By Chioma Obinna

Nigeria’s leading hygiene brand, Dettol, and its partner, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, WBFA, officially launched the third year of the Dettol Hygiene Quest Initiative even as they announced that the impact in 2024 revealed a noticeable communicable diseases drop of 34 percent among students in Abuja, Kwara, and Lagos state.

The Dettol Hygiene Quest curriculum under the umbrella of the Dettol Clean Naija Initiative, aims to reach 6 million children by 2030.

The programme is to instil lifelong hygiene habits by equipping them with essential lessons on handwashing and cleanliness and reducing absenteeism and hygiene-related diseases in children by 10 per cent.

Since its inception in 2013, the Dettol School Hygiene Program through which the Dettol Hygiene Quest curriculum is used has made a lasting impact, transforming hygiene practices in schools, homes, and healthcare facilities across Nigeria.

Now in its third year with the WBFA, the programme has conducted programs in Lagos, Kwara and Abuja in schools, hospitals and communities.

According to the officials “Over 269,758 school children have been taught the foundational principles of hygiene, 69,233 pregnant and lactating mothers have received evidence-based hygiene education, 32,928 community members have been empowered as health promoters within their households, and more than 2,300 healthcare workers have been trained to implement and sustain hygiene led care standards.

Speaking at the event, Head of External Affairs and Partnerships for Reckitt Sub-Saharan Africa, Cassandra Uzo-Ogbugh stated, “Hygiene education is the cornerstone of disease prevention, and through our continued collaboration with the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, we are making a tangible impact in fostering sustainable hygiene habits.

“Now in its 13th year, and having educated over 7 million children since then, we are proud to see the great impact the school hygiene program has delivered over the past years. With our implementation partners, the Wellbeing Foundation, we are proud of the impact in 2024; they include: In noticeable communicable diseases, a 34 percent , 22 per cent, and 16 per cent decrease among students in Abuja, Kwara, and Lagos state, respectively.

“In the area of school absenteeism rate due to any illness, there was a 40.91 per cent , 16.01 per cent and 12.28 percent decrease in Abuja, Lagos and Kwara respectively.

She continued that proper hand washing habits and wide-scale hygiene education can prevent many hygiene-related illnesses like diarrhoea and the flu. “I want to thank our partners, the Wellbeing Foundation, Governments and Facilitators across the states. As we commence the 2025 session of the Dettol School Hygiene Program, we look forward to an even bigger positive impact on the health of our children and students, but we ask that everyone join in the fight to eradicate the prevalence of hygiene-related diseases”, she said.

Speaking, Founder and President of The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Princess Toyin Ojora Saraki, emphasised the profound impact of this initiative while delivering her goodwill speech, “It is both an honour and a professional responsibility to mark the formal commencement of Year Three of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa Dettol Hygiene Quest Program. Our task, as we open this next implementation cycle is threefold: to sustain the quality and coverage of the programme with professional discipline; to continue to expand the year count and geographical reach, recognising the increasing demand for community-based hygiene education that is standardised and evidence-aligned; and (third), to ensure that our communication and advocacy fully reflect the complexity and ambition of this work. Public health is not advanced through proclamations alone, but through structured systems that educate, enable, and empower.

The WBFA Dettol Hygiene Quest is one such system, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that it endures, evolves, and delivers for the Nigerian children with us today, and generations”.

The event was a dynamic and engaging experience for the pupils, featuring interactive hand washing demonstrations, hygiene education sessions, and distribution of Dettol soaps and educational materials.