Mumbai, Jan 16, 2025: Taking forward their strategic partnership to set up 10 new Suvidha Centres across Mumbai, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and JSW Foundation, launched the second Suvidha Centre in Dindoshi, Goregaon. This initiative builds on the successful Suvidha Model initiated by HUL in 2016, making this the 20th centre as part of HUL’s public-private partnership with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), JSW Foundation and HSBC India.
Suvidha is a purpose built, sustainable and first-of-its-kind urban water, hygiene and sanitation community center that provides hygiene and sanitation solutions to low-income households in Mumbai.
The Suvidha Centres are designed to address the comprehensive hygiene and sanitation needs of low-income communities, offering all essential services under one roof. The tested and proven holistic approach is built around human centric design, providing safety to women & children, and working with the communities. These facilities, in addition to strong community engagement and strong operating processes leads to high satisfaction and improved health outcomes among users.
The new centre will benefit an additional 20,000 people, providing access to safe toilets that run 24x7, purified drinking water, showers, and laundry services. Services will be offered at affordable rates. The centres are inclusively designed keeping in mind the needs of women, children, elderly and the differently-abled. The centre has separate washrooms for men, women and children with facilities for senior citizens and the specially-abled. To ensure safety of the women using the facility, the washrooms are equipped with a ‘panic button’ for emergencies.
A total of 180 million liter has been saved cumulatively through water management practices at the Suvidha Centres. The centres are powered by solar energy. HUL and JSW Foundation will run a comprehensive behavior change program in the communities around the centre to ensure improvement in individual and overall community health.
“At HUL, we're proud to drive transformative change through our Suvidha centres, providing best-in-class hygiene and sanitation facilities. This pioneering model, initiated in 2016 by HUL stands as a testament to the power of partnerships. We, along with our partners remain committed to creating a healthier and more sustainable future for all,” said Sashidhar Vempala, Chief Sustainability Officer, Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
Commenting on the launch, Harshvardhan Nawathe, CEO of JSW Foundation, said, “We remain committed to strengthening urban communities through our collaboration with Hindustan Unilever Limited and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Our primary focus is providing accessible and affordable sanitation facilities in densely populated pockets across Mumbai while ensuring the safety of women and children.”
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