Kimberly-Clark, through its Foundation and Corporate Contributions programs combined with the generosity and involvement of employees around the globe, has helped countless children and families live a healthier and happier life. K-C’s ongoing support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is but one example.

For the past two years, K-C’s support of UNICEF’s work on behalf of some of the most vulnerable children in Brazil has enabled UNICEF to provide access to healthcare and other vital services in both extremely rural areas of the Amazon and semi-arid region and in low-income urban communities in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

The First Corporate Supporter of a New and Innovative Program for Children in Urban Centers

Over the past few decades, Brazil has experienced accelerated and unplanned urbanization, an increase in population, and inequalities of income and opportunity, all of which have negatively impacted communities in urban centers. UNICEF developed the Urban Platform Program to support children and adolescents in these communities by reducing their vulnerability to death and illness, social isolation and exclusion. The program’s goals include improving healthcare and local services, creating or strengthening existing social networks and supporting the development of healthcare and recreational facilities, schools and cultural centers for the benefit of children and adolescents.

In November 2007, Kimberly-Clark's Brazilian team went with UNICEF officials to visit a number of UNICEF programs to better understand the problems facing children in their country. Based on what they saw, the Kimberly-Clark Brazil team determined that helping improve the lives of children where K-C Brazil employees lived and worked would be a meaningful and impactful investment. By signing on to support UNICEF’s Urban Platform Program, K-C became the first and largest corporate supporter of this unique initiative with nearly $1 million in funding. UNICEF hopes to build upon the successes reached in Brazil and replicate this initiative in urban areas in other developing countries around the world.

K-C Brazil has been involved in the development of the Urban Platform Program from the start. Jefferson Correia, director of public relations for K-C Brazil, attended the first planning session to begin program implementation.

“The Kimberly-Clark team in Brazil invested our time and resources to help select the sites where the Urban Platform Program can make the most difference," said Marco Iszlaji, Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, Kimberly-Clark Brazil. "By partnering with UNICEF every step of the way, the Kimberly-Clark team will continue to grow our community and build the future leaders of Brazil."

Since the initial planning session, the program has made tremendous progress by convening authorities, the private sector, public services, non-governmental organizations and the community to undertake an inter-disciplinary and multi-agency approach to begin solving the issues facing these underprivileged children in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro including:

• Recruiting 25 universities to help train communities on program implementation
• Signing on 18 mayoral candidates who pledged to support the program
• Working with children and adolescents in the target communities to create artwork educating the public about the issues they face

“By bringing together representatives from all sectors of Brazilian society, including the key support and expertise that Kimberly-Clark brings to the table, UNICEF believes that we can truly make lasting change for children in these previously forgotten communities,” said Caryl Stern, president & CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

With Kimberly-Clark’s support of the Urban Platform Program, UNICEF hopes to help close to 300,000 children by addressing the following issues:

• Child Mortality
• Low birth weight
• Malnutrition among children under two years of age
• Mortality due to intentional and unintentional injuries
• Prenatal care
• HIV testing for pregnant women and treatment for HIV-positive pregnant women to stop vertical transmission
• Water and sanitation improvements
• Solid waste management
• Group therapy for control of domestic violence

Saving Children’s Lives in Rural Areas through Improved Access to Health Care

On the November 2007 trip, K-C employees also witnessed the great needs facing children in rural areas. In keeping with the history of the K-C/UNICEF partnership, the company also chose to invest in programs to help two of the populations with the greatest needs in Brazil: the children of the quilombolas and indigenous communities in the Amazon and rural northern semi-arid region. These children face possibly the worst social conditions of the country and are at increased risk for under-five mortality due to their lack of access to adequate health care.

K-C is supporting UNICEF programs that work to both educate healthcare workers to respond to the unique needs of these populations and educate the children’s families on good health and hygiene habits in the home and on how to work with the health care system to ensure the best care for their children.

The K-C-supported project is being carried out in the Amazon region in two indigenous communities of two different states (Manaus and Pará), and in the northern semi-arid region in six quilombola communities in four different states (Maranhão, Ceará, Pernambuco, and Bahia).

Significant progress has already been achieved with the investment from K-C; for more information, click here.

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