The Centre for Advancing Rural Opportunity (CARO Ghana) has called on the government to increase investment and resources for strengthening WASH systems at the district and community levels. This call comes as the organization marked Global Handwashing Day on Sunday, October 15.

The theme for this year’s Global Handwashing Day was “Clean Hands are Within Reach.” It emphasized the need for strong leadership and collective efforts to close gaps in access to hand hygiene products. “I call on government, to increase investment and resources in strengthening WASH systems at the district and community level and facilitate coordinated actions to actively work towards universal hand hygiene,” CARO Ghana noted in a statement.

Handwashing with soap and water, according to CARO, can significantly reduce the occurrence of diarrhoea by 23%-40% and respiratory infections by nearly 20%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, it lamented that access to basic hygiene services in Ghana stands at only 42%, with 22% of households having no handwashing facilities.

CARO Ghana urged continued handwashing practices in schools and homes, saying “Many germs that can make people sick are spread when we don’t wash our hands with soap and clean, running water. Therefore it is important to always wash our hands especially at key times such as after using the bathroom, when preparing food, before eating and after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.”

To commemorate Global Handwashing Day, CARO Ghana organized awareness creation activities in the Upper West Region, including a donation of handwashing materials to a local school. The organization emphasized the need for collective action to achieve universal access to proper hand hygiene.