AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF HANDWASHING FACILITIES AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN UGHELLI NORTH L.G.A OF DELTA STATE

Communicable diseases have been known to exact a tremendous toll, causing increased morbidity and mortality among school age children leading to loss of valuable school days. This could have been prevented if adequate hand washing facilities are available, and were effectively utilized. It is against this backdrop that this study investigated the extent to which hand washing facilities are available, are adequately and been effectively utilized amongst primary school pupils in Ughelli North L.G.A of Delta State. The study utilised a population of 50 head teachers’ selected using simple random sampling technique out of the entire population of 90 head teachers in Ughelli North LGA of Delta State. A self developed questionnaire designed from UNICEF’s checklist modules for evaluating and designing hand washing facilities in schools was the instrument used for data collection. The data collected were analysed using frequency counts and arithmetic mean. The findings show that hand washing facilities in the schools were few and their usage were hindered by barriers such as lack of maintenance culture, lack of hand washing supplies among others. Based on the findings, it was recommended that all stake holders in Education should ensure constant provisions of these facilities as well as policies and laws to be put in place to meet the millennium goals.