The Zoomlion Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, has successfully marked Global Handwashing Day 2023 with a large-scale health and hygiene awareness campaign. The event, held at the Nii Sowah Din Cluster of Schools in the Adentan Municipality, brought together over 3,000 Zoomkids Club members to promote good hygiene practices and preventive healthcare.
Free Health Screenings & NHIS Enrollment
As part of the celebration, Zoomlion Foundation partnered with GIZ, Appointed Times Screen Printing Limited, and other organisations to provide free health screenings for 3,000 schoolchildren. Additionally, 2,000 students and teaching staff benefited from free National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) registrations and renewals.
The screenings covered a wide range of health issues, including malaria, eye infections, respiratory conditions, blood sugar levels, and breast cancer screenings for adults.
Promoting Handwashing for Healthy Living
The Communications and Corporate Affairs Director of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Mrs. Emma Adwoa Appiaa Osei-Duah, underscored the importance of instilling proper hygiene habits in children.
“The objective of Global Handwashing Day is to teach children the importance of regular handwashing and encourage them to extend these good practices to their families and communities. By helping them imbibe such habits, we will positively impact their lives and, in turn, reduce the burden on the country’s health and economic budgets,” she stated.
Referencing this year’s theme, “Clean Hands Are Within Reach!”, she reminded the children that handwashing is simple, effective, and always accessible.
Partnerships for Hygiene Education
The Public Relations Manager of the Adentan Municipal Education Directorate, Ms. Gloria Mensah, explained that their collaboration with the Zoomlion Foundation aims to promote hygiene education among schoolchildren in the municipality. She commended Zoomlion for providing handwashing facilities in schools and urged the children to practice good hygiene both at school and at home.
Preventing Infectious Diseases Through Education
The National Coordinator of Zoomlion Foundation, Mr. Thomas Narh Korley, stressed the urgent need for preventive health education, especially in light of global outbreaks like COVID-19.
“Infectious diseases are a major concern worldwide. We cannot wait for another outbreak before encouraging children to adopt healthy practices like handwashing. If children learn to protect themselves now, the country will save significant resources on treatment in the future,” he explained.
He further revealed that the Foundation has lined up a month-long series of activities to mark Global Handwashing Day 2023, including talk shows, drama and road shows, health screenings, NHIS registration, and handwashing demonstrations.
“We want to protect the health of children so they can stay in school, learn, and grow into productive citizens,” he emphasised.
Story Credit: Idris Adam
