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Minister helps to launch “Mission Clean Hands” in New Zealand
11/11/2009
To mark the beginning of New Zealand’s annual Foodsafe Week (9-15 November,2009), Belfast Primary School students in Christchurch were treated to a hand hygiene programme from Initial Hygiene, New Zealand. Kate Wilkinson, Cabinet Minister and Foodsafety Minister was present to help launch Initial Hygiene’s Mission Clean Hands Programme and Foodsafe Week.
During the programme, Belfast Primary School students were involved with glow germ tests, quizzes, and were taught a hand hygiene song with hand movements accompanying it. These students were also taken through the Mission Clean Hands website game during this session.
10,000 primary school students around New Zealand will get hands on experience with hand hygiene thanks to Initial Hygiene’s ‘Hands on Hygiene’ programme. As part of this programme, these primary school students will be given access to hand sanitiser, and posters with hand-washing tips will be put up around the schools. In addition, essay, poster art and colouring in competitions themed around hand hygiene, will encourage students to remember the golden 20+20 handwashing rule.
As a Foodsafe Partnership member, Initial Hygiene has launched this initiative to teach Kiwi kids about the importance of washing their hands. The nationwide programme is rolled out to 30 schools around the country and is also backed by New Zealand Food Safety Authority’s Principal Adviser of Microbiology, Dr Roger Cook.
“New Zealand deals with 200,000 cases of food-borne illnesses each year, with 40 percent occurring in the home. Something as simple as hand-washing can make a real difference in reducing these numbers,” says Dr Roger Cook.
In addition to Belfast School, Initial Hygiene employees have also taken primary school students across New Zealand through hand hygiene sessions during Foodsafe Week, where students are taught about the various illnesses they could get as a result of poor hand hygiene. The response to this hand hygiene session by students, teachers and principals have been positive. Online and print media have followed Initial Hygiene’s hand hygiene story. Hand hygiene programmes have been conducted in Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Wellington.
The overall aims of Foodsafe Week are to raise awareness of food-borne illnesses and emphasise the importance of hand hygiene by providing tips for preventing the spread of bacteria. Involving kids in fun, interactive activities, such as the website and competitions, is great for driving the message home.
“It’s very important for children to learn about and practice good hand hygiene from a young age, especially when it comes to food. We believe our “Mission Clean Hands” programme this year is a
a fantastic way to get young people thinking about this very serious issue,” says Min-Siew Teo, Brand Manager, Initial Hygiene, New Zealand. “Our ability to help educate young New Zealanders the importance of hand hygiene reinforces Initial Hygiene’s leadership in the hygiene market.
With the hand-washing habits of the New Zealand public leaving much to be desired – one in five men and one in 10 women do not wash their hands after going to the toilet according to a national survey conducted by the Auckland Regional Public Health Service – it is crucial to get the hand washing message out there.
“We’re going back to school to teach kids how to wash their hands properly to stop the spread of diseases. We will be spreading the word about the 20+20 rule – washing hands with soap for 20 seconds then drying them for 20 seconds to ensure they are bacteria-free,” says Geoff Polkinghorne, General Manager of Initial Hygiene.
“Hand washing is a bit of a boring subject for kids, so we have come up with a variety of fun activities to interest and engage them – getting them excited about hand hygiene. Our “Mission Clean Hands” programme is "kid friendly", and speaks to them in a language they understand. This programme will encourage them to remember the important points and hopefully carry these behaviours into adulthood.”
