Nigeria Marks 2025 Global Handwashing Day, Minister Urges Citizens to ‘Be Handwashing Heroes’

Nigeria joined nations around the world today, Wednesday October 15, to commemorate the 2025 Global Handwashing Day, reinforcing the country’s commitment to hygiene, sanitation, and disease prevention.

The event, themed “Be a Handwashing Hero,” was organized in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation in collaboration with the National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS). It drew participation from government officials, development partners, civil society, and schoolchildren — all united in a call for collective hygiene responsibility.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Honourable Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Engr. Prof. Joseph Terlumun Utsev, FNSE, emphasized that handwashing with soap remains one of the most cost-effective and life-saving public health interventions.

“Simple actions like washing our hands at critical times can save countless lives,” the Minister said. “This year’s theme calls on every Nigerian — from policymakers to schoolchildren — to become active champions of hygiene and community health.”

Prof. Utsev reaffirmed the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to improve hygiene and sanitation access through flagship initiatives, including the National Action Plan for the Revitalization of the WASH Sector, the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign, PEWASH, and the Sustainable Urban and Rural WASH (SURWASH) project.

He also disclosed that the National Action Plan is currently being revised to include a dedicated hygiene component, aligning with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to implementing the Nigeria Roadmap to Hand Hygiene for All. The Minister further urged institutions — especially schools, health facilities, and workplaces — to integrate hand hygiene into their daily routines, ensuring accessibility for everyone, including persons with disabilities.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Richard Pheelangwah, represented by Mr. Moses Jo-Madugu, highlighted that sustained behavioral change and collective ownership are essential to making handwashing with soap a daily habit.

Development partners, including UNICEF, Reckitt, WaterAid, Action Against Hunger, Sightsavers, and Self Help Africa, reaffirmed their continued collaboration toward achieving SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). They collectively called for deeper private sector engagement and innovation to sustain hygiene gains across Nigeria.

The celebration also featured students’ art exhibitions, a Handwashing Art and Graphics Competition, and a symbolic handwashing ceremony by dignitaries — a symbolic gesture reaffirming Nigeria’s unified resolve to advance hygiene practices nationwide.

“A child spared from disease today is a future empowered,” Prof. Utsev concluded. “A community that practices safe hygiene is one that preserves its dignity.”

The 2025 Global Handwashing Day once again underscored that the fight for a healthier Nigeria begins with clean hands — and that everyone, in their own way, can be a “Handwashing Hero.”