project report
"Wash A Million Hands!" project which started in 2010, has been lasting for 8 years. Here we report the results of the project as of December 2017.
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had a goal to decrease the infant mortality rate which is now taken over to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Since 2016, we started promoting the activity to spread correct handwashing using soap to achieve the goals of "3. Good Health and Well-being", "6. Clean Water and Sanitation" and "8. Decent Work and Economic Growth" which consist the 17 articles of SDGs.
Expand nationwide campaign of promoting handwashing
We made our efforts to expand a lot of nationwide activities such as "Hygiene Week", "World's Water Day", "World's Handwashing Day", "The 2nd Competition of Water and Hygiene in Uganda" to promote correct handwashing using soap. 11 private sectors and civil organizations contributed to the activity in a school in which more than 120,000 students were participated as well as the media communication.
Ceremony of the "World's Handwashing Day" was held in Omoro District
The ceremony was held in Omoro District on October 16, 2017. Moses Ali; the 1st vice prime minister of Uganda; was invited as a guest of honor. The ministries of water and environment, policy makers and organizations in the hygiene field, and local handwashing ambassadors were participated in the ceremony. It emphasized to raise awareness to the correct handwashing using soap and make the activities for hygienic improvement the priority issue in the policy.
The handwashing rate has increased to 37%.
The rate of people who wash their hands with soap after toilet was 14% in 2007, but has increased to 33.2% in 2015 and 37% in 2017. At the same time, under-5 mortality rate has decreased from 89 in 2009 (before starting the project) to 53 in 2016 per 1,000 population. Efforts of the national and local governments over handwashing activities for children's health contributed a lot to the result.
Cooperation of infants growth program and message for handwashing
National Handwashing Initiatives held a training program for hygiene instructors related to existing infants growth project, local service staffs and employees of water bureau. The activity spread awareness that the parents' custom of handwashing is closely related to infants growth.