Dettol and Harpic partner with Simhastha Kumbh to educate millions of pilgrims about the importance of hygiene and sanitation

~Aims to raise hygiene and sanitation awareness as a part of Banega Swachh India initiative~

Mumbai, April 29, 2016: After successfully partnering with Nashik Kumbh last year to provide hygiene to 30 million pilgrims and save 3.3 million liters of water, Dettol and Harpic have now joined hands with Simhastha Kumbh Ujjain to take the message of hygiene and sanitation to many more pilgrims. Held every 12 years and considered as one of the world's largest religious congregations, Simhastha Kumbh Mela is being held from 22nd April to 21st May and is expecting around 5 crore pilgrims from across the country. A mass gathering at such scale not only has a heavy impact on the demand for water and leaves the city with acute shortage of water supply, but it also poses a serious health risk to devotees attending it owing to some unhygienic conditions.

As part of its nationwide initiative Banega Swachh India, Dettol and Harpic will reach out to pilgrims and educate them about the importance of hand washing and ill-effects of open defecation. On ground volunteers with an efficient water sprayer and sanitizers will be deployed at strategic locations such as food centers, snan areas, eateries and toilets to ensure people wash their hands before eating their meals and after using a toilet. In addition, there will be almost 100 toilets which will be maintained by Harpic to provide a solution from open defecation. The volunteers will also be distributing informative education material through flyers to pilgrims and Sadhugrams for raising awareness around healthy handwashing habits. Radio channels were extensively being used to reiterate the importance of hygiene through jingles which have been successful in building healthy hand washing habits.

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Nitish Kapoor, Regional Director, RB South Asia said "As a global leader in consumer health and hygiene, our purpose is to improve hygiene and sanitation in the daily lives of our consumers. Kumbh Mela is the largest congregation of humans anywhere on earth, which poses a huge challenge for sanitation because of the temporary influx of people in vast numbers. After successfully raising awareness amongst 30 million pilgrims at Nashik Kumbh last year, RB is proud to partner with Simhastha Kumbh Ujjain to drive a positive behavior change towards a Swachh Bharat.”

About RB:

RB* is the world’s leading consumer health and hygiene company. The company has operations in over 60 countries, with headquarters in the UK, Singapore, Dubai and Amsterdam, and sales in almost 200 countries. The company employs approximately 37,000 people worldwide.

With a purpose of delivering innovative solutions for healthier lives and happier homes, RB is in the top 20 of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Today it is the global No 1or No 2 in the majority of its fast-growing categories, driven by an exceptional rate of innovation. Its health, hygiene and home portfolio is led by 19 global Powerbrands of  Nurofen, Strepsils Gaviscon, Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Clearasil, Lysol, Dettol, Veet, Harpic, Bang, Mortein, Finish, Vanish, Calgon, Air Wick, Woolite and French’s.  At the start of 2014 RB had 43% of its core revenues coming from its 2 emerging market Areas and 57% from its developed market Area; 72% of core revenues came from the health and hygiene categories of the portfolio.

Fuelled by a new breed of talent who blend intellectual curiosity with commitment to the highest quality standards, RB is set to redefine the world of consumer health and hygiene.  RB people and its culture are at the heart of the company’s success. They have an intense drive for achievement and a desire to outperform wherever they focus, including in sustainability where the company is targeting a 1/3 reduction in water impact, 1/3 reduction in carbon and to have 1/3 of its net revenue coming from more sustainable products by 2020. It is also the Save the Children charity’s largest FMCG global partner, with a new partnership vision to radically reduce the world’s second biggest killer of under-fives, diarrhoea.  Overall RB wants to reach 200 million people to improve their health and hygiene behaviour. 

 For more information visit www.rb.com

*RB is the trading name of Reckitt Benckiser group of companies