Summary
The Journey of Transforming India's Hygiene and Health
Challenge
Our efforts began in 2014. When India was yet to become a global power. Less than half of rural Indian households had a toilet at home. There were more households with a mobile phone and television than with a toilet. (Census 2011) Of the estimated billion people in the world who defecate in the open, more than half reside in India. Every year in India over 3 lakh children, under the age of five, were dying due to Diarrhoea and water borne diseases. According to the Public Health Association, over half of India's population did not practice proper handwashing with soap and water after defecation and between meals. When one conjured up image of India, the common perceptions would be that of dirt and filth. In 2014, the economic ramification of inadequate sanitation was evaluated at more than a whopping Rs. 4,75,000 crores. India had a long way to go in terms of its sanitation and hygiene problems. Our Challenge- India's poor track record in Hygiene poses a serious threat to the health of its future generations.
Objective
This case demonstrates the power of the biggest and longest running health initiative- Dettol Banega Swasth India, that- Reached 8 out of 10 schools in India- reducing school absenteeism by 70%, improving children's handwashing & sanitation practices by 75%. Built 10.86 crore toilets in Rural India. Built infrastructure like Hygiene Play Parks & Hygiene Corners to promote health & well-being. Infused hygiene messages into pop culture. Garnered a support of 100+ partners, 150+ celebrities & government officials. This is the story of a movement that unlocked the potential of 1.4 billion people with health & hygiene over a decade.
Strategy
Over the course of 10 years, we have been transforming a change across 5 phases with different focus areas- Phase 1 (Personal Hygiene)- Introduction of School Hygiene Education Program Experiential games to educate children. Phase 2 (Hygiene Around us)- Launching community clean-up drives. Hygiene at Kumbh Mela. Phase 3 (Hygiene to Health)- Community workshops linking health and hygiene. Hygiene Curriculum reaching religious schools. Phase 4 (Protectors of Health) Dettol Anthem Personalized Packaging Tik Tok Handwashing Challenge Phase 5 (Sustaining Health) Building infrastructure like Hygiene Play Parks Making Hygiene a competitive exam. Leveraging Music for Hygiene. Hygiene as Pop Culture- Comic Books and Podcasts Dettol Banega Swasth India has employed different means and mediums to perpetuate a hygiene culture in India. School Hygiene Education Program- A Hygiene Curriculum that has been distributed in schools across India. Dedicated Hygiene Corners and proper handwashing and toilet facilities. Training- Capacity building workshops with teachers, educators, change makers, leaders, village panchayats, ASHAs, housing societies etc. Clean-up and Waste Segregation Drives- Cleaning drives across India. Community Workshops- Addressing the issues of open defecation, diarrhoel cases, hygiene habits for new mothers etc. Experiential Games and Activations- Activations like Dettol Germ bursters, Dettol Glitter etc. aim at teaching children the importance of hygiene. Pop Culture for Hygiene- This includes Swasth Anthem by Indian Ocean, Dettol Anthem for Covid warriors, Comic Books, Podcasts, Folk Music for Swasth Bharat, Tik Tok Handwash Challenge etc. Infrastructural Interventions- The initiative has built infrastructure to sustain hygiene habits- like Hygiene Play Parks, Climate Resilient Schools, etc.
Data
Dettol Banega Swasth India initiative set out to create and perpetuate a hygiene culture in India. While we set out to achieve certain goals, we ended up generating impact beyond imagination. 68% increase in the adoption of safe menstrual practices. 78% reduction in the number of families defecating in the open. 97% increase in technical knowledge (pedagogy and conceptual clarity) among teachers regarding the Hygiene curriculum. 92% Improved community outreach communication in simple and creative ways to the neighborhoods of the school- Parents & Children are educating them regarding best practices in WASH. Program outreach cost saved, due to children sharing their knowledge with the community, is ₹ 57 Lakhs per year. 250+ Schools awarded by PM under Swachh Vidyalaya (Clean School) Awards. Social Return on Investment- For every ₹ 1 invested in the Dettol School Hygiene Education, it delivers social value of 1:33 for conventional schools and 1:52 for Religious Educational Schools. This means that for every 1 rupee invested in the School Hygiene Education, delivers Rs 33 and Rs 52 of social value respectively.
Solution
Results
Over the last decade, our campaign has- Reached 30 million children across 8,40,000 conventional schools, 1 lakh faith-based institutions, 500,000 Madrasas and Gurukuls. Engaging 4,30,000+ children with experiential games like Dettol Germ Bursters, and improving knowledge of handwashing by 90% in test schools. 45 Mega Clean-up drives, while collecting 7.2 million kilograms filth. Over 1.16 crore volunteering hours invested for clean-up drives. Providing handwashing and sanitation to 30 million pilgrims at Kumbh Mela in Phase 2. Swasth Kits were distributed to 10 million new mothers, thus protecting 100,000 kids from preventable diseases like Diarrhoea and Pneumonia. During Covid times, we generated 1,90,612 Covid heroes' stories on our personalized handwash packs, while giving hope to 2900 million people with the Dettol Anthem. The first-ever Dettol Hygiene Olympiad saw participation from 30 million children, thus improving their handwashing and sanitation practices. The Dettol Hygiene Music Album garnered a reach of 12.8 million.
