Improvements in general hygiene: a positive side to Covid-19?
September 2020
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, to help combat the spread of the virus, The Nasio Trust has focused on making handwashing more accessible to over 45,000 people living in the Mumias West area in rural Kenya.
The Nasio Trust have worked with the Kenyan Ministry of Health to set up over 150 handwashing ‘Tippy Tap’ stations, a hands-free way to wash your hands. They have also donated 150 hand washing containers to regional farmers and a further 250 hand washing containers to families and flood centres. Furthermore, information programmes have encouraged the practice of other preventative behaviours to reduce spread of disease. For example, the Nasio Trust have supplied a number of dish-drying racks to keep dishes safe and off the ground to keep things clean for drinking and cooking.
Bacterial contamination is high when kitchen utensils are stacked wet for more than 24 hours. Studies have shown the sun’s ultraviolet rays are a good disinfectant killing bacteria and inactivating some viruses. That is why we are working with our families to build a simple and cheap solution of a basic wooden dish rack to allow their dishes to safely dry in the sun.
This is part of our keeping families safe programme, one of the few inexpensive ways to kill harmful bacteria and viruses.
Soap and clean water are the first line of defense against Covid-19 and improved hygiene is directly linked to decreased transmission of viral respiratory infections.
As Nasio has taken steps to tackle the challenge of inadequate sanitation, improved hygiene practices have not only played a central role in preventing the spread of Covid-19, but also decreased waterborne diseases by about 90%. In 2019, the George Mudenyo Medical Centre treated 192 cases, including amoebiasis, gastroenteritis, typhoid and other skin diseases, whereas there have only been 31 cases so far in 2020.
Well done to the whole team for their incredible work!
This story is listed in: Achievements, Coronavirus, Flooding
