Airtel, Unilever: Grooming tomorrow’s leaders by ensuring wellbeing, oral health

Among kids, teeth-brushing every morning and night could be seen as a routine task they quickly want to complete without giving it necessary attention. Even at that, they often want to eat sweet, chocolate and other sugary snacks that could have harmful effect on their teeth if care is not taken.  

As simple as the teeth may seem among every other parts of the human body, any problem with the teeth - cavity in teeth, toothache, gum diseases, etc. - could give terrible discomfort to an individual.  That is why oral hygiene is necessary for staying healthy and active.

Little wonder leading telecoms operator, Airtel and Unilever see oral health as sine qua non to wellbeing and progressive performance in academics among students, who are especially prone to paying little attention to their teeth.   The two companies recently collaborated with the Nigerian Dental Association to promote oral hygiene among students in Nigeria.

The oral health initiative was targeted at students in the schools adopted by Airtel Nigerian under its Adopt-a-School initiative. These schools are located in areas largely considered as under-served and therefore need support.

Through the CSR health awareness programme, the telco and its partners are educating primary school students across Nigeria on how to stay healthy through oral hygiene. Schools that have benefitted from the programme include: Oremeji Primary School II, Ajegunle, Lagos; St, John’s Primary School, Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun; Community Primary School, Amumara, Imo; Presbyterian Primary School, Ediba, Cross River.

Speaking on the initiative, Regional Operations Director, Lagos Region, Airtel, Mr. Adedokun Oye, noted that the telco has taken a step further to care for Nigerian children by ensuring their health and well-being through proper oral hygiene in order to bring out the best in them.

“Airtel and Unilever are providing kids in schools with gift items like tooth brushes, toothpastes and leaflets that offer tips on oral hygiene. When children stay healthy, it will be easier for them to learn,” he said.

Brand Building Director, Unilever Nigeria, David Okeme, noted that Unilever’s global oral care social missions is to improve the oral health of 100 million people by 2020 by convincing them to brush day and night to stay healthy and happy, and live a more enjoyable and fulfilled life.

“In partnership with the Nigerian Dental Association, Universal Basic Education Board and the Federal Ministry of Health, Pepsodent is committed to improving the oral health of 10 million children in Nigeria by 2020 through the Brush Day & Night schools’ programme, and one million school children will be reached directly in 2015. We believe kids can change the world by adopting healthy oral habits and they can convince their parents to do same,” he added.

During the campaign in Lagos, Dr. Abu Dorcas from the Nigerian Dental Association (NDA) took the children through a brief session on how to maintain oral hygiene. She encouraged the children to always brush daily, morning and night, using fluoridated toothpaste.  “It is important to stay away from sweet and sugary things in order to maintain oral hygiene. Eat more fruits and vegetables, drink sufficient water. More importantly, try and see a dentist every six months,” she said.

Head Teacher, Oremeji Pry. School II, Mrs. Animashaun Risikat, commended Airtel and Unilever Nigeria for giving priority to the health of students and teachers through the programme.

She said: “This initiative will go a long way to boost the hygiene of both teachers and the students. As we know, health is wealth. If the kids are healthy, they will be happy to learn.”

Similarly, St. John’s Primary School the Head Teacher, Mrs. Okubanjo Adesola noted that the deep concern for the wellbeing of Nigerian kids prompted the companies to come up with the programme. With a programme like this, both companies have given encouragement to our pupils and teachers. It shows that they value our wellbeing. We are grateful to Airtel Nigeria and Unilever for this commendable project,” she said.

Education Secretary, Ijebu North Local Government Education Authority, Mrs. Mrs. Mistura Balogun described the campaign as a key programme which could further boost the academic performance of the pupils. “If the kids are healthy, they come to school every time and pay attention adequately. The end result of this is that they perform well,” she added.

After listening to the health talk and demonstrating how to maintain oral hygiene, some students of the school also voiced their appreciations.

They hailed Airtel and Unilever for providing them with toothpaste, toothbrushes and oral health tips.  Rachael Elia, primary six student of Oremeji Primary School said, “I will be brushing in the right way as we were taught by the dentist. It is the proper way to brush. We thank Airtel and Unilever for this.”

Habeeb Isiaka of primary 5 said, “From now, I will try to brush morning and night so that my teeth can be strong and healthy.”

In similar vein, Rofia Yekini of Primary 5 said: “When I follow the instructions given to us by the dentist I believe I will have good health. I thank Airtel for this.”