Equity in Hygiene: The Case for Long-lasting Germ Protection

Nigeria’s public health conversations often circle around big-ticket issues, hospital upgrades, disease outbreaks, emergency responses. What rarely receives equal attention is the everyday infrastructure of prevention: hygiene. 

Not the presence of soap or water alone, but the quality and staying power of protection that follows. Hygiene is often treated as a personal matter when it is also a public necessity.

This limited framing is probably why hygiene still sits on the fringes of national health policies, spoken about, but not seriously planned for. In communities where exposure to germs is part of daily life, durable hygienic actions are still not seen as essential parts of Nigeria’s health resilience strategy.

What Nigeria needs are hygiene solutions designed to keep working throughout the day, not just at the point of use. Solutions that acknowledge and adapt to the high contact rhythm of daily life.

This is where innovation, like the Dettol Original antibacterial bar soap, becomes essential. With regular use, the antibacterial soap supports the skin’s natural germ fighting ability for up to 12 hours. It reflects a deep understanding of how Nigerian families in their daily activities can be exposed to germs. Dettol understands this need for long-term impact. Beyond product development, the brand has built a track record of public engagement, delivering hygiene education through in-school programs, community outreach, and health worker collaborations. These initiatives help shape habits, raise awareness, and promote sustainable behaviour change.

This combination of innovation and education supports national goals laid out by the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), which continue to emphasize behavioural change through communication as a key tool in reducing disease and improving health equity.

If we are to promote the health and wellbeing of Nigerian families, we must reframe hygiene as a from being a short-term action, but as a critical, sustained layer of protection. Hygiene must be treated as a priority, not a personal convenience.