Improving health & well-being

By the end of 2019, we had reached over 1.3 billion people through our programmes on handwashing, safe drinking water, sanitation, oral health, self-esteem and skin-healing.

Lack of safe drinking water, and poor sanitation and hygiene, cause millions of preventable deaths each year – particularly among children. We achieved our target of helping more than a billion people to improve their health and hygiene in 2018 – two years early. This will help reduce the incidence of life-threatening diseases like diarrhoea, which is one of the main causes of deaths in children under five.

The way the world produces and consumes food today is unsustainable. Malnutrition is unacceptably high and at the same time more than 1 billion people are obese. By 2020, we will double the proportion of our portfolio that meets the Highest Nutritional Standards – reducing sugar, salt and fat – based on globally recognised dietary guidelines. This will help hundreds of millions of people to achieve a healthier diet. Our aim is to provide products that taste good, make people feel good and are a force for good.

Our approach encompasses health and hygiene and improving nutrition. We are uniquely placed to deliver change at scale as we are the only multinational consumer goods company with a portfolio across Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, Foods and Refreshment. The business case is compelling – delivering our commitments is driving more growth, lower costs, less risk and more trust.

Our approach, which directly supports a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, focuses on:

• Selling appealing products with health, hygiene and nutrition benefits
• Encouraging people to take action on health, hygiene and nutrition through behaviour change programmes
• Advocating to bring these issues higher up the national and international policy agenda
• Working with partners dedicated to health, hygiene and nutrition, to broaden our impact.

^† Independently assured by PwC

^* Results are reported by UNICEF in accordance with its methodology and includes reach from direct and indirect initiatives over 2012-2019; and also includes Cleaner Toilets, Brighter Futures reach of over 70,000 children by the end of 2019.

^∞  The Domestos reach reported in our Annual Report and Accounts 2019 was under-reported and should say “Domestos has built on its partnership with UNICEF, which helped more than 28 million people (between 2012 and 2019) access better sanitation and hygiene”.