Dr. Myriam Assa Sidibe facts for kids

Dr. Myriam Assa Sidibe is a world expert in how brands can help people live healthier lives. She helps companies encourage good habits, like washing hands. She was born in France while her parents were studying there. As a leader at Unilever-Lifebuoy, Myriam helped start a movement that taught over 183 million people in more than 16 countries about important health habits.

Her Life and Learning

Myriam is known as a "third culture child." This means she grew up in many different cultures. Her family is originally from Mali, but she was born in France and has lived in over 20 countries!

After her parents finished studying, they went back to Mali to work for a non-profit group. Myriam lived there with her family until she was 12 years old. When she was 15, her father got a promotion at the UN, and the family moved to New York City. There, Myriam went to the United Nations International School and learned to speak English.

Myriam has studied a lot! She has a special degree called a doctorate in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She also has a Masters degree in Water and Waste Engineering from Loughborough University in the UK. Before that, she trained as an Agricultural and Environmental Engineer at McGill University in Canada.

Today, she is a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, where she continues her important work.

Her Work and Achievements

Myriam has worked in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. She has worked for both public groups and private companies, including the International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Programme, and Unilever.

She believes that businesses and non-profit groups should work together more openly. She says that companies can grow and make money by helping with social and health issues. This way, their efforts to help can last longer and be more effective.

Myriam is a board member for WaterAid, which is the world's largest non-profit group focused on water and sanitation. She is also on the board of the Kilimanjaro Blind Trust. She was also part of a special group for The Lancet, looking at the future of health in Africa.

She is also an honorary Assistant Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Back in 2007, the Financial Times newspaper wrote about Myriam. She talked about Lifebuoy's plans to encourage handwashing with soap in Africa. She said, "It's the fact that we hope to make money that makes our involvement sustainable." This means that when a company makes money from helping, they are more likely to keep helping for a long time.

Myriam has shared her work on handwashing and nutrition at many important events. Some of these include:

• The Scaling Up Nutrition global movement
• The Africa Shared Value Summit (2018)
• The Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development (2017)
• Women Leaders in Global Health (2017)
• Her famous TED Talk called 'The Simple Power of Handwashing'
• AfricaSan (in 2011 and 2015)
• Business Against Poverty - Business and Covid-19 (2020)
• A talk at Harvard Business School called Brands on a Mission – a New Contribution to Public Health (2019)

Books and Articles

Myriam has written a book and many articles about her work.

• Her book is called Brands on a Mission: How to Achieve Social Impact and Business Growth Through Purpose.
• She wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review titled “Marketing Meets Mission: How brands tackle Global Health Challenges” (2020).
• She also wrote for the Financial Times about “The rise of the anti-vaxxers is bad news for business” (2019).
• An article for Business Fights Poverty: “The role of business in preventing further spread of COVID-19” (2020).
• An interview with NPR: “How do you wash your hands to fend off coronavirus if water is scarce?”
• An article for the World Economic Forum: “What washing your hands can teach you about global change” (2018).
• An IPS News article: “Big Brands are fuelling the business of nutrition” (2018).
• An article for Nutrition Connect: “Together for Nutrition”.
• An article in The Lancet: “The path to longer and healthier lives for all Africans by 2030: the Lancet Commission on the future of health in sub-Saharan Africa” (2017).
• A Huffpost Article: “Let 5-year-old Sherry tell you how handwashing with soap saves lives” (2016).
• Another Huffpost Article: “Global Handwashing Day in the Time of Ebola” (2014).
• An interview with the US Chamber Of Commerce Foundation: “Unilever-Lifebuoy Mission: The Intersection of Business and Social Mission” (2014).
• An article in The Guardian: “How to get one billion people to wash their hands” (2014).
• An article in Business Daily Africa: “Meet Myriam, the handwashing guru” (2013).
• A HuffPost Article: “Handwashing with soap can help us achieve the Millennium Development Goals” (2012).
• A CSR Wire blog post: “Saving 600,000 Lives a Year: What Will It Take?” (2012).
• A Harvard Business Review Article: “The Private Sector Needs to Come Clean About Doing Good” (2012).
• An interview with Forbes: “Influencing behaviour: what will it take to save 600,000 lives a year” (2012).
• An interview with The Standard, Zimbabwe: “Celebrating Global Handwashing Day” (2012).
• A HealthWorks Collective Article: “Global Handwashing Day: Support Global Handwashing” (2011).
• She also partnered with Craig Yoe for the School of 5 superheroes, a comic program that helps save children's lives.