USAID IUWASH Tangguh is committed to supporting the Government of Indonesia’s Handwashing with Soap Campaign to educate and encourage more citizens to adopt handwashing with soap.
As part of the program’s support to the campaign, USAID IUWASH Tangguh and other development partners assisted the Ministry of Health (MOH) to conduct a celebration of Global Handwashing Day 2022 in Jakarta on October 17th. The event brought the theme of ‘United for Clean and Healthy Hands: Women Play Significant Roles in Making Handwashing with Soap Habits’. This event included talk shows on topics such as the roles of women and development partners in achieving targets of handwashing with soap and community based total sanitation (STBM).
Opening the event, the Minister of Health, Mr. Budi Gunadi Sadikin, highlighted, “the celebration of Global Handwashing Day is an important moment to strengthen commitment of all stakeholders to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal’s target, 100% handwashing with soap by 2030. The government alone cannot implement sustainable behavior change.” The Minister also stated that the multi-stakeholder partnership in behavior change this year expanded to include women’s organizations because women have indisputable roles in supporting behavior change.
The talk show on the women’s roles in stunting reduction through handwashing with soap and STBM featured heads of several women associations, such as Aisyah Muhammadiyah and Muslimat Nahdlatul Ulama, and the leaders of PKK (family welfare movement) as resource persons. The speakers also include the chairpersons of PKK, who are also the wives of West Bandung Regent and USAID IUWASH Tangguh’s partnering municipalities (Gowa, Baru districts, and Magelang city).
The Chairperson of PKK of Magelang city, Mrs. Niken Ichtiaty is also a ‘Bunda Sanitasi’ in her city who plays role as an advisor for the promotion of handwashing with soap, STBM, and safely managed sanitation in Magelang city. MOH and USAID IUWASH Tangguh expect Bunda Sanitasi initiative can be replicated in other municipalities. During the talk show, these women leaders shared the activities for promoting handwashing with soap, STBM, and safely managed sanitation. The speakers in the talk show declared their commitment to continuing the promotion.
The Chief of Party of USAID IUWASH Tangguh, Mrs. Alifah Lestari, along with representatives from other development partners also spoke during the talk show on roles of development partners and the private sector in accelerating handwashing with soap and the STBM pillars. Mrs. Lestari emphasized that all stakeholders have contributions and roles in promoting handwashing with soap. Strong commitment from all stakeholders and collaboration among will help create innovations to increase access to safely managed sanitation.
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