Diarrhoea is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old globally. It kills about 760,000 every year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
From left: Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria Activation Lead (West Africa), Omotola Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi; Marketing Director, Oguzhan Silivrili; Managing Director, Rahul Murgai; and Dettol Category Manager (West Africa), Ahmed Shah; at the launch of Dettol Walkathon at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
In its reaction to the menace, Reckitt Benckiser has taken up the gauntlet to help reduce the mortality rate in Nigeria with an initiative to save 10 million children, as part of the company’s commemoration of its 50 years’ presence in the country.
Reckitt Benckiser Marketing Director (West Africa), Oguzhan Silivrili, said at the kick-off of Dettol Walkathon at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos that Dettol “is embarking on a new journey to reach mothers all over Nigeria with the message that “easy simple health and hygiene practice can help to save 10 million lives.”
Dettol’s new Mom to Mom (MOMentum) campaign seeks to help mothers to teach other mothers about the best hygiene practices which will in turn make direct positive impact on family members and loved ones.
“We intend to take a pledge from each mother we contact in the direct contact programme to teach two other mothers, thus making a chain of empowerment all over Nigeria,” Silivrili added.
“For the past 50 years Dettol has been at the forefront of educating Nigerians about the health and hygiene benefit via mass consumer education programmes like New Mom Programme where five million moms have been reached since 2006, teaching them good hygiene habits for themselves and their new born babies.”
Reckitt Benckiser’s Health on Wheels Programme has reached 150,000 families through the Mobile Clinic.
In its School Hand Hygiene Programme, almost a million children have been reached this year across schools nationwide (a total three million since the programme began since 2010), and its Direct Home Contact Programme has reached a million mothers since last year.
The Director of Chemical Evaluation and Research at the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Segiru Momodu, applauded the private public partnership (PPP) of Reckitt Benckiser in Nigeria.
He said it is important for people to imbibe the habit of hand washing and to avoid sickness carrying germs.
The Second National Vice President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Barthy Okorochukwu, commended Dettol for being in the forefront of health education in Nigeria for the past 50 years.
“The importance of fitness and this Dettol Walkathon cannot be over emphasised,” he said, adding that Dettol has once again shown commitment to the health by starting a campaign to reduce infant mortality and also encourage Nigerians to keep fit and healthy.
