Ahead of the Global Hand Washing celebration on October 15, the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate has launched a handwashing week campaign.

The week-long campaign which seeks to raise awareness on the importance of proper handwashing with soap under running water is being observed between October 10 and 17.

It is also aimed at stepping up the hand hygiene protocols among the public in the fight against COVID-19 which forms part of the comprehensive strategy to fight the pandemic in the Region.

Dr Michael Rockson Adjei, the Deputy Director in charge of Public Health, who launched the campaign, said handwashing was a cost-effective approach to the prevention and protection against infectious diseases, including COVID-19, diarrhoea and worm infestation.

He said nearly half of the population in Kumasi relied on public toilets, with only one toilet for every 1,000 people, adding that water services in low-income urban areas were often non-existent.

This, he said, was having a massive knock-on effect on the population's health, dignity and economic growth.

Dr Adjei said diarrhoea was the leading cause of child death globally and the leading cause in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He disclosed that the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was supporting the Region to promote Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in selected schools and communities in the Kumasi Metro, Asokore Mampong and Kwadaso Municipalities.

He said the intervention was expected to prevent WASH-related diseases and improve health outcomes in the beneficiary schools and communities.

"We are grateful to the media for your continuous support in the fight against the pandemic and we urge you to continue reminding the public that we are not out of the woods yet so they should strictly observe the preventive protocols," he commended the media.