Harpic Bangladesh Celebrates World Toilet Day 2024

Harpic, Bangladesh's leading toilet cleaner brand, celebrated World Toilet Day by raising awareness about the importance of sanitation and hygiene—the event aimed to promote better toilet habits and highlight the need to improve sanitation conditions nationwide.

The event featured a panel discussion with prominent experts, including Nusrat Imrose Tisha, Brand Ambassador for Harpic; Md Monirul Alam, WASH Specialist at UNICEF; Md Fazlul Hoque, Deputy CEO of SAJIDA Foundation; and Sabrin Maruf Tinni, Marketing Manager at Reckitt Bangladesh. Md Rakib Uddin, Manager – External Affairs at Reckitt Bangladesh, moderated the discussion.

All the panel members spoke about the situation of sanitation and toilet hygiene in their respective fields. They talked about the various challenges they face in tackling sanitation problems in Bangladesh. It was also highlighted that both private and public institutions need to come forward and work together to address these challenges and give people the basic right of sanitation they deserve.

Harpic believes that hygiene is a fundamental right, not a luxury, and provides effective hygiene solutions to improve health conditions in Bangladesh. They run various social programs nationwide to raise awareness about hygiene, especially among marginalised communities. A key highlight of the event was Harpic's partnership with SAJIDA Foundation to support 1,000 sanitation workers and their families. Through this initiative, the Harpic Healthcare card was introduced to sanitation workers, free of cost, who provided discounted healthcare services at over 250 hospitals. On top of that, hygiene education sessions are being conducted for the children of sanitation workers. The program also focuses on teaching children about habits of maintaining hygiene with the launch of "Dipu-Tushi's Hygiene Adventure", a comic book by Harpic that teaches children about personal hygiene, toilet cleanliness, healthy eating, and pollution through fun stories and engaging exercises. This book is part of Harpic's long-term efforts to improve hygiene awareness, and Harpic plans to expand these projects.

Jack Sim, also known as Mr. Toilet, is the founder of the World Toilet Organization and World Toilet Day. During the event, a video was presented in which Jack Sim shared a few words, thanking the team, regarding Harpic's efforts in improving the lives of sanitation workers and their children in Bangladesh.

Dr Tanvir Ahmed, the Keynote Speaker at the event, said, "Bangladesh has made good progress in reducing open defecation, with less than 1% of people still doing it. However, only 5% of the population has access to safe sanitation, below the global average. Rapid urban growth, natural disasters, and weak infrastructure are still big challenges for the country's sanitation systems."

The event concluded with a remark from Sabrin Maruf Tinni, Marketing Manager - Reckitt Bangladesh, who said, "We created this platform for people to share their stories, struggles, and successes related to sanitation. In Bangladesh, sanitation is still a work in progress, and much more must be done. Harpic is committed to creating a bigger impact by collaborating with other partners. We are proud to contribute to improving the lives of sanitation workers and the general public through our social initiatives."

World Toilet Day, observed annually on November 19, is a global event dedicated to raising awareness about the sanitation crisis. A significant number of people worldwide still lack access to proper toilets, and many continue to practice open defecation, contributing to health and environmental challenges. The day also supports the efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to provide everyone with access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene by 2030.