As part of activities to mark the 2025 World Hand Hygiene Day, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has emphasised that hand hygiene is not just a clinical procedure.

It is a moral obligation and a public health imperative that must be embedded in the culture of healthcare delivery nationwide.

Dr Tochi Okwor, Head of Disease Prevention and Control at the NCDC, said this on Monday during a commemorative event held at Maitama District Hospital in Abuja.

Okwor reiterated that hand hygiene remained one of the most effective measures for preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), limiting the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and ultimately saving lives.

“The theme for 2025 campaign, ‘It Might Be Gloves. It’s Always Hand Hygiene,’ highlights the misconception that wearing gloves alone is enough to prevent infection.

“Gloves can become sources of contamination if not used properly or if hand hygiene is neglected before and after use.

“Glove stewardship, like antimicrobial stewardship, must be grounded in evidence, risk assessment, and responsible use,” she added.

Highlighting Nigeria’s progress in infection prevention and control (IPC), Okwor noted significant achievements, including the implementation of the Turn Nigeria Orange (TNO) movement, which assessed and strengthened IPC systems across the country.

She explained that the agency had established the Orange Network, a cohort of healthcare facilities serving as centres of excellence for IPC, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), WASH, and diagnostics.

“Other key milestones include the launch of a national IPC policy and five-year strategic plan, the establishment of a dedicated IPC budget line at the federal level, and the training of more thsn 393 certified IPC professionals.

“We’ve also developed a draft IPC legal framework, formed operational technical working groups at national and state levels, and rolled out HAI surveillance systems for real-time infection detection and response,” she said.

While policies and protocols were vital, she emphasised that true progress lied in building a culture where hand hygiene was a lived practice embraced by healthcare workers, administrators, patients, and communities.

“We must move beyond compliance to foster a culture supported by leadership role-modelling, data-driven feedback, and patient empowerment,” Okwor said.

She noted that Nigeria’s IPC strategy aligned with the WHO’s Global IPC Strategy (2024–2030), supporting national health goals such as Universal Health Coverage and Primary Health Care revitalisation.

“Let every clean hand be a declaration that safety matters, that patients deserve better, and that no one should be harmed in the process of care,” she added.

Dr Rita Idemudia, Medical Director of Maitama District Hospital, stressed the significance of consistent hygiene practices in both healthcare and community settings.

“About 60 per cent of diseases can be prevented through proper hand hygiene,” she said, adding that regular handwashing was one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce infections and promote public health.

The event lauded institutions like Maitama District Hospital for translating national IPC policies into practice, setting benchmarks in implementation and demonstrating a commitment to patient safety.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) observes May 5 each year as World Hand Hygiene Day to raise global awareness about the importance of clean hands in preventing infections and safeguarding healthcare systems.

The event ended with a call to action urging all healthcare stakeholders to recommit to hand hygiene as a life-saving practice, one that must never be overlooked, regardless of gloves or other protective equipment in use.

From Ene Asuquo,Calabar

Methodist Church of Nigeria, Calabar, Synod  has charged President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action to enhance the capacity of police personnel to effectively address the rising wave of ritual killings and insecurity  challenge troubling the the country.

They called on government at all levels to galvanize state apparatus to stem the tide of unabated shedding of innocent blood through wanton killings, vandalization and plundering of national assets.

The Synod noted with dismay the return of paganism, and  alarming rate of sacrifices of  innocent persons in different parts of the nation for money making purposes by evil individuals in the country.

 Chairman, 3rd Annual Synod, Methodist Church of Nigeria, Diocese of Atamunu Calabar, Rt. Rev. Otuekong Ukut Ph.D, gave the charge while commenting on the state of the nation in Calabar yesterday.

He decried that  innocent persons had been murdered and sacrifice for  money ritual purposes to wicked gods for with the perpetrators of this dastardly act deceiving themselves that they will make wealth  wealth and riches from organ harvesting  and trafficking. 

Clauses from the 10-point  communiqué issued by  the Synod signed by the  chairman Rt. Rev Bishop Otuekong Ukut Ph.D, Synod Secretary, Very Rev. Anthony Essien and Lay president Sir Dr. Gabriel Inyang, called for quick strengthening of the capacity of  law enforcement agents  to enhance investigation, prosecution of  ritual killers.

The Synod urged authority of the Nigeria police to  improve the knowledge of its personnel, concentrate more on intelligence gathering to identify and disrupt ritual killing networks.

The clerics  urged president Tinubu to address underlying issues that includes implementation of policies that will reduce  poverty, inequality as well as establish social safety nets to support vulnerable people.

The Synod, admonished churches and Christians to wake up in prayer, be vigilant, so more evangelical to win souls to Christ and bring repentance to these perpetrators.

Other issues which the Synod wants federal government to addressed include, Inter-religious relationship, ecclesiastic matters, restructuring of the nation, state of the economy, reform of Judiciary, state of Cross River, rehabilitation of Calabar Itu road among others.

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German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius is to retain his post in the new Cabinet, his Social Democratic Party (SPD) said Monday, as the party unveiled its picks for ministerial positions.

The SPD is set to enter the new German Government as the junior partner in coalition with Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc, made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU).

The partners were to sign off on the 144-page coalition agreement at 12 p.

The conservatives emerged as the winner from February’s parliamentary elections, followed by the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which was designated as a “confirmed right-wing extremist’’ organisation by domestic intelligence last week.

The SPD, traditionally one of the two main political forces in Germany, fell to third place after a difficult period in office under the leadership of outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz.

With centrist parties ruling out cooperation with the AfD, a policy known as the “firewall’’, a coalition between the CDU/CSU alliance and the SPD became inevitable in spite of the clashes.

They clashed on the issues such as migration and the economy during the election campaign.

SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil was to become vice chancellor and finance minister after striking up a strong partnership with Merz during negotiations to form a coalition.

Four of the incoming SPD ministers are women: Bärbel Bas as labour minister, Verena Hubertz for construction, Reem Alabali-Radovan as development minister and Stefanie Hubig taking on the justice portfolio.

Carsten Schneider was to be the SPD’s new environment minister, but there was no place in the Cabinet for Klingbeil’s colleague as co-leader, Saskia Esken.

Pistorius, widely seen as the SPD’s most popular politician, was the only member of the outgoing Cabinet to keep his position.

“The SPD is putting together a team that is ready to boldly shape our country,’’ the party’s leadership said in a joint statement on Monday.

“Experienced personalities from federal and state politics meet new faces who stand for the generational change in the SPD.’’

The conservatives outlined their choices last week, with Katherina Reiche as economy minister and the CSU’s Alexander Dobrindt taking the interior portfolio.

Once Merz is elected and his Cabinet sworn in, the new administration can get to work, exactly six months after Scholz’s centre-left coalition imploded amid in-fighting, triggering early elections.

It faced a long list of pressing challenges, from Germany’s ailing economy and crumbling infrastructure of the threat to European security from Russia and an ever-more abrasive U.S. president.

Scholz, meanwhile, was to receive an official send-off later on Monday, with a special military ceremony known as a tattoo to be held in his honour in Berlin