“I Didn't Know Soap Could Save Lives. I Didn't Even Know About Germs.”
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“I didn’t know soap could save lives. I didn’t even know about germs.” Julie (centre) and school friends tour their village with Swasthya Chetna banners to tell everyone about the importance of handwashing with soap. Diarrhoea causes over three million deaths a year. Handwashing with soap and water can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by up to 48% ulie Sahoo is a schoolgirl To put that into perspective, one and a half million children Unilever products have been from Gangijoodi, a small that is the equivalent of one from dying each year. sold in India since 1888 Jvillage 130 kilometres child dying every ten seconds, through Hindustan Lever. north of Bhubaneswar, the or a jumbo jet full of children Unilever is one of the world’s Lifebuoy is Unilever’s biggest capital of Orissa in East India. crashing every hour. major soap manufacturers, brand in India and the Gangijoodi is a poor rice- with brands such as Lifebuoy, country’s most popular soap. farming community whose Deaths from diarrhoeal Lux and Dove. The company is families live off the land, diseases represent about a no stranger to the life- With a sizeable share of the draw their water from wells third of all child deaths under protecting potential Indian soap market, the and live in mud houses that the age of five in developing handwashing with soap can company could simply focus lack basic sanitation. countries. Many more contract have on poor communities. its attention on persuading eye and skin infections and Soap was the product on the millions of Indians who Julie and her friends are only other conditions that are which Lever Brothers, one of currently use soap made by its too aware of the misery exacerbated by poor hygiene Unilever’s two founding competitors to switch to diarrhoeal diseases can cause. and malnutrition. In India a companies, was built. The Lifebuoy. For Unilever to She has so far been spared child succumbs to diarrhoea widespread availability of build its business in India over illness but some of her class- every 30 seconds. good quality, low-cost, the long term, though, it mates have not been so lucky. branded soap did much must attract new consumers, Yet a World Bank study to improve levels of hygiene including the estimated Diarrhoea causes over three estimates that handwashing in nineteenth-century 70 million people who never million deaths a year with soap and water can Britain. Today it has the use soap. worldwide, mostly among reduce diarrhoeal diseases by potential to do the same children under five years old. up to 48%, preventing over in other countries. events such as community While Hindustan Lever has bathing at the pond villagers committed to funding use for washing. The whole Swasthya Chetna for five process, from initial contact years at a cost of 24.5 million to self-managed health club, (US$ 5.4 million), the takes two to three years. company has already started While this represents a to see a return on its significant time investment, investment. In 2003-4 sales of it is felt this is essential to Lifebuoy grew by 20%, with ensure the handwashing particularly strong sales in the habit becomes part of eight states where the everyday life. programme operates. To help people on low It is too soon to say what the incomes afford to buy soap, impact has been on Debi Prasad Sahoo, a boy from Julie’s school, in the starring role of the Lifebuoy hero in an 18 gram bar of Lifebuoy community health or the the Swasthya Diwas show. soap has been introduced, programme’s long-term enough for one person to sustainability, but the This is no easy challenge. Over To drive the message home, wash their hands once a day campaign has prompted a lot 70% of India’s one billion children are invited to take for 10 weeks. This sells for of media interest in India and population live in rural areas part in a ‘glowgerm’ two rupees, equivalent to the discussions are taking place not reached by television, demonstration. This involves price of four cups of tea or with the Indian government radio or newspapers. If that applying a white powder to enough wheat for a meal for at national level about were not challenge enough, the palms of hands, then one person. extending the programme to illiteracy is widespread and washing with water only. other states and beyond there are deep-rooted beliefs Hands are then held under “This is not Lifebuoy’s initial five-year about cleanliness that have an ultra-violet light and the commitment. to be addressed, such as powder glows where dirt philanthropy. It is the widely held belief that remains, showing that marketing with if hands look clean, they handwashing without soap is social benefits.” are clean. not enough. The children then repeat the process, this