Consumers across the Middle East can make a significant contribution to the long term health and wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of underprivileged children this Ramadan, simply by carrying out their weekly shopping. Through a UNICEF initiative funded by Dettol Middle East, essential sanitation and hand-washing facilities will be installed in schools in Malawi in Africa and will provide access to clean water and reduce disease and health risks for more than 300,000 young children and their teachers.
Dettol is donating 5.9 per cent of the value of every purchase of specially branded packs of Dettol Antibacterial Soap, Hand Wash and Shower Gel to the UNICEF campaign. Packs bearing the UNICEF logo and details of the campaign are now available in supermarkets, stores and pharmacies across the region.
The UNICEF Representative in Malawi, Ms. Carrie Auer, said that providing better hygiene in schools is critical to efforts to improve learning in schools. Where these facilities exist, children, especially girls, are less likely to drop out of school and they do not miss school due to diseases like diarrhea.
"Currently in Malawi, only four per cent of primary schools provide hand-washing facilities with soap, and a lack of proper hygiene practices is one of the leading causes of illness and disease," she added. "When children and teachers are at risk of contracting diseases in school, the impact on learning can be quite devastating. Ensuring that primary schools are healthy and have safe environments is at the heart of this initiative, and we are grateful to Dettol and its customers for helping to change many thousands of lives for the better through their generosity this Ramadan."
Simon Cooke, General Manager, Middle East & North Africa at Reckitt Benckiser, the company which owns the Dettol brand, said: "We know that our consumers across the region care deeply about the health and wellbeing of their families. This Ramadan, we wanted to go the extra mile and help them to contribute to the wellness of some of the most underprivileged children in the world, by providing hygiene facilities that all of us take for granted. By working with UNICEF we know that this campaign will make an impact where it is needed most, and not only help to save lives, but change young people's futures for the better. "
As well as providing sanitation and hand washing facilities, the programmes in Malawi will educate children and teachers on hygiene practices to guard against illness and the unnecessary spread of disease and infection.
