Lifebuoy today visited Internally
Displaced Persons (IDP) in Dauda Camp, Makurdi, Benue State in respect to further spread the message of hygiene and disease
prevention through hand washing and sanity.
With over 80 percent of IDPs in the camp exposed to menacing
diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia – which are preventable by
regular handwashing with soap – the representatives of the Lifebuoy
brand brought the behavioural change message of hand-washing to the camp
with the hope of reducing these health risks by two-thirds come 2020.
According to Lanre Odupe,Lifebuoy brand manager : “Nigeria has one
of the largest child mortality rates in the world. We were the country
with the 3rd highest number of new-born deaths in 2016 and is projected
to overtake India by 2021. Such unpleasant statistics are a reminder
that the local corporates have a role to play in raising awareness for
interventions such as hand washing to reduce child mortality, and
generally improve the health of as many families as possible.”
Benue State First Lady, Dr. Eunice Ortom, who was present at the
visit further added that although the state government is doing a lot in
responding to the needs of the IDPs by providing relief materials and
facilities at the camps, there has also been a need for private
organizations to play active roles in furthering their wellbeing through
health education and the provision of materials as demonstrated by
Lifebuoy and Unilever.
“The influx of persons into the camps owing to unfortunate
circumstances increased the number of IDP camps and the population of
these camps have continued to grow. The state government is doing all
within its power to see that there is no lack in the camps. Hence, it is
great to see corporates like Unilever step up and not only educate the
internally displaced persons on proper hygiene practices, provide items
that will go a long way in improving the standard of living in the
camps,” she said.
This outreach is in keeping with Lifebuoy’s ambition reach 1 billion people with handwashing behaviour change messages by 2020.