Kenya hand washing drive aims to break Guinness world record

Diarrhoeal illnesses contribute up to 16 per cent of total deaths among children under the age of five, representing a second cause of such mortalities after pneumonia.

Medical experts have expressed optimism that incidence of diarrhoea can be reduced by up to 45 per cent while respiratory infections can be slashed by 30pc through hand washing with soap.

According to data from UNICEF, hand washing culture in Kenya is about 10 per cent only while this is supposed to be a common practice among the population.

Compared to developed nations like UK which hit 47 per cent, it indicates that about nine out of every 10 Kenyans do not wash their hands after visiting the toilet, before eating and even after changing a baby.

It is on this platform that Lifebuoy has identified an opportunity to promote hand washing initiatives.

The local market has seen the entry of many soap manufacturers as campaigns for washing hands with soap gains momentum.

Increased competition between these companies has led to evolution of soaps from the traditional solid ones to a more convenient liquid form mainly for use in public utilities.

Brand presence

Through such campaigns, Unilever hopes to grow its Lifebuoy brands presence in the market while sensitising the population on the needs for hand washing.

“Since the introduction of the liquid lifebuoy hand wash, the product has gained appreciation in the market as we are now receiving orders for supply from companies. But the primary aim of the initiative is to teach children the importance of hand washing by partnering with both private and public schools,” says Nganga.

The latest development from the initiative was the release of clean hands study that saw the unveiling of shocking statistics of bacteria counts in unexpected areas in office and high-end hotel settings among other sampled environments.

According to the study, more than 200 bacteria species are found on the keyboard and mouse of office computers.

“These findings are serious as most people eat from their desktops while browsing their computers. You would rather eat from a well cleaned toilet. It is much cleaner,” said Prof Mohammed Karama, principal researcher at KEMRI who spearheaded the study.