Harpic Promotes Hygienic Living With Awareness Campaign

H1: (L-R) Sanitation Officer, representing Commissioner for Rural Development Lagos State, Engineer Akinwunmi Babatunde, Marketing Manager Home Care for West Africa Reckitt Benckiser, Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi Omotola, Iyaloja Oke-Arin Provision Market, Alhaja Kuburat Osho, Marketing Director for West Africa  Reckitt Benckiser, Oguzhan Silivrili and the Council Manager Lagos Island Local Government, representing Commissioner for Local Government, Olaide Atunrase at 2014 Harpic World Toilet Day Celebration in Lagos yesterday

Safe, clean and hygienic toilet has been identified as one of the fundamental ways of preventing diseases and reducing vulnerability and exposure of women to harm and dangers. The General Manager, Reckitt Benckiser, Mr. Rahul Murgai Silivrili stated this as Nigeria marked its first World Toilet Day (WTD) on Thursday, November 19.

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 theme “Clean Toilets, Healthy Homes”, this year’s WTD put on the front burner the importance of having access to clean toilets and the potential health implications as well as the vulnerability it poses especially to women and children. Harpic - a stain removal liquid soap from the stable of Reckitt Benckiser and the market leader in health, hygiene and home care products – was at the forefront in the celebration of the day in the country.

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 ofFree Harpic Experience Mobile Toilets and educating consumers on how to keep and maintain clean hygienic toiletsand push for a momentum for behavioural change.

(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 Director for West Africa  Reckitt Benckiser, Oguzhan Silivrili and the  Marketing Manager Home Care for West Africa  Reckitt Benckiser, Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi Omotola at 2014 Harpic World Toilet Day Celebration in Lagos

Speaking at a press briefing/awareness creation event held in Lagos, Marketing DirectorWest Africa Mr. Oguzhan Silivrili, stated that the Harpic Experience Moments is a set of activities that began with reaching 1,000,000homes across 16 cities within the country to educate consumers about how to keep a clean and hygienic toilet.

“This world toilet day,”he said “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.