News and views

reach52 receives Pfizer Foundation Global Health Innovation Grant to combat Dengue fever in South East Asia

There is an increasing worldwide incident of dengue, the viral infection spread by mosquitoes, with an 8x increase in reported cases over the past 20 years. An estimated 2.5 billion people in more than 100 countries are at-risk and an estimated 50 million dengue infections occur annually in the world. The burden is particularly high in South East Asia with over a million cases in 2019 and lower income communities hit the hardest. reach52 has been awarded a Global Health Innovation Grant by the Pfizer Foundation to design and implement a new innovative community-owned model to address this urgent challenge in communities in the Philippines and Cambodia.

The objectives are to both reduce dengue incidence in target communities and dengue-related strain on local health systems. reach52 will strengthen systems to combat dengue by harnessing reach52’s health technology designed for rural settings. Community health workers will be trained and mobilized to provide dengue prevention, screening and referrals, enabled by the reach52 mediconnect platform. Education programs will be implemented to educate residents on ‘vector control’ to prevent commission at a community level, supported by access to affordable vector control products such as mosquito nets and insect repellants through reach52 marketplace. The initiative will be underpinned by a dengue community alert system that identifies hotspots based on the level of assessed risk in the area. This innovative dengue model will be launched in the Philippines and Cambodia.

The Pfizer Foundation’s one–year grant program provides recipients with $100,000 USD grants to support community-based initiatives focused on combatting infectious disease through programs aimed at strengthening health systems at the community and primary care level. The Pfizer Foundation has a particular focus on using digital technology tools to facilitate access to primary healthcare.

Edward Booty, CEO of reach52, said “Pfizer Foundation’s commitment to infectious disease support is more important than ever, and the Global Health Innovation Grant program is a fantastic platform for us to build innovative health solutions to support our community’s needs around vector borne disease and specific dengue, which is rising rapidly, whilst meeting like– minded innovators to learn with and share best practice”.

reach52 is partnering with leading organisations to expand access and implement new models in previously unreachable rural markets across South and South East Asia. If you’re interested in partnering, please just get in contact.

Contact details: 

Edward Booty, Chief Executive Officer, reach52 – edward@reach52.com  

Sources – https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/dec/30/asias-hardest-year-for-dengue-fever-in-pictures