Clean hands, healthy life initiative to be introduced in schools

Feyiase (Ash), Oct 18, GNA - Clean life, healthy life programme, an initiative which aims at reducing morbidity and mortality among children through a sustainable campaign to promote the washing of hands with soap in schools will soon be launched.

Designed also to prevent diarrhoea, it will target basically women and children under five years and children in the primary and junior secondary schools.

Mr. Bright Addai-Mununkum, the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District Chief Executive, who announced this, pointed out that although washing of hands with soap after toilet is seen as a minor act, it had a devastating effect on the lives of people.

In an address read on his behalf at the joint inauguration of eight institutional toilets built at the cost of 400 million cedis at Feyiase, he said environmental hygiene was very important in the socio-economic development of every nation.

It was for this reason, he said, that the government had sourced funding from the World Bank to provide potable water and sanitation facilities for the rural communities.

The DCE announced that the government is providing the district with 99 boreholes this year, while a total of 36 schools will also be provided with institutional toilets before the end of the year. Mr Addai-Mununkum said Jachie-Pramso and Foase would be catered for under the small town water system programme, pointing out that the government will not abandon any beneficial project or programme embarked upon by the previous government.

Mr Mark Tachie, the District Officer in-charge of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, disclosed that approval had been given for work to commence on 1,036 household latrines in the district this year while 136 water projects had already started and were expected to be completed by the end of the year.

He called on teachers to train the children on how to maintain sanitation facilities to prolong their life span.