Unilever France joins forces with UNICEF
Unilever France and UNICEF France officially signed a partnership on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at a press conference during which Gérard Bocquenet, CEO of UNICEF France, received a cheque for €120,000 from Unilever France President Bruno Witvoet, to fund programs for access to drinking water and sanitation in developing countries. A salutary initiative.
Nearly 3,000 children under the age of 5 die every day from illnesses linked to drinking unsafe water and lack of access to hygiene. “Despite significant progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, at least 11% of the world’s population – or 783 million people – still lack access to safe drinking water, and billions remain without sanitation,” explains David Delienne, UNICEF Regional Advisor for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. Unilever France has made access to water and hygiene a priority, and has chosen to support UNICEF in its actions in the field, in order to concretely combat the risks of diarrhea and respiratory infections.
Numerous collaborations between Unilever and UNICEF are planned in 2012 and in the years to come, to finance programs for access to drinking water and sanitation in developing countries.
Starting this autumn, the Domestos brand of cleaning products will donate €0.10 per product purchased to UNICEF.
The Signal brand is continuing its commitment this winter with a donation to UNICEF for every “Like” clicked on its Facebook page.
Unilever France also mobilizes all its 2,800 employees in France in fundraising and awareness-raising initiatives. The Group encourages its employees to set up innovative sporting or artistic projects in support of UNICEF.
As part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, Unilever aims to help 1 billion people improve their health and well-being by 2020. Hygiene promotion is a key element in achieving this goal, with the active collaboration of international organizations such as UNICEF.
According to Bruno Witvoet, President of Unilever France: “Improving health and hygiene has been the very essence of Unilever since its origins in the 1890s, when our products were already providing millions of people with access to good hygiene and well-being. The “Unilever Plan for Sustainable Living”, which celebrates its first anniversary today, is the concrete expression of this historic commitment to sustainable, responsible and profitable growth for all. But the success of our ambition for the health and well-being of a billion people can only be achieved with the collaboration and expertise of recognized international organizations that are particularly active in the field, such as UNICEF.”
“Water is a key resource for the survival and well-being of every human being. That’s why UNICEF fights every day to make it accessible to all. Today, we are deeply grateful to Unilever for joining our fight and helping us to ensure the improvement of children’s health and well-being by 2015 and beyond”, says Gérard Bocquenet, Executive Director of UNICEF France.
Alongside Oxfam, PSI, Save The Children and the World Food
Programme, UNICEF is one of the five international humanitarian organizations supported by the Unilever Foundation, the creation of which was announced on January 27, 2012 by Paul Polman, CEO Unilever Group, at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Julien Tissot
[email protected]
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