To mark Global Hand-washing day on October 15, representatives from Unilever offered tips on the effective ways of hand-washing to pupils at Greenhill academy.

While hand-washing is viewed as an easy task, public health specialists say that some people don't do it well yet if done well, it could prevent diarrhoeal and respiratory infections (flu and colds), hepatitis A and food poisoning, among others. To prevent such diseases, Unilever, beginning June, has been going around schools tipping students on effective hand-washing.

The Greenhill academy event marked the climax of the campaign.

Effective hand washing, according to the American Centres for Disease Control and Prevention involves:

- wetting hands with water.

- lathering them with soap (non-medicated soap is recommended).

- rubbing hands together for 20 seconds ensuring to scrub the fronts and backs, under the nails and in between the fingers.

- rinsing hands off with water.

Hand washing is advised after:

- a toilet visit.

- a diaper change (diarrhoea, hepatitis A and other diseases are transmitted through the faecal-oral route).

- before and after eating food.

- before and after touching uncooked food (uncooked food may have disease causing germs).

- after touching garbage.

- after caring for a sick person.