We have all grown up watching the old jingle ;
“Lifebuoy hai jaha, tandarusti hai waha”
(Lifebuoy soap helps us lead healthy lives!)
The imagery of a child washing his hands with lifebuoy to ward away germs stuck on. It was ingrained in my head right from the time I was a kid that my hands had to be washed properly before I could eat my food, after I came back from play, each time I touched my shoes or went to the toilet. It’s an unconcious habit now, and it’s something I train my kids to do as well. While I may not have understood the relevance then, I know for a fact today that it is a healthy habit and protects my family from health hazards. But then how many of us realise it’s importance? Specially, people living in the rural areas cite it as unwarranted.
Do you know that one child dies every 15 seconds in India due to poor hygeine?
Could you even think that washing hands properly is not a trivial issue and can be life-saving for thousands in India?
Every year, more than 6 million children die before they reach the age of five, many due to preventable infections. Over 40% of these deaths occur in the neonatal period, when children are most vulnerable. Hygiene, particularly handwashing with soap, is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent many of these deaths. Lifebuoy’s programmes aim to increase awareness of the importance of handwashing with soap, as well as changing behaviours to make it a habit everywhere.
Some facts to keep in mind
• Hands are the main pathways of germ transmission during health care.
• Hand hygiene is therefore, the most important measure to avoid the transmission of harmful germs and prevent health care-associated
Just stop and ponder for sometime, why the doctors who move around infections and disease all the time, are safe from catching it themselves. They take proper care, wear masks and most importantly wash and sanitise their hands a zillion times and in the right manner.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY WASHING HANDS PROPERLY?
HOW CAN YOU HELP OTHERS TO SPREAD THE WORD ALONG WITH KAJOL AND LIFEBUOY?
CLICK ON THE LINK TO KNOW MORE
