UNICEF: Ethiopian children lather up on Handwashing Day

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 16 October 2008 Addis Ababas Maskal Square came alive in the spirit of handwashing yesterday as 1 million Ethiopian children united to wash their hands with soap and water in celebration of the first-ever Global Handwashing Day.

The message is that the simple action of washing hands with soap saves lives, said UNICEF Ethiopia Officer-in-Charge Marc Rubin.

The top four messages, he added, are that washing hands with water alone is not enough, handwashing with soap can prevent diseases that kill millions of children needlessly every year, critical moments for handwashing are after using the toilet and before handling food, and handwashing is the single most cost-effective intervention.

The half-day Global Handwashing Day national event held at Maskal Square featured over 300 schoolchildren from five elementary schools. They marched and sang to promote handwashing with soap as an important hygienic practice that reduces the prevalence of diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory illnesses, which together kill 3.5 million children worldwide each year.

To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_45980.html

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• UNICEF
• Global
• Handwashing
• Day
• Ethiopia
• water
• sanitation
• children

[Leeshan82]

uhm..isn;t soap and water a prerequisite?