Kenya gets major health drive boost

The Dettol New Mums program has been running for the last four years and will be undertaken at more than 200 select maternity public health centres in various parts of the country - Kisumu, Mombasa, Eldoret, Nakuru and Nyeri.

According to Reckitt Benckiser East Africa, Marketing Manager Nelly Wainaina, the program will be expanded this year to cover more health centres and institutions with the key objective of promoting the need for good hygiene practice.

“Due to the need to increase the awareness of the importance of hygiene in prevention of infectious diseases among Kenyans, we shall continue to invest in this programme as part of our commitment to establish the important role of antiseptic-disinfectants in everyday hygiene,” Wainaina explained.

In the past years, the manufacturers has invested more than Kshs20million in the program and managed to train more than 200,000 new mothers.

In this annual program, new mothers are instructed on the use of Dettol antiseptic liquid and other products such as soap. Participating health centres also receive multi-usage posters and hygiene posters for use in their public health awareness programs.

Global statistics show that infectious diseases caused by germs are now the world's biggest killers of young adults and children. Everyday, 36,000 people die from infectious diseases.