Chennai – Reckitt’s flagship campaign, Dettol Banega Swasth India (BSI), celebrated Global Handwashing Day 2024, educating 30 million children across India on the importance of handwashing for a healthier future. Themed ‘Clean Hands for All: Advancing Health Equity through Hygiene,’ the event highlighted Dettol BSI’s commitment to ensuring that children from all backgrounds have access to essential hygiene knowledge, leaving no one behind.
On the occasion of Global Handwashing Day 2024, Dettol School Hygiene Education programme, under BSI, engaged 30 million children across 29 states and 7 union territories with the support of 100+ partners. The campaign promoted proper handwashing techniques through participation from schools across the public, private, government aided and unaided sectors, including Sarvodaya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, Army Schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas across India.
As part of the initiative’s continued innovation, Dettol BSI launched the Dettol Hygiene chatbot, Hygieia For Good Hygiene, inspired by Hygieia, the Greek-goddess of Health, Cleanliness and Hygiene. This AI-powered, WhatsApp-enabled Chatbot offers critical hygiene knowledge in 7 languages – Hindi, English, Tamil, Kannada, Odia, Gujarati and Telugu – with plans to expand to all 22 official Indian languages. The chatbot underscores the growing need for self-learning, self-help tools and interactive platforms that foster greater engagement and awareness.
Speaking on the occasion, Ravi Bhatnagar, Director of External Affairs and Partnerships, Reckitt South Asia, stated, “At Reckitt, we are committed to breaking barriers to hygiene education and creating a healthier future for every child. Our long-standing commitment to hygiene equity is aligned with Government of India’s Clean India movement for over a decade, focused on ensuring that every child—no matter where they are—can learn the life-saving practice of handwashing. As we recently stepped into the 11th year of the initiative, our focus on hygiene equity is stronger than ever, supporting our broader mission of ‘leaving no one behind’.”
In 2023 alone, the campaign facilitated over 34 billion handwashing occasions, reinforcing its dedication to promoting good hygiene habits nationwide. The campaign educates children on six critical occasions for handwashing, including after using the toilet, before eating, before preparing food, and after coughing or sneezing, under its ongoing theme of ‘One World Hygiene’.
Padma Shri S. Damodaran, Founder, Gramalaya, emphasized the importance of hygiene education in rural communities, “The Rig Veda teaches that water dispels disease and sustains life. Safe water, sanitation, and hygiene—especially handwashing with soap—are essential to prevent illness. Through the Global Handwashing campaign, Dettol Banega Swasth India and Gramalaya aim to teach 1 crore children handwashing techniques for better health and hygiene.”
Mohammad Asif, Executive Director, Plan India, stated, “Handwashing with soap is a basic right and necessity for all children and people. At Plan India, we continue to work towards ensuring every child, every family, and every community has access to hygiene facilities and awareness so that no one is left behind. Let’s join hands to create a healthy, hygiene-conscious country where every individual thrives.”
Sanjeev Dham, Deputy CEO, MAMTA HIMC, said, “As we celebrate Global Handwashing Day, we at Mamta HIMC are delighted to be part of the Dettol Banega Swasth India Campaign, a collective effort to promote hygiene education in schools Reckitt supports. Together, we are empowering the next generation to understand that clean hands are a powerful tool in the fight against disease—let’s wash our hands and spread the word! Let’s make hygiene a habit for everyone.”
Dettol Banega Swasth India remains committed to promoting health equity by providing hygiene resources to underserved communities through engaging and culturally relevant initiatives. As Global Handwashing Day 2024 comes to a close, Gramalaya, in collaboration with Dettol BSI, has launched a nationwide campaign to involve 1 crore children in schools, spreading hygiene awareness across all sections of society. To participate in the movement, simply give a missed call to the toll-free number 18001236848 from your WhatsApp-enabled mobile phone.
