From Muhammad Bashir, Dutse/17th Oct, 2025
The CASCADE (Catalysing Strengthened Policy for Healthy Diets and Resilience) Project has educated rural women on hand washing practice and environmental hygiene in Dabi community of Ringim Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The exercise, held at Dabi Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), was to mark the 2025 Global Handwashing Day by the project.
The Project’s Health and Nutrition Technical Officer, Gara Alheri, said the session was aimed at educating the women on proper hand washing practice awareness campaigns, hands-on training.
Alheri said the program targeted specific groups like expectant and breastfeeding mothers in the community.
She explained that the session focused on demonstrating the correct steps of hand washing technique and explaining its importance, especially in critical situations.
“As mothers and wives, you need to wash your hands with soap and running water before preparing food, eating, breastfeeding your babies. Also, you should always clean your hands and that of your children after visiting toilet,” she said.
During the demonstration, the official provided hands-on sessions to teach the women proper steps of hand washing to ensure that they understand and can practice techniques properly.
Also, the Officer-in-Charge of the PHC, Mr Sidi Haruna, reminded the women that apart from personal hygiene, they must also ensure they kept their environment clean in order maintain optimal hygiene to avoid the spread of disease among their households.
Haruna advised that parents should be more conscious of how they take good care of their children, saying that proper personal and environmental hygiene should always be maintained.
“As mothers who are always with your children, you should ensure that your environment and other items in your homes are properly washed and rinsed with clean running water.
“I must tell you that it is not only about hand washing, there is also the need for proper environmental sanitation and personal hygiene particularly after using the restroom, within your homes classrooms and places where your children play at. You should always use running water with soap for hand washing,” Haruna said.
Some of the women, Maryam Adamu and Zulaihat Abdullahi, commended the project awareness campaign.
They promised to share knowledge gained from the exercise wirh other women in their respective communities who were not opportuned to attend the session.
