‘Make a Splash!’ partnership focuses on reaching people in Bihar & Odisha with improved toilets and handwashing facilities

LIXIL, maker of pioneering water and housing products, and UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organization, have announced the expansion of the ‘Make a Splash!’ partnership into India to build a viable sanitation and hygiene ecosystem serving 3.5 million people. SATO, part of LIXIL and provider of affordable toilets and handwashing solutions, will be spearheading efforts to expand the availability, affordability, and quality of viable sanitation goods and services, and will jointly work with UNICEF to mobilize communities and build sanitation markets in the states of Bihar and Odisha.

This expansion builds on the success of the partnership’s first three years, which resulted in improved sanitation and hygiene for 2.9 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. In its fourth year of “Make a Splash!” the scope has now been expanded to cover India along with Indonesia and Nigeria, three of the world’s most populous countries.

The partnership’s scope of activities over the course of the two-year program will primarily focus on:

Hand Hygiene: Strengthening markets and services through addressing gaps and promoting innovative products, such as with the recently-launched handwashing station, SATO Tap.

Retrofitting Toilets: Informing, designing, and implementing programs that promote safely managed sanitation through the use of innovative toilet solutions, and training sanitation workers/masons to provide skilled services for sustained management and use.

Through demand generated by UNICEF’S sanitation and hygiene activities, and through SATO’s supply of solutions that are designed based on user needs and preferences, the partnership will help ensure sanitation products are available at affordable prices for the people who need them. In addition, it will focus on supporting government policies and regulations and helping develop markets by enhancing local supply chains and training toilet installers.

Mr. Amit Konlade, Leader, Global SCM & Operations, LIXIL said:

“In Odisha and Bihar, many rural families lack access to safe sanitation and hygiene. Through this partnership, we now have the opportunity to tackle this challenge by introducing SATO’s handwashing and toilet products, which offer reliable solutions for people with limited access to water. We are excited to join UNICEF in strengthening the market and accelerating access to affordable toilets and hand-washing solutions
for all.”

Welcoming the partnership, Nicolas Osbert, Chief of WASH, UNICEF India said,

“In India, access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation is critical for promoting healthy lives, especially of vulnerable women and children. UNICEF is proud to partner with LIXIL, in improving access to innovative and scalable sanitation and hygiene solutions to 3.5 million people across Bihar and Odisha with strategic advocacy for strengthening the enabling environment, capacity strengthening of critical stakeholders and awareness-raising interventions for safe sanitation and sustainable hand hygiene infrastructure and practices.”

LIXIL (TSE Code: 5938) makes pioneering water and housing products that solve everyday, real-life challenges, making better homes a reality for everyone, everywhere. Drawing on our Japanese heritage, we create world-leading technology and innovate to make high quality products that transform homes. But the LIXIL difference is how we do this; through meaningful design, an entrepreneurial spirit, a dedication to improving accessibility for all, and responsible business growth. Our approach comes to life through industry leading brands, including INAX, GROHE, American Standard, and TOSTEM. Approximately 55,000 colleagues operating in more than 150 countries are proud to make products that touch the lives of more than a billion people every day.

SATO, part of LIXIL, is a social business that is empowering communities so they can create a better life and a brighter future through improved sanitation and hygiene. We are dedicated to tackling the global sanitation challenge by offering innovative, aspirational, and affordable toilets and handwashing solutions in communities around the world which lack access to water and sewerage infrastructure. SATO leverages local and global partnerships to bring the most value to communities. For more information, visit: https://sato.lixil.com/.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.  For more information about UNICEF and its work for children visit www.unicef.org
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