During this challenging phase of COVID-19, Hindustan Unilever Limited stands united with India. After announcing our commitment of Rs 100 crores to help the nation fight Coronavirus recently, a lot of work has been carried out by our teams to help combat the situation.
As a responsible company, we have amplified our efforts to ensure that we overcome this global health crisis together.
Donating products for better health
We are supporting hospitals in Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Tamil Nadu and several other areas by donating Lifebuoy soaps, handwash, sanitisers, Domex floor and bathroom cleaners.
We are also distributing health kits, including health and hygiene products and food items for patients, health officials and low-income families.
To ensure safety, Lifebuoy sanitisers have been given to local police in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Chennai, Indore and Bangalore.
In partnership with United Nations Development Programme, we are distributing sanitation and hygiene products to Sanitation Workers across 15 cities in India including Mumbai.
In partnership with United Way we have distributed Lifebuoy Soaps to 40,000+ Sanitation Workers across Mumbai. We have also distributed hygiene and sanitation products to about 13 hospitals in Mumbai.
Through Project Prabhat, our sustainable community development initiative, we are supporting 1,00,000 migrant labour families by donating food kits and essential hygiene products. We are also distributing soaps to 5,00,000 families in communities around our factory sites.
We have donated Horlicks biscuits and sachets to 5 lakh vulnerable children in the age group of 3 years to 10 years in New Delhi. These are being distributed through 10 government centres and shared as part of ration to BPL families.
We are donating 1.5 lakh packs of Horlicks for healthcare workers to all main hospitals in 12 key cities in India treating COVID-19.
We have partnered with Fullarton Distilleries to manufacture and donate 10 Lakh (1 Million) medical-grade sanitisers to doctors and nurses. Developed and manufactured by HUL’s Lifebuoy and Fullarton, this exclusive batch of sanitisers will be distributed through HUL’s network to hospitals and COVID-19 hotspots across India.
Collaborating for better medical infrastructure
To augment the quarantine system instituted by the government, HUL has tied up with Apollo Hospitals, State Bank of India, Oyo, Lemon Tree and others to create isolation facilities that are equipped with medical supervision. This will help reduce the burden on hospitals while providing acute care for the patients in need.
HUL donates >74,000 testing kits to tackle spread of COVID-19 in India through early detection. These kits will be used to conduct free testing of patients at government hospitals.
In partnership with public health authorities (in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka), efforts are being made to upgrade the medical infrastructure in hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. We have provided PPE, medical & hygiene essentials including equipment.
HUL is providing 29 ventilators to government hospitals in Maharashtra. The ventilators have been delivered to the Thane Health Department for use across several hospitals across the state.
Together with the local administration in Haridwar, HUL has helped setup a 30-bed isolation facility in record time of three days to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
Creating mass-awareness
We have partnered with UNICEF to create a large scale awareness campaign on social distancing and hygiene, which are critical steps for us as a nation to fight the disease. The mass media campaign, titled ‘#BreakTheChain’ / #VirusKiKadiTodo’ has simple yet powerful five and 15-second informative assets to empower the general public with prevention strategies to protect themselves against COVID-19.
Based on three key themes - Social Distancing, Handwashing and Generosity, we will take these short informative assets across India through television, news portals and social media channels. This campaign will reach more than 100 million households across India.
HUL is implementing mass communication to drive home the message of social distancing and the importance of personal hygiene among citizens. The Company has partnered with Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to create public awareness campaign on COVID-19. HUL has also joined forces with PayTm and YouWeCan (Foundation of cricketer Yuvraj Singh), to raise money for soap distribution.
Our purpose-driven brand Lifebuoy has partnered with Indian rapper and singer Badshah to launch a rap version to its Iconic jingle ‘tandurusti ki raksha.’ The catchy tune gives handwashing a fresh spin while driving home the message of its importance to curb COVID-19.
HUL & UNICEF present #VirusKiKadiTodo | India, Ghar Pe Raho
Extending #BreakTheChain programme to tea estates
In partnership with UNICEF, we are extending the #BreakTheChain programme to tea growing communities in Assam, to positively impact their health and well-being during the crisis. Through the programme, we are providing sanitation and hygiene products such as soaps, Domex surface and toilet cleaners and spreading awareness about protective measures such as social distancing and handwashing. So far, we have reached almost 2,000 households, touching almost 10,000 people across three tea estates in Assam. Going ahead, we plan to scale this up across a large number of plantations in Assam.
Ensuring safety of employees and our extended family
The health & safety of our people is our topmost priority. We have implemented Work From Home wherever possible. Our Supply Chain and Sales safety protocols comply with World Health Organisation (WHO) standard and incorporate the best practices in safety management for operations. We have implemented strict standards of access control, social distancing in the Supply Chain and Sales force, use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) as well as strict hygiene and sanitisation procedures. We have also taken various measures to support our business partners including special medical coverage insurance for the frontline.
We are proud of our Supply Chain and Sales personnel who are working tirelessly, in collaboration with the government, to serve citizens across the nation by ensuring continued essential product supply during the national lockdown.
Financial crunch should be the least of our people’s troubles. Therefore, early payments have been released to small and medium-sized suppliers. In some cases, credit has been extended to small scale customers, distributors and partners.
We partner the government in its move to set up Suraksha stores across India to ensure consumers have continued access to essential items and other daily necessities. We are implementing the initiative in the states allotted to us through our wide network of distributor salesmen. To ensure the safety of shoppers and staff, we will follow the guidelines and comply with the health and safety checklist as outlined by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
Right from donating essential products to the needy sections of the society, to undertaking investments towards upgrading the health care facilities in testing centres and hospitals, HUL is committed to making a positive difference. We have also ramped up the production of our health and hygiene-related products to make them available at the time of need.
Together, we will fight this pandemic. Stay safe.