The world's top children's charity, UNICEF, and LIXIL, a manufacturer of innovative water and housing solutions, have announced the expansion of the "Make a Splash! 3.5 million people, especially women and children will benefit from a cooperation with India to create a functional sanitation and hygiene ecosystem. In order to increase the accessibility, affordability, and quality of viable sanitation goods and services, SATO, a subsidiary of LIXIL and a provider of affordable toilets and handwashing solutions, will lead initiatives. SATO will collaborate with UNICEF to mobilise communities and create sanitation markets in the states of Bihar and Odisha.
This growth builds on the first three years of the partnership's success, which saw 2.9 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania benefit from better sanitation and hygiene.
Make a Splash! is in its fourth year. ” The scope has now been expanded to cover India along with Indonesia and Nigeria, three of the world’s most populous countries.
Over the course of the two-year programme, the partnership's activities will primarily be focused on:
Strengthening markets and services in the area of hand hygiene by filling in gaps and promoting cutting-edge goods like the recently introduced SATO Tap handwashing station.
Retrofitting Toilets: Educating, developing, and putting into practise programmes that support safely managed sanitation through the use of cutting-edge toilet solutions and instruction of sanitation workers/masons to deliver expert services for sustained management and use.
The cooperation will aid in ensuring sanitation products are accessible at reasonable prices for those who need them by creating demand through UNICEF's sanitation and hygiene initiatives and by supplying SATO's solutions that are created based on user needs and preferences. Additionally, by strengthening regional supply chains and educating toilet installers, it will concentrate on assisting government laws and regulations as well as helping to expand markets.
According to Mr. Amit Konlade, Leader of Global SCM & Operations at LIXIL, “In Odisha and Bihar, many rural families lack access to safe sanitation and hygiene. Through this partnership, we now have the opportunity to tackle this challenge by introducing SATO’s handwashing and toilet products, which offer reliable solutions for people with limited access to water. We are excited to join UNICEF in strengthening the market and accelerating access to affordable toilets and handwashing solutions for all.”
Welcoming the partnership, Nicolas Osbert, Chief of WASH, UNICEF India, said, “In India, access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation is critical for promoting healthy lives, especially for vulnerable women and children. UNICEF is proud to partner with LIXIL in improving access to innovative and scalable sanitation and hygiene solutions to 3.5 million people across Bihar and Odisha with strategic advocacy for strengthening the enabling environment, capacity strengthening of critical stakeholders and awareness-raising interventions for safe sanitation and sustainable hand hygiene infrastructure and practices.”
