World Vision makes handwashing fun for children

World Vision Afghanistan(WVA) in partnership with the Education Departments of Badghis and Herat Province celebrated Global Handwashing 2017. More than 1500 school age children participated in the event and learned about importance of hand washing and also personal and environmental hygiene.

The event financially was support by World Vision New Zealand in partnership with Sesame Workshop  in order to educate young children about proper water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices.

According to 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey of the Central Statistics Organization, only 30.3% of people in Herat practice hand washing with soap and water compared to a rate of 72.9% in Kabul

The poor hygiene and sanitation conditions contribute to the spread of diarrhoeal diseases which disproportionately affect children who have less developed immune systems.  The diarrhoea rate for children under 5 in Herat, according to the 2015 Demographic and Health Survey, is 34.6% compared to a rate of 30.8% in Kabul.

Badghis Education Department Director said during the event that such programs can effectively encourage students to pay attention to their personal hygiene, adding that teachers perform an important role in transferring this topic to students throughout the year.