For Immediate Release
November 19, 2021
UNICEF and LIXIL Corporation

LIXIL and UNICEF expand ‘Make A Splash!’ partnership after reaching
2.9 million people with sanitation and hygiene solutions
Partnership expanding into India, Indonesia, and Nigeria

Tokyo, 19 November 2021 – LIXIL, maker of pioneering water and housing products, and UNICEF, theworld’s leading children’s organization, today announced the expansion of the ‘Make a Splash!’partnership. The expansion will reach children and families living in India, Indonesia, and Nigeria - threeof the most populous countries – with access to safe, clean toilets and hygiene solutions.
Launched in 2018, the ‘Make a Splash!’ Partnership combines the two organizations’ complementarystrengths to support progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6, achieving access to adequate
and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation by 2030. The scale-up of thepartnership builds its success of improving sanitation and hygiene over the past three years, reaching
2.9 million people in communities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.
The ‘Make a Splash!’ partnership aims to build viable sanitation and hygiene markets serving millions ofpeople - by expanding the availability, affordability and quality of goods and services. In addition to thethree new focus countries, the scope of activities of the partnership will also expand, focusing on:-Reaching people with better sanitation and hygiene options
Through UNICEF’s sanitation and hygiene demand generation activities, LIXIL’s design and supplyof solutions based on user needs and preferences, and joint capacity building activities-

Leveraging financing for sanitation and hygiene actorsTo support developing markets, including local suppliers and consumers-Supporting policies and regulation
Through monitoring and evaluation of national targets and strategies“Far too many children and their families lack access to safe sanitation and hygiene. To close this gapand protect the health of children all over the world, we have to move faster,” said Carla Haddad
Mardini, Director, Private Fundraising and Partnerships, UNICEF. “We need bold and innovative
partnerships like Make a Splash! to accelerate this progress, using our shared vision and respective
strengths to achieve sustainable solutions. I’m proud that we are building on our success and expanding
this partnership to reach more people.”‘Make a Splash!’ is UNICEF’s first global shared-value partnership in the water, sanitation and hygiene
sector, and the first of its kind with a Japanese company. Together, the partners have promoted safe
sanitation and hygiene with communities, while building competitive sanitation markets, through1 | Pageprograms that help children and families stop open defecation and access affordable and appealing
solutions. The joint efforts focus on market driven programs, advocacy efforts to draw attention toopportunities in the sanitation economy along with greater sanitation prioritization and investment. Onthe-ground activities range from building supply chains, distribution networks, and enabling local
entrepreneurs and masons to sell, install and service the products.
“LIXIL’s purpose is to make better homes a reality for everyone, everywhere. Through this partnershipwith UNICEF, we have witnessed our products and services support children and families accessing safer
sanitation and hygiene,” said Jin Montesano, Director and Chair of LIXIL’s Corporate Responsibility
Committee. “We are now excited to bring this innovative collaboration to many more people. We
welcome partners to join us on the ground to drive our initiatives to make safe toilets and hand washing accessible to all.”
UNICEF works on the ground in more than 100 countries to provide safe sanitation for the world's mostunderserved communities in rural and urban areas, and during emergencies, by mobilizing
communities, building markets for sanitation goods and services, and partnering with governments toplan and finance sanitation services. Its efforts also extend to the supporting of sanitation technologies
to make basic toilets accessible.
LIXIL applies its design and technology for water products to meet users in over 150 countries acrossthe world, including the SATO brand, that provides aspirational and affordable toilet and hygiene
products for communities and households that may not have direct water connections or use onsite
sanitation systems. Spearheading the company’s Corporate Responsibility commitment in “GlobalSanitation and Hygiene,” SATO is a social business that drives R&D and business operations tailored tothe needs of emerging markets, including lack of infrastructure, lower income levels, and environmental
restrictions, such as water scarcity.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, 30 per cent of the world’s population – or 1 in three people– did not have access to a handwashing facility with water and soap at home. The partnership rapidly
expanded to meet this need. UNICEF shared insights of the emerging needs and trends and SATO
combined this with its own market intelligence and built design prototypes. The result was LIXIL’sdevelopment of the SATO Tap™, a novel handwashing station that can be used anywhere, even without
access to running water. The SATO Tap™ incorporated standard SATO features including simplicity andaffordability. UNICEF provided feedback and contributed to the design process with its sector knowledge,
expertise and information of existing handwashing solutions.
Since the launch of the SATO Tap™ in June 2020, the partners have been promoting immediate andsustained hand-hygiene practices for the prevention of contagious diseases.
Find out more on the ‘Make a Splash!’ Partnership, here.
Read more on the ’Make A Splash!’ Partnership Progress Report (2020), here.

-EndAbout UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190
countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information
about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. UNICEF does notendorse any company, brand, product or service.

2 | PageAbout LIXIL
LIXIL makes pioneering water and housing products that solve everyday, real-life challenges, making better homes areality for everyone, everywhere. Drawing on our Japanese heritage, we create world-leading technology and innovate tomake high quality products that transform homes. But the LIXIL difference is how we do this; through meaningful design,an entrepreneurial spirit, a dedication to improving accessibility for all, and responsible business growth. Our approachcomes to life through industry leading brands, including INAX, GROHE, American Standard, and TOSTEM. Approximately
55,000 colleagues operating in more than 150 countries are proud to make products that touch the lives of more than abillion people every day.

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