Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) on Thursday announced the extension of its collaboration with the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) to support delivery of essential hygiene products to tea plantation workers in Assam, in the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to a statement, the collaboration will benefit families residing in the tea-estates of the region and facilitate the reach of key communication assets and the availability of essentials such as soaps and toilet cleaners for the tea plantation workers.
The initiative focuses on enhancing awareness related to Covid-19 among the tea plantation workers and local communities and help them take necessary precautions to stay safe during the pandemic.
Training modules and short videos created by HUL to train frontline healthcare workers in the tea estates on response and containment measures related to Covid-19 will be developed.
Sharing details on the initiative, Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and MD, HUL, said, "The tea industry is one of the oldest industries in India -- a mainstream industry of the northeast region -- and one of the largest employers in India's organised sector. As India's largest tea company, we are committed to help keep those working in tea plantations safe and our partnership with UNICEF aims to do just that."
UNICEF has been playing a key role in the tea plantations since 2010 through various interventions and the primary focus has been on the well-being of children and women.
Yasmin Ali Haque, India Representative, UNICEF, said, "Around two million people work in the Indian tea industry, most of them residing in the tea estates. UNICEF has been working in tea gardens since 2010 through Indian tea associations to improve working and living conditions of plantation workers.
"Protecting this population from the Covid-19 infection is one of our highest priorities. With HUL's support, we are confident of improving awareness levels and capacity building of healthcare workers across tea estates helping them fight this pandemic."
In early April 2020, HUL committed Rs 100 crore towards helping India fight the Covid-19 pandemic. As a part of this effort, HUL has rolled out many initiatives to ensure that citizens of India, across all walks of life have access to essential products such as soaps, sanitisers and toilet cleaners, and understand the causes and implications of the virus through simple and direct communication.
HUL's collaboration with UNICEF is yet another measure to effectively and promptly identify communities affected by the Covid-19 crisis, and jointly guard their interests, while also driving widespread awareness campaigns around myths and facts related to it.