FCTA PARTNERS WITH ABUJA NGO TO PROMOTE HAND HYGIENE
…Decorate Handwashing Heroes in Kuje
By: Prudence Okonna
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has reaffirmed the importance of handwashing as a vital tool for disease prevention and public health promotion.
The Director of Public Health, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Dr Dan Gadzama, said this during the commemoration of the 2025 Global Handwashing Day organised by the Centre for School Health Education and Environmental Hygiene (CSHEEH) marked at Peace International Ambassador School, Kuje, on Friday, 17 October.
While calling for collective action towards cleaner, healthier communities, the Director described handwashing as the cornerstone of public health strategies and one of the simplest yet most effective ways to prevent infectious diseases and promote a healthy life.
Speaking through the Head of Health Promotion and Education Division, Hajia Hauwa Suleiman, Dr. Gadzama urged everyone to cultivate the culture of handwashing with soap and clean water as a daily habit.
“Handwashing has a huge impact; it remains the simplest and most effective way to stay healthy and prevent diseases. Our lives are in our hands. With clean hands, we can take charge of our healthy future,” she said.
She further commended the collaboration between the Health Promotion Division and the Centre for School Health Education and Environmental Hygiene (CSHEEH) in driving public health education across schools in the FCT.
In her opening remarks, the Executive Director of CSHEEH, Dr Folasade Olusola Momoh, emphasised the importance of hand hygiene in saving lives and building healthier communities.
She explained that the Global Handwashing Day, celebrated annually on October 15, raises awareness about the power of handwashing with soap and water in preventing diseases.
This year’s theme, “Be a Handwashing Hero,” she noted, is a multi-year campaign encouraging individuals, schools, and communities to take action and promote clean hands for all.
“Being a handwashing hero is a call to action for everyone from children to leaders to champion hand hygiene as a daily practice,” Dr Momoh said.
Dr Momoh thanked the school management, sponsors, and the FCTA Department of Public Health for their support, urging continued collaboration to sustain hand hygiene advocacy and promote a healthier future for all.
As part of activities marking the day, selected pupils and community members were decorated as Handwashing Heroes to exemplify and promote good hygiene practices within their communities.
The event also featured health talks, practical demonstrations on proper handwashing, and the donation of handwashing facilities and hygiene products to the host school.
Among those honoured were, Wife of Kuje Area Council Chairman, Hajia Salamatu Abdullahi Sabo, and Medical Director, Agape Biomedical Clinic, Dr Gbenga Eweoya, who both pledged to continue promoting hygiene education.
Hajia Sabo expressed appreciation for the recognition, noting that the award would further strengthen her resolve to advocate for handwashing awareness among women, youths, and children.
Dr Eweoya, on his part, described handwashing as critical to preventing common diseases such as cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, and gastroenteritis, stressing that “cleanliness is next to godliness.”
Other recipients included pupils Emmanuella Ugwu and Farouk Husseini of Peace International Ambassador School, who were recognised as young Handwashing Heroes in their community.
Proprietor of the School, Jonabi Attah, while thanking CSHEEH for choosing their school, prayed for more support and resources to enable the organisation to expand its outreach and continue its good work.
Attah noted that the event rekindled awareness about proper hygiene, which many had neglected after the COVID-19 pandemic, and pledged to become an unofficial handwashing ambassador to promote the practice among others.
