The Kwara State Government has advised people of the state to promote hygienic environment and cultivate a habit of hand washing before and after eating to avoid the spread of diseases.

The state Commissioner for Water Resources, Engr. Abubakar Garba Idris, gave the advice on Monday in his address at this year 'Global Hand-washing Day' held at Children Specialist Hospital, Centre Igboro, Ilorin, the state capital.

Idris, who disclosed that more than 3.5 million children do not live to celebrate their first birthdays due to carelessness and unhygienic ways, appealed to people to ensure hygienic environment and body.

The commissioner, who quoted World Health Organisation (WHO), said human hands spread an estimate such as common cold, flu (influenza) virus, diarrhea and others.

Engr. Idris particularly thanked Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed for his unrelenting efforts in making sure that clean and safe drinking water reaches the homes of Kwarans.

"The government also gives sanitation a priority in the state through multiple programmes and projects embarked by the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) in order to avoid the spread of transmissible diseases and promote a hygienic environment," he said.

While noting that the administration is rehabilitating and expaning waterworks, the commissioner said the effort was to ensure that no citizen of the state treks beyond 500 metres before accessing potable water by 2013.

In his address, the General Manager of RUWASSA, Mr. Ibrahim Sulyman said October 15 is earmarked globally to mark hand washing day.

Sulyman explained that the idea was to educate, inform, mobilize, enlighten and motivate millions of people around the world to effectively wash their hands with soap and water simultaneously.

"Hand-washing with soap and water, often neglected, is the simplest, most effective and inexpensive way of preventing diarrhea and acute respiratory infections, which together, are responsible for death of approximately 3.5m children every year," he said.

The General Manager advised people to be more conscious of their sanitation and increase behavioural change on simple hygiene practices so as to have healthy environment.