Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Savlon India introduces low cost innovation for hand hygiene
On Children's Day, ITC's leading hygiene brand, Savlon India, unveiled its Hygiene & Health programme - Savlon Swasth India Mission.
The programme is designed to encourage behavioural change towards washing hands amongst children through various engaging and entertaining educational initiatives in schools. And this one's REALLY clever.
The initiative revolves around Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks - a set of unique chalk sticks infused with soap-like cleansers, which are designed to engage children in primary schools and emphasise the importance of washing hands before eating. Since education in some schools in rural India is still through chalk and slate, cleansing chalk sticks are a familiar medium that will help the project make an impact. The children use the chalk sticks for their work; then when they rinse their hands before lunch, the chalk dust on their hands turns into a liquid soap!
"Most of them use their hands to write as well as erase their slates," says ITC. "Their hands are usually full of chalk powder at the end of their lessons. The lessons are followed by a meal break and washing hands is sometimes limited to a quick water wash under a tap. Access to basic hygiene may at times be a challenge and washing hands with cleansers like soap before a meal is yet to become a widespread habit.
"With Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks the chalk powder on the hand turns into a soap-like cleanser and generates lather as soon as it is placed under water. The chalk dust forming lather on washing with water is a unique experience that engages children and educates them on the importance of cleaning with cleansers."
The Chalk Sticks project is a first of its kind initiative, in a series of on ground activities being undertaken by Savlon Swasth India Mission.
Savlon Swasth India Mission has already reached out to more than 300,000 children and aims to reach 1 million children in a year.
Sharing his thoughts, Mr. Sameer Satpathy, chief executive, Personal Care Products Business, ITC, states, "Hand Hygiene is a critical issue. We believe, to induce behavioural change among children, the process of communication and education has to be fun, engaging and memorable.
"In that context, Savlon Swasth India's 'Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks' is a simple yet interesting innovation. It is an engaging way to educate children on the importance of washing hands especially before eating. This is one of the various educational tools deployed by the Savlon Swasth India team to help initiate children into the habit of washing hands."
ITC's integrated approach to hygiene and sanitation as part of its social investment programme was launched a few years back. In addition to building sanitation infrastructure, this programme is focused on hygiene and sanitation education through extensive awareness building programmes designed to induce behavioural change. Students and teachers are trained on WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) principles, and students are motivated to form WATSAN (Water and Sanitation) Committees and Child Cabinets to take ownership of WASH areas in schools. Savlon India's hygiene & health programme seeks to accelerate and reinforce ITC's ongoing efforts in sanitation and hygiene education in India.
The uniqueness of Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks and the experience has been showcased in a short video. Launched last Sunday on Children's Day, the video presents a glimpse of the world of these primary school children and their experience with the Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks.
E: S[email protected]
W: www.itc.in
24th November 2016