We need to make the practice of washing hands with soap a necessity in the community. Education can start since an early age in Kindergarten (TK) and should be repeated continuouslyJakarta (ANTARA) - The Health Ministry has encouraged the practice of washing hands with soap (CTPS) as an important requisite for the community that can be disseminated through edifying all members on a frequent basis.
"We need to make the practice of washing hands with soap a necessity in the community. Education can start since an early age in Kindergarten (TK) and should be repeated continuously," Director of Health Promotion and Community Empowerment, Directorate General of Public Health at the Health Ministry, Imran Agus Nurali, noted during his presentation on the CTPS educational book here on Wednesday.
Nurali highlighted the need to repeatedly disseminate correct information on the need to wash hands with soap to the public, especially in an era of public information disclosure that is prone to false information.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, information on the practice of washing hands with soap should to be conveyed at the level of educational institutions and public facilities.
"We need to practice hand washing with soap not only during a pandemic. Beyond a pandemic, (information) about using masks is also going well. The practice of washing hands with soap is an activity that is really required before and even during a pandemic," he stated.
Hence, the Health Ministry has encouraged to necessarily implement the CTPS program, including through early education, so that these good practices can become a habit when children grow up.
Nurali remarked that the practice of washing hands with soap aims to contain the spread of COVID-19. Moreover, this activity can thwart the transmission of other diseases that can enter the body without washing hands, such as diarrhea, rabies, hepatitis, acute respiratory infections, and other diseases.
"The ideal time to wash your hands is after defecating, before eating, and after doing activities. (The practice of washing hands with soap before and after) these three activities is very suitable (to be practiced) at school," he stated.
Meanwhile, at the same event, Silvia Landa, the Water for Women Project Manager of the Indonesia Plan International Foundation, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had raised awareness on the importance of washing hands with soap.
Although the pandemic has been raging on for a year, not all people have diligently implemented the CTPS practice.
"Hence, especially during a pandemic, proper guidance is necessary to make the practice of washing hands with soap a daily habit that can ultimately reduce the number of COVID-19 cases and other diseases," he remarked.
The Plan International Indonesia Foundation along with the Health Ministry and the Education Ministry launched a book titled "Guide to Triggering Changes in Hand Washing with Soap Behavior in Schools or Madrasahs and Communities".
The guidebook is not only intended to trigger a behavioral change but also to help complement various existing documents, such as the triggering guide for the Five Pillars of Community-based Total Sanitation in the Community.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Katriana
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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