Lixil, Unicef launch international program to improve sanitation in schools

ISIS (Improved Sanitation in Schools) 2018 project has been launched by LIXIL Corporation, a leading global supplier of building materials and housing equipment solutions in partnership with UNICEF.

The project will help improve sanitation and hygiene in underprivileged communities around the world.

A multi-year commitment project, expected to provide 2,000,000 school children across the globe access to improved sanitation facilities and hygiene education by 2018.

LIXIL as a partner, UNICEF adds enormous value gained through its global WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) program, including project identification, hygiene education, local know-how, and overall project advice.

ISIS 2018 would be one such project that would be implemented to support 225,000 children, over a three year period in the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Kenya, the initial countries which would be the main focus.

Kenya presents the biggest challenge as schools there are identified with minimal sanitary infrastructure.

In response, LIXIL has tasked its specialist eco-sanitation engineers to build solutions.

ISIS 2018 launch coincides with the first UN-designated World Toilet Day on November 19, held to draw attention to the fact that 2.5 billion people globally lack proper sanitation.

More than 2.2 million children under the age of 5, die every year from largely preventable diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation. At least 272 million school days are estimated to be lost every year around the world due to sickness caused by poor sanitation.

Poor sanitary conditions also have serious repercussions for growth and development, due to health spending and lost productivity. The annual global loss in economic performance is estimated at a staggering $260 billion.

The lack of segregated and private toilets is also a primary reason girls drop out of school, which in turn reinforces gender inequality.

Toshimasa Iue, CEO, LIXIL Global Company, said," We are delighted to launch ISIS 2018 and to be partnering with UNICEF to tackle this important issue. As a world leader in sanitary ware, LIXIL is uniquely placed to help school children in developing countries gain access to facilities that are clean, safe and preserve dignity, as well as hygiene education that has proven to be life-saving."

An initiative to escalate LIXIL's expertise in sanitary ware, preferably concentrates on business that concerns areas such as toilets, washstands and other hygiene essentials.

ISIS 2018 and the UNICEF collaboration represent one of three core sanitation-orientated sustainability initiatives underway at LIXIL, along with an eco-sanitation toilets project that won funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

A partnership involving American Standard Brands, a part of the LIXIL Group since August 2013, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and International Development Enterprises.

All are part of LIXIL's efforts to fulfill its commitments under the United Nations Global Compact, which it signed in July 2013.