Unilever’s germ-free toilet journey highlights remarkable success

In commemoration of the World Toilet Day (November 19), the Unilever Foundation’s Vim brand and the Ministry of Health (MoH) officially announced the results of the programme.

The programme is part of the 2014 - 2018 strategic partnership agreement on improving sanitation in Vietnam, which is a major part of Global Unilever Sustainable Living Plan used to help increase livelihood for one billion people worldwide, and realise the MoH’s national goal on pure water and sanitation.

The Germ-free Toilet Journey programme is one of the joint Unilever Vietnam – Vim and MoH activities organised to improve sanitation conducted between Unilever Vietnam to help improve sanitation for 10 million Vietnamese to access basic hygiene. The programme was kicked off in 2012 with support from the MoH, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and other partners.

By this year, the Germ-free Toilet Journey programme has helped two million Vietnamese people improve sanitation and health through activities to encourage people using germ-free toilets, the construction of standardised toilets for pupils and help prevent diseases.

“Under our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan launched globally in 2010, we are committed to help improve health, hygiene and the well-being of 20 million Vietnamese people by 2020,” stressed Unilever Vietnam chairman JV Raman. “The Germ-free Toilet Journey programme will continue to be a crucial part of this plan.”

Unilever’s Vim brand and the Ministry of Health have worked together on a highly successful campaign
to improve the sanitary conditions of millions of Vietnamese people

Improving health, hygiene and well-being

According to Raman, access to sanitation remains a big challenge for a large portion of the world’s population, and Vietnam is no exception. In Vietnam, only half of the rural population have access to standard sanitation facilities and only one in five households have access to latrines that meet MoH hygiene standards.

The Germ-free Toilet Journey programme has helped 760,000 people to get access to proper sanitation and improved health, focusing on building and using proper toilets in rural areas and the Central Highlands region.

The world’s first model of a Vim toilet academy initiative was kicked off in the Mekong Delta provinces of Vinh Long and Ben Tre. Under this initiative, about 1,000 households have been encouraged to build proper toilets, and 8,000 people had access to hygiene education.

Additionally, under its Green, Clean, Healthy School Development programme, Vim has also co-operated with the MoET to build and upgraded 400 toilets. The two sides have also combined to conduct a hygiene education programme for primary school pupils, with 950,000 pupils benefited during 2012-2014.

Furthermore, with support for the Pasteur Institute and Ho Chi Minh City Medical Prevention Centre, Vim has carried out communication activities to increase awareness of personal and environmental hygiene to prevent epidemic diseases for 480,000 people nationwide.

According to Dr. Nguyen Huy Nga, general director of the MoH’s Vietnam Health Environment Management, to protect and improve sanitation for people especially in rural areas, the Vietnamese government has put high concern on communication, education activities on hygiene awareness and enhance sanitation condition to prevent epidemic diseases. Under the ‘strategic partnership agreement on improving sanitation in Vietnam’, the MoH and Unilever Vietnam have committed to implement disease prevention campaign, community sanitation improvement, school hygiene condition development in particular in rural areas where children are the most vulnerable and need more caring with real actions.

Long- term strategic partnerships with committed actions

Unilever Vietnam chairman Raman also underlined that one of the propellants for Unilever to successfully implement its corporate social responsibility programmes including this Germ-free Toilet Journey programme in Vietnam was the great support by the government, ministries and organisations.

“We are very pleased and honoured to have partnered with the MoH, UNICEF and other government agencies including the Vietnam Women’s Union, the MoET and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to help Vietnamese people, especially those in rural areas to improve their sanitation conditions via access to clean toilets,” he said.

“Unilever’s Vim brand has proved successful over the past four years in Vietnam. Together, Unilever Vietnam, Vim and its partners have committed to improve sanitation and toilet access for 10 million Vietnamese people by 2018,” stressed Raman

With great support from the MoH, MoET, UNICEF and other organisations, these school and community-led activities prove the long-term and strategic

commitment of Unilever Vietnam – Vim brand in sanitation improvement programme in Vietnam.