KARACHI, Oct 1 (ABC): A new school-based initiative has been launched to improve access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for children in Pakistan, with plans to provide clean water, rehabilitate toilets, establish handwashing stations and deliver hygiene education.
The initiative is the first programme under Saaf Sehatmand Pakistan, a new social impact platform launched by Reckitt Pakistan in partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation. The programme will initially focus on schools and is designed to scale across Pakistan.
Reckitt Pakistan and the Aga Khan Foundation have formalised an agreement for implementation of the initiative, combining Reckitt’s health and hygiene expertise with the foundation’s experience in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and community outreach.
The initiative will provide access to safe drinking water, rehabilitate toilet facilities, establish handwashing stations and deliver hygiene education to help children develop healthier habits from an early age.
The programme will initially focus on schools and is designed to scale across Pakistan.
Saaf Sehatmand Pakistan was unveiled by British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi Alison Blackburne alongside Reckitt Pakistan General Manager Asif M. Hashimi, Marketing Director Sarah Ahmed, Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan National Committee Chairman Amin Feerasta and Chief Executive Officer Akhtar Iqbal.
Powered by Reckitt brands Dettol and Harpic, the platform brings together the company’s work in health, hygiene, sanitation and safe water under a long-term initiative aimed at improving health and hygiene in Pakistan.
Reckitt Pakistan said it already reaches more than two million children annually through school-based hygiene education. The new platform aims to build on this outreach by combining hygiene education with improved access to safe drinking water, toilets and handwashing facilities.
Speaking on the occasion, Hashimi said the initiative would translate the health and hygiene expertise of Dettol and Harpic into practical interventions in schools.
“Saaf Sehatmand Pakistan turns the trust and expertise of Dettol and Harpic into action, bringing safe water, sanitation and hygiene to schools. Our ambition is to carry that impact from classrooms into homes and communities across Pakistan,” he said.
Amin Feerasta said every child deserved a safe, healthy and dignified learning environment.
He said the partnership would build on the Aga Khan Foundation’s experience in improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene to create healthier school environments in rural Sindh, helping children attend and remain in school.
“We hope that this agreement will therefore be the first chapter of a long-term cooperation between Reckitt and the Aga Khan Foundation in Pakistan,” he said.
British Deputy High Commissioner Alison Blackburne said access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene was important for children’s health, wellbeing and education.
She welcomed the launch and said the Aga Khan Foundation’s implementation experience could help translate the initiative’s objectives into lasting impact.
Reckitt Pakistan said Saaf Sehatmand Pakistan would begin with schools before expanding through a wider network of partners, with the longer-term objective of extending health and hygiene interventions from classrooms to homes and communities.
