To date, SC Johnson has reached more than 1.7 million people across seven countries with local programs designed to teach mosquito bite prevention strategies. We have engaged with more than 1,000 individuals as well as more than 150 health ministry officials and NGOs working on disease prevention around the world.
In 2019, we reached a great milestone in one of our efforts, in Sumba, Indonesia. We’ve been working in partnership there with the University of Notre Dame and The Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to investigate
the potential impact of spatial repellents in reducing mosquito-borne diseases.
Researchers tested the efficacy of an innovative spatial repellent developed exclusively by SC Johnson, to reduce the transmission of malaria. Analysis of the data found an approximate 28 percent reduction in first-time infection, while a subset with the highest number of mosquitoes saw an approximate 66 percent reduction in overall malaria infection.
The World Health Organization (WHO) published data outcomes from this research in August 2019, in a report showing the effectiveness in fighting malaria. This provides a path forward for spatial repellents in the global fight against mosquito-borne diseases.