Promoting child health and development: Unilever joins hands with UNICEF

Cairo, October 23, 2018 - Unilever Mashreq, represented by Signal, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), launched the joint programme  “Children's Awareness for Water Conservation, Health and Proper Nutrition”.
The launch event was attended by Mr. Ashraf Bakry, Managing Director of Unilever Mashreq, Ms. Sherine Moneam, Personal Care Director and Executive Board Member of Unilever Mashreq, Mr. Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Egypt, Engineer Mamdouh Raslan, Chairman of the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater, and Actress and Singer Donia Samir Ghanem, UNICEF Egypt’s Ambassador along with officials, public figures and senior media professionals.
“Signal's collaboration with UNICEF comes as a part of its continuous work in community development to ensure creating shared values within the societies in which we operate. It complements Unilever Mashreq’s awareness programs on oral and dental health. This is an integral part of Signal's strategy to disseminate messages promoting the integrated health and nutrition approach throughout the Egyptian governorates” said Mr. Ashraf Bakry, Managing Director of Unilever Mashreq. He added: "The UNICEF-supported awareness program works on conveying positive messages on health and nutrition to 800,000 children between the ages of 6 and 11."
The program covers three main components, including building the capacity of implementing partners, led by the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater, in addition to the teachers in the targeted schools in Minya and Fayoum, to educate students on basic health and nutrition practices. The program also includes the development of a multimedia campaign and a digital platform to raise awareness on hygiene and sanitation issues among Egyptian parents and caregivers.
“Strengthening partnerships and uniting all community forces for children’s interest is at the heart of UNICEF's work.  We all need to work together to ensure that every child will lead a happy, healthy and safe life. Our partnership with Unilever Mashreq is an important contribution to our efforts to protect children from health risks and to promote positive health behaviors among children and their families" said Mr. Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Egypt.
Ms. Sherine Moneam, Personal Care Director and Executive Board Member of Unilever Mashreq, hailed the partnership with UNICEF and the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater. She added: “The joint programme will start its interventions with a multimedia campaign which includes broadcast public service announcements as well as child friendly publications and materials emphasizing the concepts of hygiene and balanced nutrition. This will be complemented by an equipped van with specialized trainers who will disseminate key messages through interactive work among children, parents and caregivers at community level.” She further affirmed that throughout its journey, Signal's oral health program has reached more than 10 million students throughout 29 years of work. 
Engineer Mamdouh Raslan, Chairman of the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater highlighted the long-term cooperation with UNICEF. “Over the past years, UNICEF supported the Holding Company though comprehensive contributions in rural areas. This included expanding water connections and promoting hygiene practices in households via disseminating important messages and we are happy to continue this work with the new joint programme.”
Actress and Singer Donia Samir Ghanem, UNICEF Egypt’s Ambassador, announced at the launch event her support to the awareness campaign, lending her time and voice to presenting the campaign’s messages in a special music video.