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Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 04.21 GMT |
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More than one million Sri Lankan children to
participate Global Hand Washing Day |
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More than one million children will
participate in the events to commemorate the
Global Hand Washing Day which falls today.
More than 1500 trained Public Health
Inspectors will visit a record number of
schools on the day and demonstrate how hand
washing should be done according to the
correct technique. Additional demonstrations
will also be held in clinics, hospitals and
tea plantations.
According to UNICEF South Asia has the
highest rate in the world of people using no
toilet at all – 48% of the population.
Because of this, six of the eight countries
in the region are not on target to meet the
sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG).
However, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are on track
to achieve the MDG goal of “Improved
sanitation” and of reducing related deaths
among children under five years of age, by
2015, said UNICEF.
Global Hand Washing Day’s hygiene promotion
activities are aimed at lifting the lid on
open defecation, one of the world’s “last
taboos”. ‘Open defecation’ presents serious
health risks from diarrhoea, worm
infestations, hepatitis and acute
respiratory infections like pneumonia – all
the biggest killers of children. It is also
one of the greatest environmental hazards
and the greatest contributor to malnutrition
in the region.
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