Postal Department releases special Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna Postal Cover

Ms. K Noorjehan, Chief Post Master General, Maharashtra Circle released a special Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna Postal Cover on the occasion of World Health Day. The postal cover has been released to recognise Lifebuoy’s pioneering rural health and hygiene education initiative, Lifebuoy SwasthyaChetna. Launched in 2002, this ground-breaking programme has covered more than 17000 villages across the country, with no signs of slowing down.

Commenting on the occasion, Ms. K Noorjehan said, “I am privileged to release the Special Postal Cover in recognition of the phenomenal work done by Lifebuoy. On the occasion of World Health Day, I urge all my brothers and sisters to take personal hygiene habits like washing hands with soap seriously. I congratulate Lifebuoy and Hindustan Lever for initiating and assiduously implementing this socially beneficial movement”.

Mr. Nitin Paranjpe,Executive Director, Hindustan Lever Limited, said “We are delighted to be India’s first brand to receive the honour of the special Postal Cover. The Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna movement has touched 20 lakh children across 8 states and created awareness about the threat of invisible germs and basic hygiene practices to counter the threat. So far we have covered over 17,000 villages and are happy to extend our efforts to another 10,000 villages this year. This recognition will go a long way in highlighting the importance of basic hygiene practices that help prevent diseases”.

About Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna:

Ignorance about basic hygiene practices leads to high mortality rates caused by preventable diseases like diarrhea in rural India. True to its vision of making people feel safe and secure by meeting their hygiene and health needs, Lifebuoy saw a role for itself in hygiene education.

Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna has been developed around the insight that people believe “visible clean is safe clean”. Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna establishes the existence of “invisible germs” through a Glo-Germ demonstration. It has educated people about maintaining good health through the practice of basic hygiene habits like washing hands with soap.

The Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna campaign is divided into various phases/exposures. In the initial phase, the Lifebuoy representative and an assistant interact with young students and the influencers of the community like the Sarpanch, medical practitioners, Panchayat members, etc. A number of tools like a pictorial story in a flip chart format, the Glo-germ demonstration and a quiz with attractive prizes to reinforce the message are used to make the module interactive and gain involvement and participation from the school children.

This interaction is replicated with the rest of the community on Swasthya Diwas and the key messages on hygiene and health are reinforced through subsequent contact programs, thus preparing the community to sustain good health practices by internalizing these messages. In subsequent interactions, the parents are exposed to the health and hygiene communication. The purpose is to present the activity as the villagers’ self initiative, wherein the Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna HDO is a facilitator and an influential personality from the village is the chief guest. This brought about an ownership of the campaign from the village community.

This campaign is implemented by Ogilvy Outreach, the rural activation division of Ogilvy and Mather. It focuses on media dark districts in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal.

After completing over 17000 villages between 2002 and 2005, an additional 10000 villages are being added in 2006. This makes Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna the single largest programme of its kind in India.

About Lifebuoy:

Lifebuoy is India’s largest selling soap brand. Since 1895, Lifebuoy has been synonymous with health and hygiene through its germ protection credentials.

Constantly evolving and keeping pace with the times, the brand has undergone historic relaunches (in 2002 and in 2004) and now offers contemporary, affordable germ protection for the entire family. Lifebuoy has made the transition from being a tough, masculine soap that washes away germs to one that offers an enjoyable and signature health experience for the entire family.

In line with its objective of making health and hygiene accessible to all, Lifebuoy has now has a range of bar soaps that offer Lifebuoy’s signature germ protection (@ Rs 10 for 100g) in a range of 4 variants targeted at distinct consumer clusters. For young adults with pimple-prone skin, Lifebuoy Clear Skin (@ Rs 13 for 75g) offers proven reduction in pimples through its unique, breakthrough bathing bar formulation. Lifebuoy is also available in liquid hand wash format (@ Rs 35 for 200 ml).

About Hindustan Lever Limited:

HLL is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company, touching the lives of two out of three Indians. HLL’s mission is to

its presence in over 20 distinct categories in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. The company meets everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care, with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.