WorldStage– As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the 2025 Global Handwashing Day, the Federal Government has renewed its call for citizens to embrace handwashing with soap as a critical public health habit capable of saving millions of lives.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr. Joseph Utsev, who made the call on Monday in Abuja during a press briefing ahead of the commemoration scheduled for October 15, 2025, with the theme “Be a Handwashing Hero” said the government was intensifying efforts to provide handwashing facilities across communities as part of its broader campaign to end open defecation and improve national sanitation standards.
“Handwashing with soap remains one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent infectious diseases. It is a do-it-yourself vaccine against ailments such as diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid fever, and pneumonia,” the minister stated.
He explained that the annual event, established by the United Nations, seeks to raise global awareness about the importance of hand hygiene as an affordable and life-saving practice.
Utsev added that promoting proper handwashing could cut deaths from diarrhoea by nearly half and reduce fatalities from respiratory infections by a quarter.
The minister also stressed the economic and social benefits of hygiene, noting that a healthier population translates into improved productivity and reduced medical costs.
“Being a handwashing hero does not require extraordinary powers, but a commitment to responsibility and consistency in saving lives through simple, everyday actions,” he said.
Utsev recalled how handwashing played a vital role in reducing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, urging Nigerians not to abandon the culture of regular handwashing.
“Handwashing served as a first line of defence during the pandemic and remains crucial in preventing future disease outbreaks,” he noted.
Despite high awareness levels, the minister expressed concern that a large segment of the population still fails to wash hands properly, especially after using the toilet, touching animals, or before eating and preparing food.
He urged communities, civil society organisations, and development partners to intensify hygiene education and ensure more households have access to clean water and soap in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2, which targets universal access to hygiene services.
In a goodwill message, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, represented by the Assistant Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Aghogho Gbetsere, called on Nigerians to become “heroes and heroines of handwashing” by leading change within their homes and communities.
“This year’s theme challenges everyone to take responsibility. The simple act of washing hands with soap under running water remains one of the most effective ways to prevent disease and build healthier communities,” Lawal said.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, Richard Pheewlangwah, represented by the Director of Reforms Coordination and Service Improvement, Moses Jo-Madugu, said the ministry, through the National Task Group on Sanitation, continues to drive advocacy for improved hygiene practices nationwide.
He noted that all activities planned for the 2025 commemoration are aimed at sensitising Nigerians to adopt handwashing as a daily habit rather than a one-off event.
“The goal is to entrench the culture of hand hygiene in every household, school, and workplace across Nigeria,” he said.
As the world celebrates Global Handwashing Day, the federal government is urging Nigerians to make handwashing not just a routine, but a lifestyle.
