Plan International Pakistan in collaboration with Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering (HUD&PHED) - Government of Punjab, Water Aid and UNICEF organised Global Hand Washing Day on Tuesday in Lahore. The event was attended by children, policy makers and civil society to mark the 8th commemoration of the event. Global Handwashing Day was first celebrated in 2008. Since then October 15 has become synonymous with the Day.
Minister HUD&PHED Punjab, Malik Tanveer Aslam was the chief guest and the event was attended by members of the provincial assembly, and representatives from provincial government departments, local government and International NGOs. Speaking at the event the Minister said: "We, as a developing country, face a number of challenges, for which we all have to work together to resolve. Poor hygiene practices like the simplest of all; not washing hands with soap, has a direct effect on everyone's health, especially that of children."
Punjab Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, also a chief guest, in her speech said: "We cannot deny the importance of hygiene practices in our lives as this is one of the basic teaching of our religion. In this era of development and progress there is an urgent need to collaborate our efforts to inculcate improved hygiene behaviours in our future generations. This can only be done by providing an environment in schools and communities where children can learn and practice good hygiene. This will not only bring prosperity to the nation but will also help us to tread the path of development.
Representatives from Mobilink, a program partner of Plan International Pakistan, were also present at the event. Speaking on behalf of the Telco, Omar Manzur, Head of Corporate Communications said, "Pakistan has a high mortality rate linked to diarrhoea, which is a preventable disease provided the basic hygiene standards are met. Mobilink recognises the need to educate masses, especially children, about benefits of the simple hygienic act of hand washing.-PR
Comments
Comments are closed.