Infectious Diseases: Consultant advises Nigerians on hand hygiene as culture

Dr Olagoke Usman, Consultant Family Physician, Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, Lagos, has advised Nigerians to inculcate hand hygiene as a culture to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Usman gave the advice at a programme organised to commemorate the 2023 World Hand Hygiene Day.

Our correspondent reports that World Hand Hygiene Day is marked annually on May 5 to raise awareness on the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of infections.

The theme for 2023 World Hand Hygiene Day is “Accelerate Actions Together, Save Lives-Clean Your Hands”.

He said: “This event is a special one for everyone especially health workers as we celebrate the importance of hand hygiene with the rest of the world.

“We realise that our hand is the vehicle through which we transmit infections and 85 per cent of infections are transmitted through the hand.

“We must practise proper hand hygiene by washing our hands properly with water and soap to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases to the barest minimum.

“For us to achieve this, we must inculcate hand hygiene as a culture, especially in the hospital settings”.

Usman, who is also the Head of Infectious Prevention Control and Quality Unit in the hospital, noted that the advent of COVID-19 reawakened the world on the importance of hand hygiene.

“Many of us were taught hand hygiene while we were in schools at a very young age but most people don’t practise it.

“The outbreak of COVID-19 made everyone sit up and address the things we have not been doing rightly,” he said.

Our correspondent reports that patients at different clinics within the hospital were sensitised on the importance of hand hygiene.