As COVID-19 pandemic persists, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and Reckitt Benckiser have joined forces to help protect people living with HIV across Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
Announcing this in a statement made available to THISDAY recently, the General Manager, Health for Reckitt Benckiser, Nigeria, Dayanand Sriram said the partnership hopes to reach approximately 220,000 individuals across 22 countries in Africa including Nigeria with a Hygiene pack that contains three-month supply of Dettol bar soap and JIK bleach, with the market value of the products placed at over N800 million.
Sriram said: “Reckitt Benckiser’s purpose is to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world,” says Dayanand Sriram, General Manager, Health for Reckitt Benckiser, Nigeria.
“The initiative to distribute the hygiene packs is part of “Fight for Access Fund, which aims to improve access to health, hygiene and nutrition for all.
“We want and need to play our part in stemming the effects of the pandemic and we can do this by providing access to our high-quality hygiene products – 180,000 bars of Dettol soap.
“By partnering UNAIDS, we can reach specific groups of people who need them the most. For years, RB, through its brand Dettol, has supported the government’s effort in promoting a healthy lifestyle through its School Hygiene Programme that educates over 300,000 school children annually and the New Mums’ Programme that supports over 200,000 pregnant women annually to adopt healthy habits.”
The Country Manager, Hygiene, for Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria, Asif Hashimi said: “Brands like JIK have a critical role to play in promoting hygiene in the fight against health pandemics..”
UNAIDS Country Director, Dr. Erasmus Morah said the timely delivery of the hygiene kits will improve the health of members of Nigeria’s networks of people living with HIV at this turbulent time of COVID-19 pandemic.
“We appreciate this demonstration of solidarity from RB, and we encourage other private sector entities and philanthropists to consider doing the same with all vulnerable populations.”
