The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a policy recommendation for spatial repellents to be used as an innovative tool to help fight insect-borne diseases like malaria.
This recommendation further strengthens tools for deployment by malaria-hit nations towards these insect-borne disease prevention and helps protect the world’s most vulnerable communities at a much larger scale.
“I’m thrilled that the World Health Organization has announced a policy recommendation for spatial repellents as an innovative prevention tool for fighting insect-borne diseases. This important milestone comes after more than 10 years of SC Johnson efforts and more than $100 million invested in the development, testing, production and deployment of our spatial repellent products,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson.
SC Johnson, maker of household brands such as OFF!®, Baygon® and Raid® and leaders in insect science, has been working towards this achievement for more than a decade and has already been distributing millions of its own company-developed and manufactured spatial repellents – SC Johnson Guardian™ and SC Johnson Mosquito Shield™ – to communities most in need via various global public health partners.
“From day one, this has been a not-for-profit initiative driven by our commitment to combat diseases that threaten hundreds of millions of people. An achievement like this doesn’t happen overnight but because of the passion and dedication of thousands of SC Johnson people around the world, we’re now able to see this vision come to life. The impact we’ve made together this far is only the beginning.”
Spatial repellents are tools that, when used, release an active ingredient which repels mosquitoes from a room, preventing mosquitoes from biting people and ultimately lessening the transmission of disease. They can be hung in semi-enclosed spaces, including homes and schools, and are about the size of a sheet of paper. They are easy to use, low-cost, long-lasting and effective.
Already, SC Johnson has been distributing, implementing and educating about the important role of spatial repellents in humanitarian settings and working with global public health partners such as The MENTOR Initiative, Society for Family Health Rwanda, United to Beat Malaria and Ministries of Health of several countries. The WHO’s approval bolsters the ability for the company to strengthen confidence in these tools and work even more closely with global public health partners and country governments to get spatial repellents in the hands of more people to help save and improve lives.
In addition, the WHO has given prequalification listings for Guardian and Mosquito Shield spatial repellents, naming them specifically as recommended insect-borne disease prevention tools and signaling their ability to be procured through different channels. While SC Johnson partners have already been deploying and using these tools, the prequalification listings demonstrate further their safety, quality and efficacy.
“There are over a billion people that would benefit from the SC Johnson Guardian™ and SC Johnson Mosquito Shield™ spatial repellents,” said Richard Allan, CEO of The MENTOR Initiative. “People want a tool that works for how they live. Frankly, these are the first tools I’ve seen in 36 years that have the promise of doing that. These could be a real game changer.”
Spatial repellents are one of the first new categories of vector control tools to receive a policy recommendation from the WHO for malaria prevention within the last 25 years. This recommendation will help reach and protect even more families from disease who may not have access to other interventions.
In order to receive a policy recommendation and prequalification listing, the WHO requires ample proof of efficacy, safety and quality. Over the years, SC Johnson has worked with Unitaid and The Gates Foundation to conduct and fund thorough clinical trials of its spatial repellents. Clinical trials have shown that proper use of spatial repellents can reduce risk of disease by up to 33 per cent, with Guardian able to protect for up to one year. Trials have been conducted in Indonesia, Peru and Kenya, which offered promising results to help secure the recommendation, and the company continues to test their tools to ensure efficacy.
Earlier this year, SC Johnson opened two high-speed manufacturing lines to produce its Guardian spatial repellent at the company’s plant in Nairobi, Kenya. At capacity, these new lines will be able to produce up to 20 million units annually. Early next year, the company plans to open a new line at its plant in Pilar, Argentina, to manufacture Guardian, which will produce another 20 million units annually, reaching 20 million people.
Since 2013, SC Johnson has reached more than 110 million people via public health initiatives, education tools and distributing life-saving repellents in the fight against insect-borne disease.