Harpic partners Lagos state government on improved toilet hygiene

As part of efforts to commemorate World toilet day and tackle the menace of open defecation, Harpic, Nigeria’s leading toilet cleaning brand from the stable of Reckitt Benckiser has partnered with the Lagos state Ministry of environment to upgrade the toilet facilities within Apapa local government area of the state.

According to World Health Organization, WHO and United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF statistics in 2015, approximately 2.4 billion people live in poor sanitation conditions and one in every 10 people have no choice but to defecate in the open.

Nigeria is ranked 5th in the world among countries where open defecation is still a major problem. A large number of women and children in Nigeria are exposed to the risk of contracting infections due to unhygienic and poor sanitary conditions.

Speaking at an event recently to commemorate the World Toilet day, Rahul Murgai, managing director at Reckitt Benckiser West Africa reiterated Harpic’s vision and commitment in co-creating an eco-system to create scaled national awareness around the current national sanitation situation and core issues like open defecation that lead to diarrhoea and other potential health issues.

‘‘Harpic has consistently championed the importance of good public hygiene, maintaining access to clean toilets and improving the general sanitation conditions in the larger interest of good public health.

‘‘Individual and collective participation from like-minded players will strongly support the program and efforts of the Federal and State government in improving the general health, hygiene and sanitation conditions in Nigeria,’’ Murgai said.

Samuel Adejare, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment applauded Harpic for their continued efforts and support in building a hygienic community and a healthy nation.

‘‘Public awareness and the recent renovation of public toilets with support from Harpic is another step taken in the right direction, ’’he said.

Adejare encouraged greater partnership with the private and public sector to further accelerate their current efforts.

Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi Omotola, Harpic’s marketing manager, said that Harpic’s toilet hygiene program in Nigeria is a scaled initiative across 16 cities and reaches over 1 million homes annually to educate consumers about the importance of good toilet hygiene and maintaining clean toilets in their homes to prevent illnesses.

Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi urged the residents of the Apapa community to ensure that the renovated and upgraded toilet facilities are well utilized adding that proper sanitary practices will definitely improve public health.

Tiamiyu Adio