate access to clean water, soap and functional handwashing facilities as major obstacles to effective hygiene practices.
The Permanent Secretary called for increased promotion of handwashing in homes, schools, healthcare facilities and workplaces, while reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to improving sanitation and hygiene through sustained public awareness and stakeholder collaboration.
