The Ministry of Health and Social Services hosted the Global Hand Washing Day in the Zambezi Region on Friday.

The 15th Global Hand Washing Day was held at Siseme Primary School in the Katima Mulilo Rural Constituency, under the theme "Clean Hands Are Within".

Zambezi Governor Alufea Sampofu emphasised the need for traditional leaders, government officials, and regional and local authority leaders to spread the message regarding the importance of hand washing in the communities.

"It is our duty to ensure that the communities we serve have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. Our challenge therefore is to transform hand washing with running water and soap from an abstract to a good practice in our homes, at schools, prisons, during weddings, and funerals."

Various stakeholders attended the occasion, including representatives of the directorate of water supply and sanitation in the ministry of agriculture.

The Head of Water Supply and Sanitation Coordinaton in Zambezi, Betty Muyatwa, stated that eight villages in the region have been declared open defecation-free.

"And we have worked hand in hand with the ministry of education, where we are also doing school-led total sanitation in schools, so we would like to thank the ministry of health, madam Yolanda, and we would like to thank education for the corporation, and may that please continue."

Muyatwa further encouraged residents to continue using their own resources to build toilets for themselves and not solely rely on the government.