Health, nutrition & hygiene
Health is a major focus of our company — the health of our employees and the health of our consumers. It is also one of the main focuses of our social responsibility programmes.
Striving to improve health
Our companies are involved in a wide range of projects designed to improve health. These include AIDS counselling and education programmes, sponsoring sporting events and teaching people about the importance of oral hygiene, good nutrition and heart health.
Africa: Fortified foods improve health
"It started as a small lump on my throat and gradually swelled to the size of a melon".
Argentina: Testing the blind
"My work for Unilever Argentina makes me feel useful and gives me the opportunity to work with other people in the same situation." says 57- year-old Marta Zampaglione, who has been blind since 1992.
Australia: Bushells Driver Reviver
Road safety experts regard driver fatigue as one of the biggest killers on Australia’s roads. In some states fatigue is estimated to contribute to nearly a fifth of fatal accidents.
Bangladesh: Bringing health care to remote communities
With only 20 doctors for every 100 000 people, many Bangladeshis have little access to medical treatment. In the remote delta regions of Jamuna and Brahmaputra, however, a Unilever-sponsored hospital ship is bringing health care to people.
Brazil: Free laundry & volleyball in the favelas
Improving the lives of the residents of Heliópolis, the biggest favela in São Paulo.
East Africa: Detecting lightning on our tea estates
After months without a rain cloud in the sky, the long spring rainy season comes as a relief to East Africans. Less welcome is the lightning. Every year, many people are injured and sometimes even killed by lightning flashes – a regular accompaniment to the monsoon storms.
Global: Helping to improve oral health
Healthy teeth are important, not only for good oral hygiene and health but also because they help people feel confident and live life to the full. Changing people’s brushing habits is an important step to improving long-term oral health.
Global: Partnership with UNICEF
On 9 December 2004, Unilever signed an agreement with UNICEF to work together towards making a measurable difference to childhood mortality by 2015.
India: Lifebuoy promotes handwashing with soap to improve health
Diarrhoea causes over two million deaths a year. Handwashing with soap and water can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by up to 48%.
India: Medicine on the move
India has enjoyed considerable success in recent years, but inequalities of opportunity still exist. One area is in health care. In the remote province of Assam, we are supporting mobile clinics to bring health services to local communities.
Kenya: BAACH partners tackle hunger through development
As part of the Business Alliance Against Chronic Hunger, Unilever has teamed up with over 30 companies to help the government take action against hunger in rural areas in Kenya.
Kenya: Fighting HIV/AIDS
Every year 80 000 Kenyans die from AIDS-related diseases. Most of them are under 30.
Nigeria: Promoting health & hygiene
Ten years ago, if you were born in Nigeria, there was a more than one in ten chance you wouldn't make it to your fifteenth birthday.
Nigeria: Working in partnership to prevent blindness
Unilever Nigeria is working with NGO Sightsavers International to help prevent the disease trachoma, a leading cause of blindness in the developing world.
South Africa: Combating HIV/AIDS
"Some people think I am wrong even to talk about AIDS. For me it has become my life's work."
South Africa: Domestos brings hygiene advice to counter disease
A clean, flushing toilet is something that many take for granted in the 21st century.
Sri Lanka: A refreshing pilgrimage
Sri Lanka prides itself on being a multi-faith society. The Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Hindu religions are all represented in this small island state.
Tanzania: National HIV/AIDS Care & Treatment Plan at Unilever Tea Tanzania
Unilever Tea Tanzania is participating in a groundbreaking partnership that aims to provide anti-retroviral treatment to 400 000 people by the end of 2009.
USA: Making time for food
It may come as a surprise that in the USA, the world's richest country, one in eight people still live below the official poverty level.
