Lifebuoy

Prevention is better than cure

At first thought, influencing more people to wash their hands and brush their teeth may not seem like much, but in fact the potential for improving health and actually saving lives is tremendous. Simple changes to everyday habits, like washing hands with soap and water before touching food and after going to the toilet, can halve the risk of contracting diarrhoeal diseases that claim the lives of over 3.5 million children each year, globally.

Through the Lifebuoy health and hygiene awareness programs that we have been conducting in schools since 2002, we have been able to spread our message of cleanliness to more than 1 million students across 750 schools.

The first series of programmes, known as Suwa Sirith Meheya was designed to educate children about basic health and hygiene habits, create awareness of how simple habits like washing hands with soap can help in preventing the spread of diseases, and help parents to encourage hygienic habits in their children.

In 2006, we launched a new program we called Ignite the Hero Within, which attempts to create awareness in a fun, appealing way, with ‘Germ Fighter Clubs’ set up in schools, so that the children themselves get involved in promoting good hygiene.

The first ever Global Handwashing Day - an initiative led by The World Bank, UNICEF, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USAID and Unilever was held on 18 October 2008. Unilever Sri Lanka celebrated this special day by collaborating with the Ministries of Health and Education and UNICEF to get 1 million school children involved in activities like making a pledge to lead a healthier life and, of course, washing their hands with soap and water.