Unilever and UNICEF partner to help bring sanitation to over 400,000 people

Jun 29, 2012

The Unilever Foundation and Domestos have joined forces with UNICEF to support UNICEF’s Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS) programme which aims to help hundreds of thousands of people in need gain improved access to basic sanitation.

The Unilever Foundation is partnering with UNICEF to support UNICEF’s CATS programme as part of the Foundation’s mission to improve the quality of life through the provision of hygiene, sanitation, access to clean drinking water, basic nutrition and enhancing self-esteem. Additionally, the Foundation is partnering with UNICEF on advocacy and communications and continues to provide support of disaster and emergency relief efforts.
 
Unilever’s leading toilet hygiene brand, Domestos, is also taking responsibility to improve sanitation around the world and use its global reach to educate consumers about the sanitation crisis through a cause-marketing campaign. Domestos will contribute 5% of its average proceeds* received from the sale of specially marked bottles of Domestos in select countries to support UNICEF’s CATS programmes in South Sudan and Vietnam.
 
Around the world, poor sanitation remains a major threat to development, impacting countries’ progress in health, education, gender equity, and social and economic development. Today there are still an estimated 2.5 billion people without access to improved sanitation. These people are put at risk of sanitation borne diseases, resulting in millions of deaths each year.
 
Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Unilever says, “As one of the leading toilet hygiene brands, Domestos has a real commitment to improving sanitation. The brand’s support of UNICEF is just one example of how we are delivering increased social value as part of our growth strategy.”
 
With support from the Unilever Foundation and Domestos, UNICEF will be able to achieve greater scale and impact in promoting good hygiene practices, helping create demand for access to toilets and raising awareness of the sanitation crisis. Through the support of the Unilever Foundation and Domestos, the partnership with UNICEF will contribute to changing the behaviour of hundreds of thousands of people through sanitation programmes. In this first year, these programmes will result in an estimated 400,000 people living in open defecation free communities across nine countries: Gambia, Ghana, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan and Vietnam.
 
Therese Dooley, UNICEF Senior Sanitation and Hygiene Programme Advisor says, “The contributions of Domestos and the Unilever Foundation will support Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS) programmes in nine countries. Through this partnership, UNICEF will be able to achieve greater scale and impact in changing social norms by explaining the link between open defecation and disease, giving communities the knowledge and motivation to construct and use toilets and creating open defecation free communities.”
 
In addition to this partnership with UNICEF, Unilever is also proactively addressing the sanitation crisis as part of its commitment to Sustainable Living through partnerships with Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) and the World Toilet Organization (WTO).

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