Handwashing Day: an essential measure at the heart of the African Development Bank's intervention

Washing your hands with soap and water may seem like a simple gesture, and yet it is one of the most important measures in the fight against epidemics and infectious diseases in Africa. However, millions of people in Africa do not have the opportunity to easily wash their hands.

On Global Hand Washing Day, the African Development Bank reiterates the importance of this measure, which constitutes an essential component in the implementation of its interventions in Africa.

"Washing your hands with soap and water is an effective gesture that I invite public to take part in to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus and many other infectious diseases," said Osward Chanda, Acting director of the Water and Sanitation Department at the African Development Bank.

Chanda said that the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola virus epidemics or other diarrhoeal diseases in Africa, is a reminder of the importance in hand washing to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The African Development Bank is raising awareness around the importance of hand hygiene in its interventions to initiate sustainable behavioral changes among its beneficiaries in this period of Covid-19.

“It's important to make sure the public is informed and understands the importance of washing their hands to protect themselves against infectious diseases,” said Chanda.

According to the latest estimates, globally 3 in 10 people - or 2.3 billion - do not have access to basic hand washing facilities with soap and water at home, including 670 million people without any facilities at all. In the least developed countries, more than 6 in 10 people do not have basic facilities for washing their hands at home and 75% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa do not have facilities to wash their hands at home.