71% Ugandans do not wash their hands after visiting toilets
Post date: Feb 19, 2014 12:52:49 PM
Out of every 10 people in Uganda, only three wash their hands after visiting the toilet, cleaning the baby’s bottom and before eating, health minister Ruhakana Rugunda, has said.
Rugunda said this eating-without-washing-hands character after visiting the toilet is a time bomb waiting to explode.
He said the poor hygiene practices were responsible for many preventable disease in the country, among others, dysentery, cholera, diarrhea, and Hepatitis E “that continue to afflict our people.”
Uganda has had its share of these preventable diseases, the notable ones being dysentery and cholera. Last month, the death toll of the liver infection, Hepatitis E, hit 15 in Napak district.
“But most of these diseases are preventable. It is about the hygiene,” said Rugunda. “About 30% of Ugandans have no adequate sanitation facility while 71% do not wash their hands after using a latrine, cleaning the baby’s bottom or before eating.”
“Studies have shown that washing hands with soap after using a latrine, cleaning the baby’s bottom or before eating reduces incidence of diarrhoea by 47% and Acute Respiratory Infections by 30%,” he added
This was during the East and Southern Africa conference on sanitation at the Kampala Serena Hotel Tuesday.