COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao—The World Health Organization has hailed the hygiene thrust of public schools in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao initiated this semester by Education Regional Secretary Jose Magno and Health Secretary Kadil Sinolinding, Jr.
The Global Handwashing Day, spearheaded by the German entity Deutsche Gessellschaft fur Internationale Zugenecasammenarbeit (DGIZ), installed 1,500 washing facilities in rural and urban public schools in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.
The Geneva-based WHO, in its letter to DepEd-ARMM, lauded the two agencies’ extensive advocacy for hygiene among Moro school children many of whom were reportedly unaware of the health benefits of hand washing, especially before and after meals.
“It is wonderful to hear about ARMM’s GHD now being undertaken regularly all over the region,” the WHO stated, adding that “such advocacy for hygiene ensures that children can be clean and healthy to attend school,” even as it hailed ARMM and the national DepEd “for working together to provide such strong support for this highly beneficial initiative.”
Magno and Sinolinding said the region’s GHD, funded by the Australian Assistance for International Development, is “a global advocacy dedicated to promote awareness and public understanding on the importance of hand washing to prevent diseases.”