Reckitt, Jagran Pehel Launch Dettol Hygiene Prog in Ladakh

Leh | Sept. 12: Reckitt has expanded its flagship Dettol Banega Swasth India (BSI) campaign to Ladakh, partnering with the Directorate of School Education to deliver structured hygiene education to children in one of India’s most remote and high-altitude regions. Formally launched at Council Model School, Ayu Saboo, in Leh, the initiative targets five essential pillars: personal hygiene, school hygiene, home hygiene, hygiene during illness, and neighborhood cleanliness. Officiating the launch, 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.” She added, “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.”
Executed on the ground by Jagran Pehel, the programme introduces an immersive curriculum featuring student workbooks, teacher manuals, 3D DIY kits, comic books, digital games, interactive chatbots, and child-friendly animated content developed with Sesame Workshop. Over the past decade, BSI has reached more than 30 million children across 900,000 schools, driving over 43 billion handwashing occasions. Highlighted by live handwashing demonstrations to promote core sanitation techniques, this extension reinforces Reckitt’s commitment to last-mile health accessibility. 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.”