Hygiene soap brand, Lifebuoy, has celebrated Global Handwashing Day in Ghana by appointing two “H for Handwashing” Chief Education Officers (CEOs) who will spread the important message of handwashing with soap and water.

The two CEOs were announced during a celebration at the Christ the King International School in Accra after a nationwide selection process where two students, Belicia Asigri of Services Basic School and Kwame Danquah of Christ the King International School were handpicked from dozens of children under the age of 12.

With Lifebuoy having already reached over 6 million schoolchildren across Ghana with educational material to improve handwashing behaviours, the new CEOs will be accelerating the impact through peer-to-peer learning and calling on schools to integrate hygiene into national curriculums.

In 2020, Lifebuoy launched its award-winning campaign, “H is for Handwashing”, aiming to fundamentally change the world’s handwashing habits and accelerate handwashing behaviour change for children.

Through this campaign the brand’s intent was to transform the letter H in the alphabet into a symbol for Handwashing.

This year, Lifebuoy is harnessing the power of peer-to-peer learning within the context of early childhood learning. Numerous studies have shown that children are more likely to change their behaviour when influenced by others, with one study finding 59% of students changing their behaviour after being influenced by their peers.

Therefore, Lifebuoy is calling on young changemakers to take on the mantle of “H for Handwashing” Chief Education Officers (CEOs) to inspire and cultivate a new generation of hand hygiene ambassadors.

Osato Evbuomwan, Category Manager Skin Cleansing of Unilever Ghana said, “Lifebuoy’s purpose has always been about preventing illness by promoting good hand hygiene through handwashing with soap. This Global Handwashing Day, we are incredibly excited to recognise the fundamental role kids can play in spreading the message that H must stand for Handwashing. Through the power of peer-to-peer learning, we hope to inspire more kids to rise and change the world’s handwashing behaviours.”

For decades, schools have been Lifebuoy’s most impactful touchpoint, teaching children from all backgrounds about the important habit of handwashing with soap. The “H for Handwashing” CEOs will be visiting schools to spread the importance of handwashing with soap to thousands of other children nationwide, using Lifebuoy’s decade-old proven behaviour change material, including handwashing games, posters, comic books, handwashing steps videos, and hygiene kits to enable them to spread the important message.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Education, Director for Pre-Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education, Honourable Nana Baffuor Awuah, lauded the use of children as peer educators, saying, “I have no doubt that this initiative will raise a generation of hygiene-conscious citizens who will add to the development of the nation through sensitization in their communities and become responsible change agents. It is possible that these CEOs will one day become the change makers required to move Ghana’s development forward.”

In addition, he commended Unilever Lifebuoy for serving Ghanaians with their hygienic soap and their many innovations to promote handwashing with soap to save lives and lessen the number of people who fall sick from germs”

Lifebuoy co-founded Global Handwashing Day with the Global Handwashing Partnership in 2008. The brand runs one of the world’s largest hygiene behaviour change programmes backed by strong partnerships, reaching over 1 billion people across more than 30 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America since 2010.