hand washing stations: An effective way to prevent the spread of Ebola
Impact Global Health Alliance Global is working with our partner in Liberia to combat the spread of Ebola in Nimba County. Ebola contamination rates are predicted to double on average every fifteen to twenty days in Liberia. This brings the total number of cases to around 8,000 by the end of the month.1 One of our specific initiatives is encouraging the power of handwashing with chlorine stick and pairing the construction of hand washing stations with educational outreach. Ebola spreads by direct contact with a sick person or animal via bodily fluids.2 For this reason, hand washing is an easy hygiene practice that can reduce the spread of the virus by up to sixty percent.3 Hand washing stations are one of the many low-cost, high-impact strategies Impact Global Health Alliance Global is using to combat the spread of Ebola in Nimba County.
The power of handwashing with chlorine stick
| “…hand washing is an easy hygiene practice that can reduce the spread of the virus by up to sixty percent.” |
The chlorine stick hand washing station is easy to use and cost effective. Thus, it is an ideal device to use in rural villages where we are working. The stalk functions by acting as a reservoir, holding water in its compartment(s). A nail is used to make a hole near the bottom of the stalk, creating the faucet and doubling as a cap for the hole when the station is not in use. To operate the device, a Health Worker can simply pour chlorine and water into the top and cap the stalk with a plastic bag. Upon removal of the nail, the sanitary mixture then flows down the bamboo stalk, out of the faucet, and into a collection bucket to provide a sanitary hand washing station (the bucket is used to collect dirty water, and is not used as a basin for washing).
Working to prevent the spread with: Radio and Awareness campaigns
Impact Global Health Alliance Global has worked with our partners at Ganta Hospital in Nimba County for the past six years, giving us an already established network to help educate and provide services to people in the region. Nehnwaa Project Manager Allen Zononway notes: “The advantage of the awareness done by us is that the communities know us as their partner, therefore they trust us.” While assistance to those infected with the virus is the top priority, Impact Global Health Alliance Global is raising awareness about Ebola by spreading information on the radio and using posters to portray facts about the virus.
| “The advantage of the awareness done by us is that the communities know us as their partner, therefore they trust us.”- Project Manager Allen Zononway, Liberia |
The project site in Nimba County is in close proximity to highly affected areas, so it is essential to implement the necessary practices to stop the spread of Ebola in this region. Help us reach our $14,000 goal to fund the purchase of supplies, medicines and informational outreach in Nimba County. Donate now
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References:
1Meltzer, Martin, et. al. “Estimating the Future Number of Cases in the Ebola Epidemic — Liberia and Sierra Leone, 2014–2015”. CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 September 2014. Web. 30 Sep. 2014.
2“Transmission”. CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 September 2014. Web. 26 Sep. 2014.
3Adebayo, Bukola. “wash your hand, prevent Ebola”. Punch, 15 August 2014. Web. 26 Sep. 2014.
