Reckitt Benckiser has joined hands with New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Indian Medical Association (IMA), Rotary Blood Bank and Sahayog to partner for the nation-wide campaign titled  ‘U & Me Against Dengue’. The 2 month long campaign, aims to raise awareness and control the rising number of dengue cases across the country.

The drive ‘U & Me Against Dengue’ is the biggest and the first initiative by Mortein NaturGard to form a public-private partnership for creating awareness amongst citizens. The campaign has a dedicated website which not only offers insights on dengue but also shares real time updates on the progress across cities.

The drive will reach out to over 65,000 school children across 130 schools and 85,000 households to conduct fumigation drive, street plays, neem plantation and cleanliness drive. The campaign will be rolled out in phases across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkatta, Pune and Ahmedabad. In addition, there is a 24x7 toll free dengue helpline: 1800-200-0801, where consumers can get information pertaining to symptoms and necessary measures to prevention.

“It is imperative to empower consumers with the knowledge and tools which can help prevent from the life threatening disease like Dengue. We have been successfully running these awareness campaigns in Malaysia, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in the past, said Chander Mohan Sethi, senior vice president, South East Asia, Reckitt Benckiser.

According to Dr Chandrakant S Pandav, professor & head, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS prevention is better than cure and in the case of dengue, where there are not yet any vaccines to cure this virus, prevention becomes all the more important.

“The key requirement of a dengue patient is platelets of matching blood group.  Our association with the campaign by Mortein NaturGard allows us to equip better and ensure safe blood donation, said Sudarshan Agarwal, Emeritus & Founder President, Rotary Blood Bank.

Reckitt Benckiser is a global leader in health and  hygiene with brands like Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Lysol, Dettol, Clearasil, Veet, Harpic, Bang, Mortein, Finish, Vanish, Woolite, Calgon, Air Wick, and French’s.  Over 70 per cent of its core revenues are generated from health and hygiene categories of the portfolio.