USAID and Takeda launch Dengue prevention campaign

New Delhi: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India have launched a new campaign called “Haarega Dengue Haraenge Hum (We Will Together Defeat Dengue).”

With changing climate conditions threatening lives, health, economic progress, and straining resilience particularly among the most vulnerable, the campaign in launch phase will focus on educating school children and communities across Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh about how their actions can help prevent dengue. It will also encourage people to adopt habits that can reduce the spread of vector-borne diseases.

Due to the changing climate, specifically a rise in temperature and rainfall, vector-borne diseases are becoming more prevalent, adding additional stress to the already overwhelmed health systems from the recent pandemic. The campaign will look deeper into how climate change affects the spread of infectious diseases and provide strategies to improve preparedness and build stronger and more responsive health systems in the country.

Warren Harrity, Acting Mission Director, USAID, said, “USAID works to increase the resilience of the health systems by focusing on identifying shifts in climate-sensitive, vector-borne diseases through surveillance and early warning; strengthening health system capacity to prepare and respond to climate events; and supporting the development and implementation of climate-smart health policies. USAID is honored to partner with India’s local and national health systems, as well as leverage our relationship with corporations like Takeda to detect, prevent, and respond to climate change-related infectious diseases.”

Yamashita Yuta, First Secretary (Health Attaché), Embassy of Japan in India, stated, “This collaboration for combating dengue represents a significant step in our shared commitment to global health and intensifies the Indo-Japan relationship. Dengue has emerged as a critical threat to public health globally due to the emerged climatic unpredictability, and requires immediate addressal at local and international levels. Through our collective expertise and resources, we can make substantial progress in disease prevention and control, setting an example for international cooperation in healthcare.”

Elaborating on the initiative, Annapurna Das, General Manager of Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India, added, “Takeda, as a global pharmaceutical company, believes that bold, collective action is required from all sectors to accelerate efforts in the area of climate change to protect our communities from the impact of vector-borne diseases. Protecting the climate is aligned with our purpose of bringing Better Health and a Brighter Future for all. It’s an honour to launch the campaign as we believe that controlling dengue is everyone’s responsibility. We are committed to this cause and will continue working with multiple stakeholders including the Government, NGOs, industry, academia and healthcare providers to support the vision of Dengue Mukt Bharat”.

Neeraj Jain, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Health Research and Innovation (CHRI), said, “We are proud to launch the campaign in partnership with Takeda Biopharmaceuticals. Together, we aim to combat dengue by organizing awareness-building campaigns and uniting communities in our commitment to health and climate resilience. As 2024 is promoted as the ‘Year of Climate and Health Action,’ this partnership emphasizes the need for innovative approaches to fight climate-sensitive, infectious diseases.”

The campaign was launched during the “Call to Action for Climate Sensitive Infectious Diseases: a Strategic Synergy Session”, an event organized by CHRI under the USAID-supported Sustainable Action for Climate and Health (SACH) Initiative.

This example of the partnership between local organizations, national governments, donors, and private corporations demonstrates the power of collaboration to promote climate-adaptive health systems, workplaces, and communities.