A team at the Ministry of Health and Medical Services will work towards installing wash stations in all schools in the Western Division in future.

This was highlighted by the Divisional Health Inspector West, Rakesh Kumar, during his address at the Global Handwashing Day 2021 celebrations at the Ocean Soaps Pte Limited (OSL) factory in Navutu, Lautoka yesterday.

This year’s theme was ‘Our future is at hand – let’s move forward together’.

In celebration with the 150 staff of the Punjas Group of Companies, OSL has been a long-standing supporter of the Global Handwashing Day, while consistently hosting the yearly event.

Mr Kumar said the way forward from the COVID-19 battle was by ensuring a safe hygiene for all started with educating children.

“If I can get all the school students to be ambassadors of the Ministry of Health, definitely we can win the battle and the way forward is our students and our children,” he said.

“And the way forward is to install wash stations in the ablution blocks in all our schools.

“Definitely in the years ahead we will be able to complete the whole Western Division installed with wash stations in the primary and secondary schools.”

He said to date most schools were still without wash stations and soaps.

Punjas Group Marketing Manager, Gopal Jadhav said handwashing was the highlight during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This event for Ocean Soaps is important because we have been hosting it for a number of years, we recognise the importance of the health and the well-being of many people and it all depends on our hand hygiene behaviors,” Mr Jadhav said.

“We have been advocating good hand hygiene practices prior to the global pandemic and now even stronger as we are in this unprecedented health crisis.”

The Acting Head of Department at Lautoka Hospital’s Emergency Department, Dr Mafa Lokenga, explained that one way she got the medical professionals at the hospital to get into the habit of washing their hands thoroughly was to make them think of going back to their families.

“When Lautoka went into lockdown, one way I encouraged our staff in the Emergency Department to change their habit of hand hygiene to make them realise that they had families,” she said.

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

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