Harpic celebrates World Toilet Day with continued efforts to develop public sanitation facilities

HARPIC, a brand of globally renowned consumer goods conglomerate Reckitt, recently marked the world toilet day by renovating and upgrading the sanitation infrastructure of Mirigama Base Hospital.

As a Base Hospital, this serves a large catchment area of the public that sees 750 to 1,000 people a day. the official handing over of the renovated facilities coincided with the World toilet Day 2021 which fell on 19 November under the theme of ‘Harpic: Mission Wellbeing’.

Reckitt Sri Lanka, the distributor for Harpic locally, has partnered with local health authorities throughout the years to deliver similar support to empower the local healthcare sector. Since 2017 they have worked to refurbish toilets in peoples’ homes, helping about 150 families per annum and a total of 600+ families over the last four years.

They also started a mobile bathroom initiative in 2015, which affects approximately 800,000 people a year. their commitment towards public sanitary facilities does not end there. For the last three years, they have conducted a sanitation program for the public bathrooms at Sri Pada which has provided facilities for 600,000 pilgrims.

Commenting on this initiative, Reckitt Sri Lanka Head of Marketing Shaminda Perera noted: “As a brand in the hygiene space, we’re committed to ensuring health and wellbeing of all citizens; as such, aligning with this year’s theme and our organisational ethos, we are glad to have been part of this renovation project. We look forward to partaking in similar initiatives in the future collaborating with the Ministry of Healthcare and Indigenous Medical Services.”

Last year, Harpic renovated toilets at the Minuwangoda Base Hospital. they also donated mobile sanitation units to the Anuradhapura Base Hospital which was a COVID-19 testing centre; another benefit for the public.

Harpic is a global brand with a wide-spread presence in six continents. Inspired by a vision to create a world where people are healthier and live better, Reckitt, the parent company, produces a popular range of health and hygiene products including Dettol, Lysol apart from Harpic. Harpic’s CSR efforts reiterate Reckitt’s commitment to cement its position as a socially, environmentally and financially responsible business enterprise.

Meanwhile Reckitt Sri Lanka Harpic Brand Manager Chanuka Perera reminded Sri Lankans to practice good toilet hygiene especially in the ‘new normal’ to stay healthy; he noted that toilets are generally a breeding ground for disease-causing pathogens but this could be managed and mitigated with daily sanitisation.

“It is common knowledge that unclean toilets spread diseases; this is why Harpic is on a constant mission not just to donate and upgrade but also educate the public. Every individual who uses a toilet must follow proper etiquette for their own sake and others.

“this year’s theme sums up this message very well: ‘Harpic: Mission Wellbeing’. We intend to work closely with students and other segments of society to further socialise this message in the coming year through our various initiatives.”