Worldwide Locations
Hygiene Expert Initial starts Global Sanitation Campaign
21/10/2008
JOHANNESBURG, October 21, 2008 – Every 15 seconds a child dies from diarrhoea.. 2.6 billion people around the world have no access to basic sanitation facilities. This is why sanitation and hand hygiene specialist Initial launches an international campaign to help raise awareness for the need of sanitation.
Initial starts its global sanitation campaign in UN’s International Year of Sanitation to support the UN’s drive to halve the number of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015. Furthermore, the company will support sanitation projects in Africa through the international organisation ‘Save the Children’.
A taboo topic
Divisional Managing Director Henry Chandler, who will be heading the campaign, comments: “Sanitation remains a taboo topic, yet it is a necessity in both the developing and the developed world.Diarrhoea is accountable for 17 percent of children deaths under five worldwide – that’s a shocking and shaming fact which many people in the developed world are unaware of.” Initial wants to mobilise business and public opinion, win people’s support, and help make a real difference to people’s lives in developing countries. Chandler: “The International Year of Sanitation is a fantastic UN initiative to which we, as a hygiene specialist, are very proud to contribute.”
Helping undeveloped and developed countries
Initial will support Save the Children projects in Africa to set up sanitation facilities at local community schools. The company’s involvement will not only be focused on developing countries. More than half of the population in developed countries fail to wash their hands after using the toilet. Therefore Initial will create an educational programme for primary schools around the world to teach children about hand hygiene. Chandler: “We want as many employees as possible to become involved in this and help raise the profile of our campaign in their local communities.”
Website
The company has launched a global website - www.initialsanitation.com - which acts as the key communication vehicle during the campaign. Besides providing information on the sanitation issue and the importance of hand hygiene, it also shows details on the projects Initial is participating in and allows visitors to find out how they can contribute to sanitation projects.
Sanitation, vital to human health and economy
Following the International Year of Sanitation, Initial will continue its efforts to keep the global sanitation issue on the agenda. “We strongly believe that sanitation is not only vital to human health, but also generates economic benefits for the developing world. It contributes to dignity and social development, it helps the environment, e.g. water quality, and the improvement of sanitation is definitely achievable,” says Henry Chandler.
About Initial
Initial is proud to be a truly South African company and has been granted membership of the “Proudly South African” Campaign. The Company takes its responsibility to all its stakeholders and the country in which it operates seriously: Its rich history of transformation, both internally and externally, goes back many years and progressed with the announcement of KUHLOBA as the BEE partner in 2004. At Initial South Africa we not only believe that transformation is critical to the success of our business, but believe that it is a prerequisite for sustainable growth. Initial South Africa has four major business divisions, these being:
- Initial - Washroom Services
- Rentokil Pest Control - Pest Control and Fumigation Services
- Ambius - Internal and External Plant Services
- Hygiene@Work - Techno-Hygiene, Dust Mats and Bio-Dosing Services
With close to 1000 employees, we have representation in all major business centres within South Africa.Rentokil Initial South Africa aims to be the best environmental service provider, ensuring a healthier South Africa.
Initial considers itself to be a specialist in sanitation. Initial has an active policy on Corporate Social Responsibility and wishes to contribute to a selected number of social, economic and environmental initiatives. For further information, please visit www.initial.com.
About the International Year of Sanitation (IYS)
Recognising the impact of sanitation on public health, poverty reduction, economic and social development, and the environment, the UN General Assembly declared the year 2008 the International Year of Sanitation. The goal of the IYS is to raise awareness and to accelerate progress to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015. To achieve this, the UN Water Task Force on Sanitation is coordinating the IYS, and seeks to increase awareness and stimulate decisive actions among politicians and government officials, general public and media, corporate decision makers, academics, religious leaders and celebrities. esa.un.org/iys
For further information, please contact:
Kim van Draanen,
Marketing Manager,
Initial
012 676 3800
Email: kim.vandraanen@initial.co.za
