By Samuel Asamoah

Veteran water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) advocate Theodora Adomako Adjei has been recognised for her longstanding contribution to handwashing promotion in Ghana, as stakeholders renewed calls for sustained hygiene practices to protect public health.

Madam Adomako Adjei, a former coordinator for handwashing with soap, received recognition during Ghana’s 2026 Global Handwashing Day commemoration in Accra on Thursday, October 15, where she commended the Ghana WASH Journalists Network (GWJN) for supporting the campaign since its inception.

Her recognition highlights the importance of sustained advocacy, public education and media engagement in promoting handwashing with soap as a routine practice rather than a measure adopted only during disease outbreaks.

With decades of experience in the water and sanitation sector, Madam Adomako Adjei has contributed to efforts to improve hygiene awareness and encourage behavioural change in communities across Ghana.

She previously served as Director of Extension and Essential Services at the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), where her work included hygiene education, community mobilisation and the promotion of sustainable water and sanitation services.

Her contribution to the sector was also recognised during the 2025 Global Handwashing Day commemoration.

Renewed call for sustained handwashing

Her recognition comes amid concerns about the need to sustain handwashing practices promoted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the 2026 commemoration, Deputy Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Dr Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to make hand hygiene a funded and monitored priority.

She called for functional handwashing facilities in schools, markets, public toilets, healthcare facilities and other public spaces, stressing that public education must be supported by access to water and soap.

WaterAid Ghana and World Vision Ghana also emphasised the importance of universal access to handwashing facilities and sustained hygiene education.

The event brought together representatives of UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, the Ghana Health Service, the Ghana Education Service and the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), among other stakeholders.

Global Handwashing Day is observed annually on October 15 to promote handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Madam Adomako Adjei’s recognition underscores the continuing importance of experienced WASH advocates and media partnerships in keeping hand hygiene on the national public health agenda.

Stakeholders say sustained progress will require consistent public education, reliable water supplies and functional handwashing facilities to make proper hygiene an everyday practice in homes, schools, workplaces and communities.