Zoomlion Foundation observes 2023 Global Hand-washing Day

Zoomlion Foundation has observed this year’s Global Handwashing Day with 3,000 Zoomkids Club members at the Nii Sowah Din Cluster of Schools in Adentan Municipality of Accra.

As part of the activities to mark the day, GIZ, Appointed Times Screen Printing Limited, and other partners provided free health screenings for the 3,000 Zoomkids and free NHIS enrollment for an additional 2,000 Zoomkids and teaching staff.

The children were screened for malaria, eye infections, nose problems, blood sugar levels, and eye problems. The adults were also screened for breast cancer.

Some of the school children were also registered onto the National Health Insurance Scheme, while others had their membership renewed.

The Communications and Corporate Affairs Director of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Emma Adwoa Appiaa Osei-Duah, noted that the objective of Global Handwashing Day is to get the children to know the need to regularly wash their hands while also encouraging their mates and family members to do the same.

“By helping the children to imbibe such good habits, we will greatly impact their lives, which will have a ripple effect on the country’s economic and health budgets,” she stressed.

Alluding to the theme “Clean hands are within reach!”, she said, “We are here to help them to remember that handwashing is within reach.”

She added that every year, the Zoomkids join international and national partners to celebrate Global Handwashing Day.

The Public Relations Manager of the Adenta Municipal Education Directorate, Gloria Mensah, explained that the motive for partnering with the Zoomlion Foundation is to promote handwashing education for the school children in the municipality.

She commended Zoomlion Foundation for providing handwashing facilities to the schools within the municipality.

She advised the school children to take handwashing very seriously and also educate their siblings at home on good environmental practices.

The National Coordinator for Zoomlion Foundation, Thomas Narh Korley, intimated that with the dangers imposed by infectious diseases, it is imperative to take precautions and preventive measures and not wait for the worse to happen before doing what is right.

“Infectious diseases are becoming an issue all over the world. We need to take precautions and preventive measures. We shouldn’t wait until a situation like the coronavirus outbreak before telling the children to wash their hands,” he explained.

“We believe that if the children know how to protect themselves, when they grow up, we won’t have to spend so many resources on vaccines to treat sickness because they will already be taking precautions daily,” he observed.

The Coordinator hinted that all of the schools involved in the project will receive logistical support to promote good environmental practices.

According to Korley, the Zoomlion Foundation, together with its partners, has planned a month-long series of activities to observe Global Handwashing Day. Some of the activities include talk shows, drama shows, road shows, health screenings, NHIS registration, and demonstrations of handwashing.

“We want to protect their health so they can stay in school, learn, and become productive citizens,” he remarked.

The partners include GES, GIZ, Appointed Times printers, Coca-Cola, Blueskies, Kasapreko, Golden Exotics Limited, NHIA, and the Ghana Health Service.