THE World Health Organization (WHO) representative in the Solomon Islands, Dr Sevil Huseynova highlighted hand hygiene is the most effective action to stop spread of infection.
The WHO representative, Dr Sevil Huseynova had stated this during the launch of the National Infection Prevention Control (IPC) guidelines, Wednesday.
“Allow me to draw to you attention one more topic, that is Hand Hygiene for All Initiative, created in partnership between WHO and UNICEF.
“The scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows that appropriate hand hygiene is the single most effective action to stop the spread of infection,” Dr Huseynova said.
She added in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, WHO, UNICEF, and other stakeholders called upon governments to place hand hygiene at the heart of strategies to protect patients, communities and health workers from the virus as a basic and simple intervention.
She explained on 1 April 2020, WHO issued a formal recommendation for all Members States to:
- Provide universal access to public hygiene stations and make their use obligatory, and
- Improve access to and the practice of hand hygiene in HCFs.
“To support the implementation of these recommendations, on 26June 2020 WHO and UNICEF launched the new Hand Hygiene for All Initiative which aims to create hygiene by:
“Reinforcing the implementation of hand hygiene to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and other communicable diseases- within the context of the sector engagement, and behavior change strategies,” Dr Huseynova said.
She made a call to action international partners, national governments, the public and private sectors, the civil society and donors and financers to accelerate progress on hand hygiene at the global, national and community levels.
By ESTHER NURIA
Newsroom, Honiara
