The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate is calling for stronger adherence to hand hygiene practices across all levels of healthcare delivery, warning that poor compliance continues to pose risks to patient safety and public health.
The Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, Fred Adomako-Boateng, made the appeal during the commemoration of World Hand Hygiene Day held at Juaben in the Juaben Municipality.
This year’s observance, held under the global theme “Action Saves Lives,” focused on reinforcing hand hygiene as a key pillar in infection prevention and control within healthcare settings.
Dr Adomako-Boateng stressed that proper handwashing remains one of the most cost-effective and essential measures for preventing healthcare-associated infections, reducing disease transmission, and combating antimicrobial resistance.
He noted that effective hand hygiene is critical in all health facilities, from CHPS compounds to district and referral hospitals, where clean hands are fundamental to delivering safe medical care.
According to him, the region has made progress in improving infection prevention systems, including the provision of clean water, soap, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, staff training, and monitoring of compliance among health workers.
However, he cautioned that gaps still exist and urged health workers to treat hand hygiene not as a periodic campaign but as a daily professional obligation.
He also called on hospital managers to ensure consistent availability of essential supplies such as soap and sanitizers to support compliance.
Development partners and stakeholders were encouraged to continue supporting infection prevention programmes, while the media was urged to strengthen public education on proper handwashing practices.
Dr Adomako-Boateng further appealed to the general public to adopt handwashing with soap and water as a routine habit to help reduce the spread of infections in communities.
“When we clean our hands, we protect our patients, our families, our colleagues, and ourselves,” he emphasized.
He concluded by urging renewed commitment from all stakeholders, stressing that consistent hand hygiene remains a simple but powerful tool for saving lives and improving public health outcomes.
