On 07th Feb 2023, Under Achhi Aadat Campaign, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) India along with its implementation partner IJ Kakehashi Services Pvt. Ltd conducted a session on the importance of hand hygiene at Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), New Delhi. The session was attended by 135 nursing students and 150 MBBS students. The session was attended by Dr. Arti Sood Mahajan, Director, Professor, and HOD, Physiology, MAMC; Dr. Suresh Kumar, Medical Director, Lok Nayak Hospital; and Mrs. Ellen Beck, Principal, Ahilya Bai College of Nursing.
From Asahi Intecc Company Ltd, a Japanese medical equipment company that sponsors this session, Mr. Asim Ray, Business Director along with Mr. OSAWA Takeomi, Admin Manager conveyed warm greetings to the medical students. A session was taken by Mr. Sanjay Kumar Panda, Managing Director of IJ Kakehashi, focussing on the major components of the Achhi Aadat Campaign and the ‘Health Scenario in Japan.’ Dr. Ravi Kaushik, Associate Professor, MAMC took a very enlightening and educational session on “Health, Hygiene, and Diseases: Physiology to Pathology".
The medical students watched interactive videos of the Achhi Aadat Campaign along with the Cells at Work, a “Moving Comic” by Kodansha Ltd., a Japanese publishing company that supports the campaign. The students enjoyed the session and understood the importance of inculcating good habits of hand and nail hygiene. A demonstration of proper hand wash was also shown by one of the medical students. After the session students shared their experience of the AAC session:
“This program was really helpful for students like us who are preparing to be health care workers. Through these, many minutes and at the same time the most important points were taught. It was really interesting and thank you for making us a part of this program.” -: Nandana Nair B S (1st yr. BSc Hons Nursing). Good quality education is the foundation of health and well-being.
For people to lead healthy and productive lives, they need the knowledge to prevent sickness and disease and today in this campaign we learned about the most basic but most important practice which is hand hygiene which will help to prevent most diseases and I am so glad that I attended this campaign and got to know so many new things...Thank you JICA and the department of physiology, MAMC for arranging this Achhi Aadat Campaign. - Jennifer Ali Khan ( B.Sc Hons. First year)
In 2021, JICA launched the Achhi Aadat Campaign to spread various hygiene practices among the population of India. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the campaign encouraged consistent and appropriate handwashing techniques, nail cleaning, and other hygiene practices. In continuation, JICA in partnership with its project implementing partner IJ Kakehashi Services collaborates with government organizations, private Japanese companies, NGOs, and other partner organizations to promote awareness among the people of India.
