Leh, 12th Sept: Reckitt, the world’s leading consumer health and hygiene company, under its flagship campaign, Dettol Banega Swasth India (BSI), today launched the Dettol School Hygiene Education Programme in Ladakh in collaboration with the Directorate of School Education, Ladakh. The initiative extends structured hygiene education to children in one of India’s most remote regions, advancing Reckitt’s commitment to deliver better health in more hands, every day while strengthening last-mile access to health and hygiene knowledge so no one is left behind. The programme was formally launched at Council Model School, Ayu Saboo, Leh, in the presence of Bhanu Prabha, IAS, Administrative Secretary, School Education Department, UT Ladakh.
Situated in one of India’s most remote and high-altitude regions, Ladakh presents a unique opportunity to strengthen health and hygiene awareness among children and communities that are often difficult to reach through conventional interventions. Through age-appropriate and interactive learning, the programme aims to build knowledge, behaviours and practices around five key hygiene pillars: personal hygiene, hygiene at school, hygiene at home, hygiene during illness, and hygiene in the neighbourhood. By equipping children with practical hygiene skills early in life, the initiative seeks to encourage lasting behaviour change that extends beyond classrooms into homes and communities.
Bhanu Prabha, IAS, Administrative Secretary, School Education Department, UT Ladakh, said, “Schools are not just places where children learn; they are where lifelong habits are shaped. Children are our multiplier force, and when we help them build healthy habits early in life, they carry these practices back to their families and communities, creating a wider culture of health and hygiene. We are grateful to Reckitt and the Dettol Banega Swasth India team for strengthening hygiene education in schools across Leh. By combining classroom learning with practical demonstrations and engaging tools, this initiative will help children not only understand the importance of hygiene but also practise these behaviours in their everyday lives. Such efforts can create a more consistent and sustained approach to healthy practices while enabling children to become active ambassadors of hygiene within their families and communities.”
Prof. Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs, South Asia, MENARP, and Africa, Reckitt said, “At Reckitt, we exist to deliver better health in more hands, every day and are committed to leaving no one behind, especially when it comes to access to health and hygiene education. The expansion of Dettol Banega Swasth India to Ladakh reflects our belief that geography should never be a barrier to healthier lives. We are grateful to the Directorate of School Education, Ladakh for their support as we work towards taking evidence-based hygiene education to children in one of India’s most remote regions, helping them become agents of behaviour change in their schools, homes and communities.”
Under the programme, Jagran Pehel will lead on-ground implementation, helping provide students and teachers with access to a comprehensive hygiene education curriculum supported by student workbooks, teacher training manuals and curriculum-based classroom activities. Learning will be further reinforced through animated hygiene education content, child-friendly videos developed in partnership with Sesame Workshop, digital hygiene games and an interactive hygiene chatbot designed to make hygiene learning engaging, accessible and age appropriate.
The programme will also strengthen hygiene awareness within schools through hygiene-themed comic books, awareness posters, 3D DIY hygiene and sanitation kits, and interactive game-based learning tools. To encourage the adoption of healthy behaviours, schools will conduct live handwashing demonstrations highlighting the correct handwashing technique and the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of infections.
For over a decade, Dettol Banega Swasth India, one of the largest and longest-running public health movements, has been reaching more than 30 million children through interventions across 900,000+ schools and enabling more than 43 billion handwashing occasions. The programme combines hygiene education with practical behaviour change interventions to help children adopt healthy habits and become ambassadors of hygiene within their families and communities. The launch in Ladakh reflects Reckitt’s continued commitment to expanding access to health and hygiene education for communities that are often difficult to reach through conventional programmes.
