ITC’s Savlon Swasth India Mission begins #HandwashFirst on World Hand Hygiene Day

Reiterates the message of washing hands before eating in an immersive and experiential food culture.

Every year, May 5th is earmarked by the World Health Organisation to celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day. Unlike any other celebration, the World Hand Hygiene Day instils an essential hygiene practice in the ambit of infection prevention and control. ITC’s Savlon Swasth India Mission has been at the forefront, driving innovative experiences encouraging washing of hands and also facilitating accessibility and affordability of preventive hand hygiene solutions in India. This year, Savlon Swasth India Mission reiterates the message of #HandwashFirst through an immersive and culturally nuanced aspect of food and its appeal across a varied taste palate in India, mostly enjoyed with hands!

In India, 1.4 billion hands carry food from plates to mouths every day. Eating with hands is an integral part of our Indian culture and identity. It is a unifying factor across the diverse culinary spread in India. Savlon Swasth India makes this insight the base to weave a unique narrative and amplify the theme for this year’s World Hand Hygiene Day – Unite for Safety: Clean Your Hands.

The film gives us a glimpse of India through its local food cultures, where the common unifying theme is the love for food and eating with hands. The glimpses of delectable food made and relished with hands in a lyrical video takes us through the taste palate across India stimulating and teasing our taste buds. The background score enlivens the visual journey further and reels us back into the message of clean hands with #HandwashFirst as the creative film ends.

Sameer Satpathy, divisional chief executive, personal care products business, ITC Limited, adds, “Savlon Swasth India Mission has been on a journey to create a strong culture of safety that generates awareness and encourages adoption of preventative hygiene practices beginning with the simplest and the easiest hygiene norm of washing hands. While much has been done in the last two years to enhance the adoption of hand hygiene, it is critical to keep reminding everyone of this simple habit which often gets overlooked. Through the cultural relevance of food and the unifying factor of eating with hands, our message this year of #HandwashFirst, is designed to help sustain the habit of hand hygiene in health care, while bringing people together in support of the global hand hygiene improvement.”

The film was conceptualized by Ogilvy, India and will be aired across traditional and digital media to spread awareness commemorating the World Hand Hygiene Day.