Unilever Philippines is donating one million Lifebuoy hygiene products to different communities in need across the country.
In an official statement posted on the company’s website in June, Unilever PH says it “aims to provide antibacterial products to help protect families from diseases and to keep frontliners safe and clean.”
To support this cause, Unilever PH repurposed its manufacturing lines in the country to produce Lifebuoy Sanitizers.
The rich and long-standing history of Lifebuoy
Lifebuoy is one of the world’s first consumer brands—having been around for more than a century now—and at the heart of its heritage is the advocacy to set in motion a social change on personal hygiene to save lives.
The origin of Lifebuoy dates all the way back to the 19th century Victorian Era England, when the world was constantly plagued by epidemics like typhoid, smallpox, cholera, and diphtheria.
During the Second World War of the 20th century, the brand played a role in providing emergency hygiene services and reliefs like hot showers, towels, and soaps to the worst-hit areas of the war in the United Kingdom.
Fast forward to the 21st century, Lifebuoy now runs one of the world’s largest hygiene behaviour change initiatives, the Lifebuoy Handwashing Programme, which was launched in 2010. The goals of the worldwide campaign are to reach people in countries where diarrhoeal disease is a leading cause of death, to raise awareness about proper hygiene, and, consequently, to decrease mortality rate in these places.
Present Day
Today, Lifebuoy’s mission continues and remains highly relevant with the challenging pandemic. Lifebuoy Philippines is providing emergency relief by donating sanitizers and soap to hospitals and health centers as well as other areas where these hygiene supplies are needed.
“Coming from the World Health Organization’s recommendation to put hand hygiene as the first line of defense against the spread of germs, the production of Lifebuoy Sanitizers is a direct answer to the call for the practice of good hygiene habits,” shared Unilever PH.
But apart from boosting the production of its sanitizers, Unilever PH has also been actively providing support to different sectors tasked to tackle the current global health crisis. It has donated over 100 million pesos worth of food and hygiene products nationwide, an additional one million pesos cash aid for the personal protective equipment (PPE) of health workers, over 4,000 Sansure PCR test kits, which they turned over to the Philippine Red Cross, and 10 ventilators to various hospitals.
The company also continues to work closely with its partner organizations to constantly recalibrate its relief programs as needed.
In March, Unilever’s UK-based headquarters pledged hygiene and cash flow relief for its suppliers and customers. Similarly, the covid response of the Philippine branch covers support for its employees, partners, and communities.
ADVT.