His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Health for Planning and Development, Dr. Mohammed Khosahim has announced that scientific studies proved that infection is transmitted by hand from one patient to another. He said, “Recent studies have come up with the result that the incidence of infection could be reduced by washing hands. One of the commonest and unhealthiest habits around the world is paying little or no attention to handwashing, although we are all aware that it is an indispensible habit in both social and scientific terms.”
This announcement was made by Dr. Khosaim during the inauguration of the scientific meeting organized by the Health Facility Infection Control General Department on Wednesday, on the occasion of the World Handwashing Day.
Dr. Khoshaim pointed out that the rudimentary way of handwashing is the use of water and soap. Then the technological revolution came up with the sterile used in all the MOH clinics. He went on to say that technological progress helped a lot in spreading the culture of handwashing in all health facilities. That's to be added to several workshops organized by a number of hospitals, in line with the Government's strenuous efforts, seeking to promote the culture of handwashing.
“Furthermore”, Dr. Khoshaim added, “the current workshop held at the MOH Headquarters is reckoned one of the significant steps towards promoting the culture of handwashing among doctors and health workers. Nonetheless, greater effort will be exerted to promote such a healthy habit at the level of the entire society.
For his part, the Deputy Minister for Public Health, Dr. Zeyad Memish, affirmed that the Handwashing Day is celebrated every year on the fifth of May, under the theme: “Wash your hands, to rescue your lives”. This celebration commemorates the day on which an Austrian physician (Sim Louise) discovered the relationship between handwashing and the protection against infection, some 200 years ago. The World Handwashing Day has been celebrated annually since then.
Dr. Memish went on to say, “This problem costs the United States, for example, as enormous a sum of money as 40 billion US dollars every year; which is the cost of two million patients caught by infection. This sum, however, would seem trifle if compared to the enormity of death toll, which reaches 88.000 deaths annually in the same country.”
“The proportion of those adopting the habit of hand washing is so low, not only at the local level, but at the international level as well,” Dr. Memish added. “It is time to make up our minds to incur the responsibility, and take the right action against those found non-compliant.”
“It should not escape our notice that all countries have been committed to the enforcement of this program. Today is an opportunity to all of us to take this day a starting point, with a view to the attainment of the adherence and compliance of this program by 90 per cent at least,” he added.
The Director-General of Facility Infection Control General Department, Dr. Abdullah Assiri, for his part, reiterated that the medical profession is by all means the finest and most humane of all professions whatsoever. That's because it takes as its ultimate objective the preservation of people's health and lives. It has been so long since people became well aware of the importance of handwashing in the protection against infection. Adherence to handwashing among health workers worldwide is still under the desired level notwithstanding.
“This requires us to conduct serious research on the reasons for this phenomenon, and the ways to raise the level of abidance by handwashing,” Dr. Assiri continued. “To that end, we need to work at all levels in pursuit of creating the proper environment; starting with decision-makers, health workers, ending up with the public. This could be brought into effect by raising people's awareness, removing impediments and holding negligent.”
The ceremony was concluded by honoring the hospitals, both public and private, which achieved a high level of commitment of handwashing. Also, on this occasion, a shield of honor was handed over to His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Health for Planning and Development, Dr. Mohammed bin Hamza Khoshaim.