• Global and Arab Hygiene Councils support Dettol's 'Mission for Health' initiative

The Global and Arab Hygiene Councils will discuss three key topics impacting the regions health, including current infectious disease threats such as the recent reports from the Middle East on the Novel Coronavirus; mass gatherings and the associated threats to health and hygiene standards in schools and hospitals across the Middle East.

Following the conference, the results of the Councils' discussions and recommendations will be made public in an official report.

The Hygiene Councils, which actively support Dettol's 'Mission for Health', an initiative which aims to actively help improve health and hygiene standards across the Middle East, will use the conference as a platform to analyse the most recent hygiene figures and identify potential threats of disease to the region's population.

The collective work of the Arab Hygiene Council (AHC) and Global Hygiene Council (GHC) is to monitor infection threats and respond to emerging problems by creating practical and simple recommendations which can improve hygiene levels in the home and in public areas.

The work of the AHC and the GHC actively corresponds with Dettol's 'Mission for Health' initiative, which focuses on educating and supporting mums, children and families across the region to make better and more informed choices for their health and hygiene.

AHC member, Dr. Muhammad Halwani, Consultant in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, Assistant Professor Faculty of Medicine, Al Baha University, Saudi Arabia, said, "The formation of the Arab Hygiene Council in 2012 was a very positive step for the management of health issues in the Middle East, as we are an independent body of experts that analyse health and hygiene trends and provide advice to the public and relevant bodies, on how to mitigate the spread of illnesses. Working with the Global Hygiene Council allows us to combine regional knowledge with international best practice which ensures that we stay fully aware and prepared for health issues that may potentially threaten the region's population."

Chairman of the Global Hygiene Council, Professor John Oxford, Professor of Virology at St Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK, said, "Our meeting with the AHC comes at a very pertinent time as reports of the SARS like Novel Coronavirus are becoming more prominent. Each year, the Hygiene Council meets to discuss current infection issues and the hygiene situation in member's countries, plus discuss the latest scientific international research. Members use these meetings to understand where our combined efforts should be focused, and create recommendations to help the public to protect themselves and their families from infection."

"The GHC was founded in 2006 and since then we have grown to a body of 17 members from all over the world, with top experts in hygiene and hygiene-related fields, including microbiology, virology, infectious disease, immunology, and public health," he added.

Dr. Hanan Shaban, Medical Marketing Manager, Reckitt Benckiser, Middle East said, "Dettol's 'Mission for Health' initiative is an on-going educational programme that helps people understand how they can protect themselves and their families against disease and illness. The mutual support between the Councils and the 'Mission for Health' initiative is invaluable, as they provide us with current data on the most pressing health and hygiene issues both regionally and globally."

Recent AHC and 'Mission for Health' activities in the Middle East include the launch of the regional schools hand washing programme, through which over 1.2million school children across the region will receive vital interactive hand-washing education during 2013, in a further effort to reduce the spread of illnesses.