Unilever’s ‘Lifebuoy’ range of hygiene products aims to improve the health and well-being of more than 1 billion people across the developing world through promoting simple hygiene-related behaviour changes such as handwashing.
As part of their Sustainable Living Plan, Unilever aims to help more than 1 billion people through programmes on handwashing, safe drinking water, oral health and self-esteem. They are developing cost-effective interventions that can be rolled out internationally, improving health through better hygiene practices.
Effective handwashing habits are taught in neonatal clinics and schools across South Asia, South-East Asia and Africa, to reduce the spread of infectious diseases among vulnerable newborns and school children. Lifebuoy’s ‘School of 5’ is a programme implemented in primary schools to make handwashing fun and engaging, and change the behavior of millions of children in poor and rural communities.
Why you should care
Every year 2 million children die from infectious diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia. The simple act of washing hands can help to significantly reduce these numbers, and Unilever is targeting some of the most rural and hard to reach communities to spread the word about improved hygiene practices.
How the Global Goals are addressed
Good health and well-being
Unilever estimates that their campaigns have reached 26 countries and approximately 337 million people, helping to reduce the spread of infectious disease, particularly in children.
Quality education
The Lifebuoy outreach programme, ‘School of 5’, is targeted at primary schools and helps to make them more hygienic spaces to improve attendance and educational outcomes.
Unilever
Unilever is a Dutch-British transnational consumer goods company co-headquartered in Rotterdam and London. Its products include food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. On any given day, 2.5 billion people use Unilever products, according to the company, who aim to to make sustainable living commonplace.
Global Goals addressed
