"The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation will continue to support both public and private partners who want to raise the profile of handwashing with soap in Kenya. We will continue to provide an enabling environment for all players to implement their programmes," said Dr. Ombacho.

Last year, Kenya's handwashing campaign won the Guinness World Record for the most people handwashing in one location at a fete where 19,352 people washed their hands at Thirime Primary School in Kikuyu. The event was jointly supported by Unilever - Lifebuoy, Ecotact and Kikuyu Community Development Fund.

The handwashing award sponsored by the Lifebuoy Brand, evaluated the cost effectiveness of the program, tangible results as well as impact of the program implemented, recognizes individuals who have made exemplary contributions in implementing hand washing-with-soap initiatives in Africa.

Unilever Marketing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Juliet Ziswa said that Unilever was proud to be part of the winning team at a time that the company is implementation a mass scale handwashing behaviour change programme in Kenya and Nigeria targeting over 500,000 school children.

"Kenya's recognition highlights the outcomes of the various handwashing education programs being undertaken in Kenya,' said Ms. Ziswa.

Unilever Kenya, through the Lifebuoy brand  has taken up sanitation and hygiene sensitizations in Kenya, with the most recent Campaign being the  Lifebuoy School of five Campaign which seeks to educate school going children on the importance of hand washing with soap in a fun and engaging way and most importantly the proper techniques of hand washing with soap.

The Rwanda Environment Care received the Utilities award for raising the bar on service delivery of sanitation services while the Mayor of Ouagadougou received the local government award for formulating and implementing clear policies on sanitation that have contributed to achieving large-scale improvements in sanitation and hygiene.

The WASH United received the media award for their sustained coverage of sanitation and hygiene issues have provided high visibility in the media space and contributed to raising the profile of sanitation and hygiene on the continent.

Prof. Sandy Cairncross received the AMCOW roll of honour for his outstanding lifetime contribution in advancing the sanitation and hygiene agenda in Africa.

The AfricaSan3 Conference was hosted by the Government of Rwanda and the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW).  Key resolutions from the conference included Ministers of Health from 60 countries pledging to wash their hands with soap and enroll more partners to pass the message.

The AfricaSan awards are dedicated to recognizing outstanding efforts and achievements in sanitation and hygiene in Africa which result in large-scale, sustainable behaviour changes and tangible impacts.

The awards aim at raising the profile of sanitation and hygiene by drawing attention to successful approaches, promoting excellence in leadership, innovation and sanitation and hygiene improvements in Africa, and providing incentives for action beyond 2008 - the International Year of Sanitation.