London, 16 July, 2020: Dettol maker RB has committed an investment of USD 25 million towards establishing a global institute aimed at improving public health research and innovation.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi Director Dr. Randeep Guleria has been appointed to the founding governing board of the initiative.
According to the RB officials, the global initiative will generate high-quality scientific research-based evidence to inform public health recommendations and promote behaviors that improve global hygiene.
The institute named Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute (RGHI) will bridge the gap amongst epidemiology, public health, and behavioral insights to generate practical, high-quality scientific research that leads to enduring behavior change.
RB CEO Laxman Narasimhansaid that the institute will brings together the highest quality scientific-based evidence and informed public health recommendations to generate large-scale behavioral change for a cleaner and healthier world. He added that the need for such steps has become increasingly important even as COVID-19 pandemic pushes public health to the top of the global agenda.
Through the establishment of a fellowship program with leading universities, RGHI will generate practical, informed public health research and recommendations that champion global hygiene as the foundation of health.
For the initiative, RB will convene a group of multi-disciplinary experts.
The RGHI Governing Board will determine specific areas for research and will work with the Expert Panel to award the fellowships to promising early career academics, who will become Reckitt Fellows. In addition to the fellowships, the Institute will award grants to institutions for open, collaborative, cross-functional research. Apart from New Delhi AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, the Expert Panel comprises many other renowned health professionals.
The list of founding members of the Governing Board and Expert Panel includes:
– Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
– Dame Sally Davies, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge
– Professor Feng Cheng, Research Center for Public Health, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Tsinghua
– Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
– Professor Dr. Albert KO, Department Chair and Professor of Epidemiology, Yale School of Medicine
– Professor Teo Yik Ying, Dean, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore
According to the RB, its commitment to global hygiene research and education includes:
- A multi-year, USD 25 million investments in research aimed at filling the gaps in our understanding of the science-based evidence around hygiene and the behaviors and solutions necessary to sustain it.
- The formation of an Expert Panel—comprised of cross-discipline luminaries—to guide these research efforts at leading academic institutions around the world.
- The creation of a Global Hygiene Institute with a Governing Board supported by full-time staff, ongoing research, and education programming driven by expert researchers and educators.
RB Chief Safety Officer Simon Sinclair has been named the Executive Director of RGHI. "The purpose of RB—to protect, heals, and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world—resonates more than ever in the current environment. I am excited to work with the Expert Panel and combine the deep experience in their respective fields with RB’s expertise in hygiene and consumer behaviors," said Simon Sinclair, RB Chief Safety Officer.
"We look forward to partnering across disciplines and geographies to generate the information necessary to support the right behavior changes for a healthier world," he added.
The formal launch of the Institute will be in the autumn of 2020.
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