By Temitope Akintoye,
A Consultant Public Health Physician at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Dr. Adeyinka Adeniran, has recommended an increase in adherence to personal hygiene standards by Lagosians and Nigerians in general, saying that the cultivation of such lifestyle would promote health and aid the country in its fight against the global coronavirus pandemic.
He explained that though recent healthcare realities as raised by incidence of the deadly coronavirus infection in the nation had necessitated the implementation of preventive personal hygiene measures, Nigerians needed to continue upholding the medically advised methods even after the viral outbreak was over.
Adeniran, while speaking to newsmen on Tuesday, impressed the importance of personal hygiene observation in the prevention of other debilitating diseases such as Typhoid, E Coli, as well as other respiratory infections, and advised Nigerians to avoid neglecting the measures once the Covid-19 threat was under control.
He said that adherence to measures such as regular handwashing, use of hand sanitizers, proper sneezing or coughing protocols, and others should be upheld by the people as regular lifestyle habits and not just because of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the doctor, such moves would yield health benefits for the people and that nation as a whole, during the battle against the viral infection and after the pandemic had been overcome.
“From observation, it is obvious that hand hygiene practices will never be the same again. People are more careful and they take extra effort in keeping up with personal hygiene. If they are not using sanitizers, they ensure they have soap and water to wash their hands thoroughly for fear of being infected by the disease,”
“However, there has to be a behavioral, cultural, and social change in beliefs and ideologies, so that the change can become sustainable by all”.
Adeniran expressed his appreciation for the World Health Organisation (WHO) instituted Year-2020 World Hand Hygiene Day, tagged “Save Lives: Clean Your Hands”, saying that such move addressed the issue of “Clean healthcare provision”, which was one of the urgent challenges previously identified by the United Nations (UN) towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline.
“Clean care, including hand hygiene best practices and the central role played by Nurses and Midwives in achieving this, is the focus of this year’s World Hygiene Day campaign”.
The doctor urged Nigerians to keep a healthy lifestyle and inculcate hygienic habits, and also called on government to increase awareness creation on the advantages of habitual handwashing.
