As a part of its mission to scale up the sanitation and hygiene behaviour change education needed to realize the health and development gains of improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, Unilever’s ‘Help A Child Reach 5’ has joined forces with the Government of India’s ‘Bal Swachhta Mission’, on the occasion of Children’s Day.
This partnership aims to highlight the power of hygiene, and to advocate for the scaling up of hand washing programmes, in particular for school children to educate them on the importance of hygiene in preventing diseases and infections. This initiative recognises children as agents of change within their families and communities seeking to sensitize them on aspects of hygiene and safe sanitation. If children can be inspired to keep themselves and their surroundings clean, and are taught the importance of behaviour change, they can play a significant role in supporting the Government of India’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India campaign).
Sanjiv Mehta, CEO & Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. said, “We are happy to partner with the Government for ‘Bal Swachhta Mission’, which is a nationwide sanitation initiative, focusing mainly on children. We believe HUL is uniquely placed to help with the WASH challenge. With our ‘Help A Child Reach 5’ initiative, supported by hand washing ambassador Kajol Devgn, Unilever supports teaching school children, new mothers and communities the practice of washing hands with soap at key occasions. Through our portfolio of health and hygiene brands – such as Lifebuoy, Domex and Pureit – we can provide support across the spectrum of WASH issues. We look forward to explore ways in which we can use our expertise in developing innovative partnership and delivery models to assist the Government in realizing the Bal Swachhta Mission.”
