For corporate citizens, corporate social responsibility implies a commitment to business morality, contribution to the sustainable development of the economy and solutions to improve the living conditions of workers and their families and society as a whole.

A child is given Mead Johnson’s dairy product under a project to support children with congenital metabolic disorders undertaken by Mead Johnson Nutrition Vietnam, a division of Reckitt, since 2006.

The general picture of CSR in Viet Nam is very promising. The government and enterprises are the two major players in the promotion of CSR. While the enterprises determine the success of CSR, the government promulgates policies, supervises the enforcement of regulations, and provides information on CSR issues.

According to a survey by Nielsen, 73 per cent of Vietnamese respondents are willing to pay more for products made by companies with outstanding CSR practices. Especially amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, CSR activities have been undertaken in every part of the world, bringing hope and confidence to poor and disadvantaged people. Many enterprises have incorporated the principle of “humanism” in the core of their development efforts.

Most multinationals see this as a must-to-do task for corporate sustainability when they want to set foot in Vietnam.

Some said CSR efforts related to daily life and healthcare would make more sense to Vietnamese consumers, regardless of their age and economic and educational backgrounds.

Metabolic, a 15-year journey

Reckitt, a multinational, is seen as an outstanding example of a company with healthcare-related CSR activities. It aims to protect, heal and nurture in its relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world through a wide range of meaningful activities.

Reckitt gifts equipment to healthcare institutions around Vietnam that will help early cure jaundice in at least 150,000 babies in the next five years

In the last 15 years many children have fortunately been rescued thanks to a national-level programme to support children with congenital metabolic disorders (Metabolic) by Mead Johnson Nutrition Vietnam, a division of Reckitt, since 2006 in cooperation with the Department of Maternal and Child Health and the National Children's Hospital.

Every year the company provides special dairy products to babies who are allergic to cow’s milk or cannot absorb breast milk and other dairy products. This has helped more than 450 children with congenital metabolic disorders over the years.

From a professional perspective, Dr Vu Chi Dung, head of the department of endocrinology - metabolism – genetics at the National Children's Hospital, said congenital metabolic disorders are a group of rare diseases. 

He added that in the last 15 years Mead Johnson has provided large quantities of special nutritional products for affected children of various ages. In other words, it has contributed to reducing the burden on families whose children suffer from the disease.                 

In addition to providing milk, the Metabolic project has also supported training of healthcare workforces at hospitals across the country.

Towards a cleaner , healthier world

Metabolic is one of many CSR activities to support human health that Reckitt, a corporation that listens to consumers to better serve and enhance their lives as well as act as accountable owners in Vietnam, has carried out. Oscar and Dettol are other projects that respond to such criteria.

Soren Bech (L), general director of Reckitt Vietnam, said one of his company’s most cherished values is listening to and sharing with less fortunate people

For the Oscar project, Reckitt Vietnam collaborates with the Ministry of Health’s Department of Maternal and Child Health to draft communications materials. Their purpose is to raise awareness among people, mothers and or caregivers about neonatal jaundice. They also provide training to medical staff in early detection, diagnosis and treatment of neonatal jaundice. According to doctors, with the 100 items of equipment donated by Reckitt, they  will help early cure jaundice in at least 150,000 babies in the next five years.  

More than 11,000 500ml bottles of Dettol by Reckitt, or nearly 6,000 liters of the disinfectant, was donated to major hospitals across the country in August and September last year amid the Covid-19 outbreak.