Unilever to work for changing handwashing behaviour

On Global Handwashing Day Tuesday, Unilever's health soap, Lifebuoy has set out to end preventable death of children under five years by teaching people to change handwashing behaviour across 17 countries.

"Help a Child Reach 5" campaign was launched in 2013 in Thesgora village of Madhya Pradesh which has the highest rate of diarrhoea in India and is now expanding to 17 countries.

"We know handwashing with soap is one of the most effective and low-cost ways to prevent diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea, responsible for death of 2 million children under five years of age. In the past few years, we have taught 130 million people healthy handwashing habits for life and integrated this into our business model," said Samir Singh, Libebuoy global brand vice president.

The brand ambassador of Lifebuoy and actor Kajol also attended the United Nations General Assembly Week and spoke to world leaders and policy makers about the importance of handwashing with soap as a critical policy to be implemented in the post-2015 development agenda.