Harpic Restates Commitment To Clean
Toilets As Nigeria Marks World Toilet Day
H3 (L-R) Council Manager
Lagos Island Local Government, representing Commissioner for Local Government,
Olaide Atunrase,Sanitation Officer, representing Commissioner for Rural
Development Lagos State, Engineer Akinwunmi Babatunde,Marketing Manager
HomeCare for West Africa Reckitt Benckiser, Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi
Omotola, Marketing Director for West Africa Reckitt Benckiser,
Oguzhan Silivrili and the Chief Executive Ofiicer Teeone Ventures Limited, Tayo
Ojuri Key at 2014 Harpic World Toilet Day Celebration in Lagos Today.
As the World marked the 2014 World
Toilet Day (WTD) on November 19, Harpic, - a toilet cleaner for Clean, germ free and odourless toilet from the stable of Reckitt Benckiser, the
market leader in health, hygiene and home care products, has restated its commitment
to clean and safe toilets in homes and other places. The company made this
known as it celebrated the first WTD in Nigeria. With the theme “Clean Toilets,
Healthy Homes”, this year’s WTD put on the front burner the importance of
having access to a clean toilet and the potential health implications as well
as the vulnerability it posses especially to Women and Children.
This has long-term impacts on women’s health,
education, livelihoods and safety but it also impacts the economy, as failing
to provide for the sanitation needs of women ultimately risks excluding half of
the potential workforce. According to research, only 30% of Nigerians have
access to Flush toilets while 20% still have no latrines as such are more prone
to open defecation.
With the tagline ‘CleanHygenicToiletsWithHarpic’ the toilet Day
was used to inspire action and underscore the urgencyto maintain sanitary
hygiene. It was also a gathering of policy makers in health sector as well as
the market leaders to give voice to the call for the provision of hygienic
toilet nationwide.
As part of the efforts to drive it
course on ensuring people have access to clean toilets in homes and
communities, Harpic announced deploying of Free Harpic Experience Mobile
Toilets and educating consumers on how to keep and maintain clean hygienic
toilet sand push for a momentum for behavioral change
Speaking at the event, General
Manager, Mr. Rahul Murgai stated that Harpic is leading the initiative in sustenance
of Sanitary Hygiene and increasing Nigerians access to Safe, clean toilets with
the aim of preventing diseases and reducing vulnerability and exposure of women
to harm and danger in the search for privacy and access to good toilets.
The awareness campaign becomes
necessary following the United Nations figure that 2.5 billion people globally
do not have access to proper sanitation, including toilets or latrines, with
dramatic consequences on human health, dignity and security, the environment, and
social and economic development. In Nigeria, about 34 million people do not
have access to clean toilets.
With the aim to draw global
attention to the sanitation crisis, World Toilet Day was established in 2001.
Since its inception, WTD is celebrated globally by NGOs, UN agencies, the
private sector, civil society organizations and the international community.
WTD continues to promote discourse and debate on toilets sanitation.
Marketing Director West Africa Mr.
Oguzhan Silivrili, , stated that the Harpic Experience Moments is a set of
activities that began with reaching 1million homes across 16 cities within the
country to educate consumers about how to keep a clean and hygienic
toilet. This world toilet day marks the flag off of the Harpic Mobile Toilet
Experience Train that would be rolled out to increase access to clean toilet
especially in public places where toilets are dilapidated or nonexistent. The
Harpic train would kick off in Lagos state which has only 45% access to flush
toilets in the following communities, Lagos Island, Mushin, Agege and Ikotun
where residents will be sensitised on the need to maintain clean toilets.
During these Harpic Experience Moments, Consumers – especially women - would be
taught the simple methods of keeping their toilets clean using Harpic.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Rural Development,
Hon. Cornelius Ojelabi who also spoke at the event, stated that Nigeria is one
of the countries that practice open defecation the most. Represented by
Engineer Akinwumi Babatunde, he stressed that one of the ways to tackle this is
to provide more toilets and make sure they are kept clean and the gender
sensitive to those using it, especially for physically challenged individuals.
He commended Harpic for celebrating
the day and for focusing on the campaign to end open defecation with its
attendant effects on the health of the people and the environment in general.
In the same vein, the State
Commissioner for Health, Hon. Olajide Idris said the ministry appreciates and
support what Harpic is doing in ensuring that the huge figure of 34 million
Nigerians without access to toilets is reduced drastically. Represented by Mr.
Sobowale Abayomi, Deputy Director Environmental Health Services, the
commissioner said the state government is doing all that is necessary to ensure
that people in the state do not practice open defecation.
In her comments, the Iyaloja
of Oke-Arin provision market, Alhaja Kuburat Osho enjoined women to focus on
taking very good care of this very important part of their home as the toilet
and kitchen are essential parts of a healthy family. She applauded Harpic for
bringing the initiative to them and also by going to the grassroots with
sensitization exercises of this nature which she noted would impact positively
on the populace.
The World Toilet Organization was
founded by Jack Sim, a Singapore business tycoon in 2001 and it is now a
growing network of 235 organisations in 58 countries including Nigeria where a
“World Toilet Day” is celebrated to create awareness towards improving the
state of toilets and sanitation globally.
-ENDS-
