ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Members of the Sri Lankan cricket team have been spreading the word about hand washing to young people in India where they are taking part in the World T20 tournament.

The team demonstrated the five steps to hand washing and its importance in halting the spread of diarrhoea at a hand washing clinic at Jadavpur University's Salt Lake campus.

They also emphasised the need to make India defacation-free. More than 50 per cent of Indian people - over 564 million - still defecate in the open according to sanitation minister Ram Kripal Yadav. Although this figure has decreased from 57.95 per cent since 2014, India still has highest number of people in the world defecating outside.

Diarrhoea caused by poor sanitation is said to account for more than 300 deaths in children under five every day in India. The International Cricket Council has formed a global partnership with UNICEF to empower children and adolescents and to build a social movement towards sanitation and toilet use.

UNICEF goodwill ambassador and Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar said: "Ending open defecation and achieving sanitation for all in India takes a genuine team effort in which all relevant actors - from the government of India to people practising open defecation, from role models to international development partners - play together as one team."

Sixteen international teams are taking part in the ICC World Twenty20 championships which ends with the final on April 3 in Kolkata, India. Sri Lanka are the current reigning champions.