Speaking during commemorations of Global Hand Washing day in Blantyre, Lecturer in Environmental Science at the Polytechnic Kondwani Chidziwisano said hand washing with soap, food, faeces and water management can prevent this disease.

It is in light of this that the introduction of hand washing facilities in peri-urban areas has been intensified as a diarrhea prevention strategy.

A study that was recently conducted in peri-urban areas of Blantyre and Lilongwe by some students of the Polytechnic revealed that hand washing with soap is affordable and cost effective in the prevention of diarrhea; however washing hands at critical times is rarely practiced.

“The research and programs that we are running will end in December and that will be the right time that we will do an evaluation and assessment of achievements. The hand washing facilities have increased and are mostly found near the latrine and cooking areas. Issues of hand washing have proven that many people are not using them but we will bring in interesting activities for people to see the need of washing hands at all times as a disease prevention intervention,” said Chidziwisano.

Allone Ganizani who is Deputy Director: Preventive Health Services Responsible for Environmental Health in the Ministry of Health said it is not only the absence of hand washing facilities that increase cases of diarrhea but also open defecation which as of now, the Ministry has managed to declare 98 out of 263 traditional authorities open defecation free.

“This status has been achieved because of community led total sanitation. An observation we have made is the emphasis on hand washing facilities. The solution in achieving total sanitation is combining hand washing and open defecation campaigns,” explained Ganizani

The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal number 6 (SDG6) sets out a vision for development in the WASH sector. And as part of SDG 6, target 6.1 aims to ensure that the global community strives to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and this is doable by having a proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services including hand washing facilities with soap and water.