In the region of 150 000 children a year die in Nigeria resulting from poor sanitation and consuming unsafe water – resulting in diarrhoea. This is according to the United Nations Children’s Education Fund.

UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene chief in Nigeria, Kanaan Nadar, disclosed these figures during a 2014 global hand washing day celebration in Abuja recently.

Nadar outlined that children washing their hands and maintaining safe hygiene at all times could reduce deaths caused by diarrhoea by almost 50%.

“In addition these simple steps can also reduce pneumonia by around 40%.”

According to Nadar, hand washing with soap has also made a difference in the fight against Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

He stated it had been one of the tools used to curb the spread of the virus in most of the EVD affected countries.

“Everyone should choose to wash their hands with soap after using the toilet, and before eating or touching food, thereby creating a healthier environment not only for themselves but also for their family and society,” he maintained.

The Nigerian Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, said the hand washing programme was being celebrated because it had the capacity to save lives and reduce disease burden in Nigeria.

“Today across Nigeria, over 250,000 pupils from 100 selected schools are participating in the global hand washing campaign and will be demonstrating the process of hand washing with running water.”