Tuesday 26 May 2015

Unilever Partners with USAID to Avert Child Mortality

Unilever Partners with USAID to Avert Child Mortality

Unilever has renewed its partnership with USAID, which will see expansion of its Lifebuoy hand washing with soap campaign in Kenya so as to save lives of new-born babies.

Miriam Sidibe, Global Brand Director-Lifebuoy Social Mission notes that more than 1.2 million new-borns do not live beyond the first year in sub-Saharan Africa, deaths that can be prevented through hand washing with soap.

“Most new-born deaths are due to infections, and could be averted through simple preventive measures such as improving hygiene and ensuring curative care is available to sick children,” she said.

Lifebuoy through its renewed partnership with USAID’s Maternal and Child Survival Programme (MCSP) aims to create a dedicated new-born programme to make hand washing with soap a common place among mothers.  

“50% of the world’s under-5 deaths happen in Africa, with 1 in every 10 children born dying before their 5th birthday. We are combining our expertise to achieve real change for the mothers and children in Africa – so that every child in Africa can live beyond their fifth birthday,” added Sidibe.

The partnership comes barely days after the Government called on donors and private sector to harmonise their activities and funding so that greater impact can be felt by the beneficiaries.

Lifebuoy aims to reach 71 million people across Africa by 2020 as part of its behaviour change programme which has engaged 257 million people in 24 countries since 2010, by teaching them good handwashing habits.

The Unilever-USAID renewed partnership was announced during The Fourth Regional Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene in Africa (AfricaSan 4) themed - Making Sanitation for All a Reality in Africa, which is taking place in Dakar, Senegal. With the launch of the United Nation’s new Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) in September 2014, Lifebuoy is raising awareness of the need to include a provision for hygiene facilities in the water and sanitation goal (SDG 6).

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