UNILEVER, through its brands Lifebuoy and Domestos, will engage in an awareness campaign in Gweru to educate people on health and sanitation following a Typhoid outbreak which has claimed seven lives so far with an increasing number of cases being reported at local clinics and hospitals.
HealthTimes Reporter
The campaign will encompass visits to clinics, hospitals and community meet-ups to educate residents on hand-washing techniques, effective toilet cleaning and general health care with the hope of helping to reduce the spread of the outbreak.
“We saw it fit to help people at this crucial time to look after their families in light of this outbreak,” said Hilary Muzondiwa, Managing Director of Unilever Zimbabwe.
“Our Lifebuoy and Domestos brands are centred on public health issues. We want to make sure we are playing our part in helping fight the Typhoid outbreak by educating communities on correct hand-washing techniques and hygiene measures. We hope that this goes a long way in reducing the number of cases reported.”
In the past Unilever has successfully launched education campaigns to help communities reduce cases of preventable diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid.
Their campaigns have equipped people with practical life skills that helped reduce the spread of health epidemics.
The managing director reiterated that the company is committed to encouraging healthy hand-washing behaviour and effective use of toilet cleaning products for improved health in our communities.
“We are advocates of simple and cost effective hygiene measures. Prevention is better than cure and we extend our help to communities by giving them valuable life skills,” said Muzondiwa.
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. It has 169,000 employees and generated sales of €52.7 billion in 2016. Over half (57%) of the company’s footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes all over the world, including Omo, Sunlight, Domestos, Royco, Geisha, Dove, Lifebuoy, Knorr and Shield.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan underpins the company’s strategy and commits to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and wellbeing by 2020, having the environmental impact of our products by 2030, enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
