Springbok has partnered with hygiene brand Dettol to spread safe water usage tips across Gauteng schools and learning centres. Picture: Supplied.
Johannesburg - The recent cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal and other parts of the country, which has resulted in 43 cholera-related deaths, has jolted the Springboks into partnering with hygiene brand Dettol in a bid to promote safe water usage.
The partnership forms part of the recently launched Hygiene Quest Schools Programme, which aims to reach 1 000 000 (million) learners annually, with a focus given to early childhood development centres and special needs schools.
The partnership see sthe rugby team and the brand's representatives visit various learning centres in and around Gauteng in a bid to spread awareness and foster better hygiene practices.
It comes just a few weeks before the Springboks are preparing for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France in September.
The team says it is more important than ever to ensure fundamental hygiene measures are in place to help protect the 41-player South Africa Rugby Championship training squad and supporters from all kinds of infections.
Umar Khan, the marketing director of Reckitt SA, which makes Dettol, said the partnership kicked off last month (June), which is celebrated under Youth Month.
Last month, in celebration of Youth Month, the Springboks teamed up with their official partners, Food Forward SA, Freddy Hirsch and Dettol SA at the Kungwini Welfare Organisation in Pretoria, worked hand in hand to prepare 200 meals, interacted with the residents and encouraged hand hygiene advocacy in the community at Kungwini, Khan said.
Last week, the Gauteng Department of Health reported that it was slowly winning the fight against cholera, following a marked improvement in the number of reported incidents.
“Our collaboration with SA Rugby is an exciting one since we both share the common objective of helping protect the players and supporters of the game,” said Khan.
He said that was in response to the recent outbreak that plagued Hammanskraal, the Free State and other parts of the country, with Gauteng said to be the epicentre of the outbreak after it accounted for 89% of the cases since March this year.
“The partnership also furthers our objective to reduce the burden of diarrhoea in South Africa and help drive education on hand washing. The Dettol brand is built on trust, scientific efficacy, and educating consumers to help break the chain of infection,” Khan said.
The Star
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