Clean India : Need For Behaviour Change
This high-level event brought together representatives from Government, academia, business and civil society to discuss the role of behaviour change in helping deliver ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’.The session focused on how to deliver the sanitation and hygiene education needed to realise the health and development gains of improved access to WASH facilities.The panel also discussed how multi-sector organizations can better work together to raise the public profile of WASH in India and scale-up solutions to help deliver against the 2019 target of the Indian Government for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.Panellists also highlighted the importance of empowering local ownership of the WASH agenda and discussed innovative ways of encouraging citizens to engage in the Clean India ambition.
Sanjiv Mehta, CEO & Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever Limited said, “We believe Unilever is uniquely placed to help with the WASH challenge. Through our portfolio of health and hygiene brands – such as Lifebuoy, Domex and Pureit – we can provide support across the spectrum of WASH issues. Drawing on our longstanding expertise in consumer behaviour change we have developed initiatives – such as our Lifebuoy handwashing programme and Domex Toilet Academies – which teach people about the importance of WASH, drive demand for improved facilities and deliver cost-effective solutions. We look forward to having the opportunity to highlight the full range of WASH initiatives that Unilever runs in India and explore ways in which we can use our expertise in developing innovative partnership and delivery models to assist the Government in realizing the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ ambition.”
Lifebuoy’s ‘Help A Child Reach 5’ Handwashing Ambassador Kajol Devgnsaid,“We need to scale up handwashing and sanitation behaviour change programmes to reach more people with life-saving messages and help reduce child mortality. I am proud to join Lifebuoy’s Help a Child Reach 5 handwashing campaign to help reduce preventable child deaths from diarrhoea and pneumonia. Help us spread the message of handwashing by sharing www.youtube.com/helpachildreach5.”
Hindustan Unilever’s focus on the WASH agenda goes to the heart of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan – our business model for sustainable growth. As part of the Plan, Unilever has committed to helping 1 billion people improve their health and wellbeing by 2020. Our WASH brand social mission programmes will play a key part in realizing this ambition. By the end of 2015, Lifebuoy has committed to changing the handwashing behaviour of 1 billion people; Domestos* will help 25 million people gain improved access to a toilet; and Pureit has committed to provide 150 billion litres of safe drinking water.
Source: HUL Panel Discussion on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
