Nadia Niyonsenga, a fruit and vegetable trader in Kigali City Market, Nyarugenge District, no longer suffers trips to hospitals because of sick children, something she owes to the instilled habit of handwashing in her family. The 28-year-old mother of three indicates that ever since the introduction of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, she and her household maintained the habit of regular washing of hands. “My children have learnt that the moment they get home from school, the first thing is to wash their hands before grabbing anything to eat or moving around in the house,” said the resident of Gisozi Sector, Gasabo District. This, according to her, has relieved the kids from being sick of water-borne diseases from time to time but instead has better focus on school and other activities. However, she emphasized that with the school feeding program available in different schools across the country, parents and head teachers should work closely to ensure that the food served and the environment in which it is served has maximum hygiene to further protect the health of young students. Jeannette Ingabire, Nutritionist at Kibeho Health Center, said that while poverty remains a big challenge for parents to eliminate the issue of child stunting and other diseases, especially in rural areas, behavior change when it comes to hygiene has greatly helped to improve child’s health at a domestic level. On October 15, the world marked Global Handwashing Day under the theme “Unite for Universal Hand Hygiene’’and called for collective action to address the historic neglect of hand hygiene which has caused avoidable consequences to public health. According to UNICEF, Globally, 700 children under five years old die daily from diarrhea linked to unsafe water, sanitation, and poor hygiene. “Global and national estimates reflect vast inequalities in access to handwashing, even within countries where hand hygiene facilities are available, research shows that people, especially men, do not use them consistently,” it states. From the latest report of Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (2019-2020), 80 percent of Rwandan households have access to improved water sources while 72 percent have access to improved sanitation. However, with the country’s efforts for achieving universal coverage in WASH (Water and Sanitation Hygiene) services for the Rwandan population, 20 percent of households lack access to an improved water source, and 28 percent of households don’t have access to improved sanitation, states the report. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 of ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, the government of Rwanda has laid out a strategic framework to foster a culture in which 100 percent of the Rwandan population practice handwashing at critical moments by 2024. This includes the use of evidence-based behaviour change communications by integrating handwashing into priority health, education, early childhood development, and community programs. As well as to avail inclusive handwashing facilities, inclusive products and services to enable practice and the supply of functioning and adequate water and sanitation services. Philbert Nema, WASH Specialist at National Child Development Agency, said that there has been significant improvement in public health during the pandemic period, however, the current hygienic complacency reverses the gains made so far. “We need to stir up the habit of best hygiene practices in workplaces, homes, markets, schools, and elsewhere, especially as we gear up efforts to fight Ebola in the region,” he added. He noted that in order to maintain an improving pace, parents and local leaders should work hand-in-hand to ensure that the culture of handwashing is instilled in children from an early age to eradicate certain diseases and the prevailing stunting issue in different districts. This was also reiterated by Niyosenga who advised other parents to always be on the lookout, especially for the environment in which their children play as well as train their house helps on proper hygienic practices, even during times when there is no supervision.
