Students disinfect their hands with sanitizer (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – UNICEF in Vietnam will continue to support the country’s Governmentto bring water, sanitation and hygiene programmes at scale in schools,according to a statement by the office on the occasion of the World HandHygiene Day (May 5).
This year’s HandHygiene Day falls as Vietnam is reaching an important milestone with themajority of students across the country returning to school in a safe andphased approach that meets international standards after months of preventiveclosure to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Rana Flowers, UNICEFRepresentative to Vietnam, said that unsafe water, inadequate sanitation andlack of hygiene affect not only the health, safety, and quality of life ofchildren, but also their learning.
Therefore, providingbetter water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools not only reduces thespread of hygiene-related diseases like COVID-19 and the risk of parasite infections,but also helps to curb the number of schools days missed every year due todiarrhea, she stated.
In the coming weeks,UNICEF and its partners will distribute essential supplies to reachapproximately 500,000 people, including 300,000 students in schools. They planto distribute soap, hand sanitisers and ceramic water filters to schools,commune health centres and communities in Lao Cai, Dien Bien, Gia Lai, Kon Tum,Ninh Thuan, Ben Tre, Soc Trang provinces. These supplies will come withtargeted messages and information, available in ethnic minority languages, onpersonal hygiene.
UNICEF remainscommitted to ensuring that every child has the right to be in a school thatoffers safe water, healthy sanitation and hygiene education.
“This is the moment tocreate the change we seek for all schools. As we recover, rebound and reimagine a world more fit for children afterCOVID 19 – I hope you will join us in taking the next steps to sustainablechange in schools,” added Flowers./.
VNA