hile Unilever has time using soap, only to supported hygiene discover the UV light shows Weducation no trace of the powder – The Swasthya Chetna programmes in India for a simple but highly effective programme started in 2002 in many years, in 2002 the demonstration. the eight Indian states where Lifebuoy brand team decided deaths from diarrhoeal that, to have any real impact Some weeks later the school diseases are highest and soap on reducing diarrhoeal puts on a Swasthya Diwas sales are lowest. In its first disease, something bigger (‘Day’) show for parents, year 9,000 villages were was needed. Much bigger. village elders and the visited by 150 teams of community, acting out outreach workers speaking It was decided to create a sketches and songs that extol seven dialects and with new programme with the the virtues of handwashing leaflets and posters printed in bold objective of educating with soap. four languages. In 2003, The Swasthya Diwas is an important event in Gangijoodi, attended by the 200 million Indians – 20 per another 9,000 villages were whole village. cent of the population - to In the third phase, the added, including Gangijoodi, wash their hands with soap Swasthya Chetna team visits and in 2004 the emphasis after defecating and to every house in the village, was on introducing new Swasthya Chetna has also achieve this goal within five inviting mothers of young phases to these 18,000 generated interest in other years. The campaign, called children to attend a health villages. By the end of 2004 parts of Unilever. Unilever Swasthya Chetna, meaning education session at which the campaign had reached Bangladesh has adopted the ‘Health Awakening’, is the the handwashing message is 70 million people, including Indian model for the past single largest rural health and reinforced and local health 20 million children at a cost two years and in 2004 close hygiene education programme workers give children a to Hindustan Lever of 22.25 to 3,100 villages had ever undertaken in India. height and weight check-up. million (US$ 2.7 million). been visited. To ensure this initiative has a “Swasthya Chetna is not But perhaps the final word on sustainable impact, the The whole process about philanthropy. It’s a the programme’s impact Lifebuoy team worked with takes two to three marketing programme with should go to Julie. “Before advisers to develop a multi- social benefits”, explains Swasthya Chetna came to my stage programme, designed years to ensure Hindustan Lever Lifebuoy school I didn’t know about to involve and educate whole handwashing with Brand Manager Harpreet- germs or that diseases can be rural communities. After soap becomes Singh Tibb. “We recognise prevented by washing hands seeking permission from a habit. that the health of our with soap. Now I wash with village elders, the Swasthya business is totally soap whenever I can and my Chetna teams, consisting of a interconnected with the friends and I are telling health development officer health of the communities we everyone about hidden germs and an assistant, visit village serve and if we are to grow and how soap can help you schools to teach children The next phase involves sales of our brand, we have stay well”. about germs and the recruiting schoolchildren, to increase the number of importance of handwashing parents and other villagers as people who use soap”. with soap. volunteers to start up health clubs that, in turn, organise Photographs Peter Jordan Photographs Peter Jordan Communal washing with soap has become a new ritual for the men of Gangijoodi who wash in a separate pond from the women. nilever believes that one of the best environmental reports and copies of Or write to: and most sustainable ways it can help to previous articles in this series. Subjects of Corporate Relations Uaddress global social and environmental other articles include: Unilever PLC concerns is through the very business of PO Box 68 doing business in a socially aware and Global Challenges – Local Actions London responsible manner. – Micronutrient deficiency in Africa EC4P 4BQ – River pollution in Indonesia United Kingdom This is one in a series of occasional articles – Climate change/refrigeration in Europe called Global Challenges – Local Actions that – Rural micro-entrepreneurs in India Corporate Relations looks at how Unilever companies are tackling – Sustainable fishing off Africa Unilever N.V. global social and environmental concerns by PO Box 760 working in partnership with local, national and We would like to hear from you. If you 3000 DK Rotterdam international agencies, governments, business have any questions about this publication The Netherlands organisations and NGOs. or any other aspect of Unilever’s environmental and social policies, please If you would like to know more about contact: [email protected] Hindustan Lever see www.hll.com.