The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, has urged Nigerians to adopt water-saving and climate-smart handwashing methods.
Lawal made the call on Monday during the commemoration of the 2026 Global Handwashing Day at Police Day Secondary School, Area 11, Abuja, with the theme, “Be a Handwashing Hero”.
Global Handwashing Day is an international campaign launched in 2008 to promote proper handwashing with soap at critical times to prevent diseases and save lives. It is observed annually on October 15.
Represented by Salihu Usman, the ministry’s permanent secretary, Lawal urged young people to use digital platforms, videos and social media campaigns to promote handwashing. He said innovative communication could inspire more people to adopt healthier habits.
He said the theme encouraged individuals, families, schools, businesses and governments to promote hand hygiene through consistent actions that protected public health and strengthened communities.
Lawal called on governments at all levels, non-governmental organisations, community leaders and the media to intensify awareness campaigns, improve access to sanitation facilities and encourage behavioural change.
He said handwashing with soap and running water remained one of the simplest and most affordable ways to prevent infections, including cholera, diphtheria, typhoid fever, Lassa fever and COVID-19.
According to him, proper handwashing can reduce the risk of diarrhoeal diseases by up to 50 per cent and respiratory infections by nearly 25 per cent.
He said promoting hygiene required collective action beyond providing sanitation facilities, adding that proper management of the facilities was essential to protecting public health.
Lawal said the federal government, through the Ministry of Environment and other ministries, departments and agencies, remained committed to implementing policies and programmes to improve water, sanitation and hygiene nationwide.
He urged Nigerians to wash their hands at critical times, including before eating, after using the toilet, handling waste or coming into contact with animals.
He also urged schools, healthcare facilities and workplaces to provide accessible handwashing stations and encouraged communities to strengthen hygiene education, particularly among children.
The minister commended the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Nestlé Nigeria Plc and Female Professionals in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (FEMinWASH) for supporting the event. He also appreciated the school’s management and other stakeholders for their contributions to water, sanitation and hygiene programmes.
“Clean hands save lives. The power to protect our families, communities and future generations lies in our hands,” he said.
Also speaking, Iliya Cheshi, national coordinator of the IFRC Country Support Platform, said regular handwashing could save lives and prevent disease outbreaks.
Cheshi, an epidemiologist, said proper hand hygiene was a simple but effective public health measure in Nigeria and other countries.
He said educating children about hand hygiene would help them develop healthy habits and share the message with their families and communities.
Citing his participation in response efforts during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, Cheshi stressed the importance of handwashing in controlling infectious diseases.
He urged Nigerians to maintain proper hand hygiene and called for continued collaboration among stakeholders to prevent diseases and safeguard communities.
The commandant of Police Day Secondary School, Moses Bammai, also emphasised the importance of teaching children proper handwashing habits from an early age.
Bammai described hosting the event as an important step towards educating young people on personal hygiene, adding that early education would help children develop lasting habits that protect their health and promote cleanliness.
