Procter & Gamble

Establishing good hygiene habits early is essential to protecting children from disease. So Safeguard, in partnership with the Red Cross and China’s Ministry of Health, launched the Safeguard Health Great Wall campaign on October 15, 2008—Global Hand Washing Day.

Hand washing is one of the most effective and affordable health interventions, representing a cornerstone of public health. And water alone is not enough—using soap and water at critical times, such as after using the toilet and before handling food, can help reduce the incidence of diarrheal disease by almost half, cutting respiratory infections by nearly 25%. It is also recommended as a critical action to prevent the spread of influenza H1N1.

Despite its life-saving potential, however, hand washing with soap is seldom practiced in some parts of the world, and it can be difficult to promote. So the Safeguard Health Great Wall campaign, using the slogan “Clean hands save lives,” aims to engage schoolchildren as effective agents for change. The effort broadens health hygiene education in schools, as well as building sanitation facilities in rural China to encourage handwashing.

The program’s goal is to educate 10 million children in the next eight years. Consumer purchases of Safeguard help to fund the program, while volunteer opportunities allow individuals to experience directly the importance of good hygiene.

Beyond China, similar outreach efforts have also been led by P&G in other countries. In Mexico, Safeguard will deliver hand hygiene education to over 144,000 children in Mexico City, and train approximately 1,000 children to be ambassadors of good hand hygiene in their schools and communities. In Pakistan, Safeguard will be establishing sinks in 3,500 schools and delivering hand hygiene education to approximately 600,000 school children. Another program will help build latrines and handwashing facilities in schools that reach over 40,000 children. And in the Philippines, Safeguard will help deliver hand hygiene education to one million school children, while a portion of Safeguard sales go toward building new sanitation facilities.