The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
MUMBAI, Aug. 20, 2021
On World Mosquito Day today, Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), the parent company behind India’s leading household insecticide brands like Goodknight and HIT, urged people to recognize the looming threat of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria and dengue and to adopt preventive measures to stay safe.
The company also reiterated its commitment towards reducing morbidity and mortality caused by mosquitoes and extending its full support to India’s mission of becoming a malaria-free nation by 2030.
From India’s most powerful liquid vapouriser to Rs 1 paper-based card, Goodknight has empowered consumers with innovative and powerful solutions such as liquid vapourisers, personal repellents, cards, etc. On World Mosquito Day, Goodknight is running a special Rs. 20 discount on Goodknight Gold Flash as part of which its combi pack (flash liquid vapouriser machine + refill) is now available for Rs. 79 only. The brand has also partnered with parenting experts to spread awareness via social media around the need to be protected from mosquitoes.
With the tagline of ‘Kill Pests, Kill Diseases’, HIT has been a crusader to kill pests and make every home disease-free, since its inception in 1991. Kala HIT Lime spray instantly kills dangerous mosquitoes that spread diseases like dengue, chikungunya, malaria, etc. For World Mosquito Day, HIT is running consumer awareness programs and discussions in partnership with leading news channels. HIT has also collaborated with parenting community platforms and newspapers to amplify the message of staying protected from mosquitoes.
Through its EMBED (Elimination of Mosquito Borne Endemic Diseases) programme, GCPL has made positive strides in malaria prevention at the grass root level. In 2015, the programme was started in Madhya Pradesh in partnership with the state Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to eliminate malaria from high endemic villages. The programme has covered more than 800 villages in 11 districts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. GCPL collaborated with stakeholders to run intensive behaviour change programmes in regions with a high annual parasite index where malaria transmission risks are the highest. This resulted in 24% of 824 intervention villages reporting 0 cases of malaria by the end of FY20-21. The remaining villages were in year 1 of intervention and the aim is to make them malaria free in year 2 and year 3. GCPL, in addition, expanded the portfolio to dengue control and management in 4 cities (Bhopal, Gwalior, Lucknow and Kanpur) and are also providing technical support to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) under GOI’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
Commenting on the occasion, Sunil Kataria CEO – India & SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), said, “At GCPL, our endeavour is to make India healthy, safe and free from vector-borne diseases. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become more important to be vigilant due to the double threat of mosquito-borne diseases and the virus. On World Mosquito Day, we urge everyone to adopt measures to prevent malaria or dengue. Just like EMBED, we are committed to drive more such initiatives that will enable people with necessary awareness and solutions to fight the mosquito menace. Our purpose-driven brands, Goodknight and HIT, are constantly focused on developing innovative, effective yet affordable solutions to cater to the needs of the people.”
The Health Management Information System (HMIS), a data dashboard of the National Health Mission (NHM), reported over 3.37 lakh cases of malaria and 1.30 lac dengue cases in India between April 2020 to March 2021. Apart from the health impact, the socio-economic burden or annual expense on the country due to malaria and dengue is much higher. Taking cognizance of these concerns, GCPL through its social initiative and innovative products aims to propel behavioural change amongst people to protect themselves from mosquito-borne diseases.
Jayant Deshpande, Honorary Secretary, Home Insect Control Association (HICA) – an industry body of household insecticides sector, said, “To tackle the danger posed by mosquitoes, one must use proper and trusted solutions only. The market is flooded with spurious products such as illegal and unbranded mosquito repellent incense sticks containing harmful ingredients. These products from unscrupulous players may look cheaper but do not go through the regulated manufacturing processes and basic checks on safety parameters of skin, eye and respiratory system mandated for all home insecticide products. All illegal mosquito repellent incense sticks flout norms and are not tested on the aforementioned parameters. Any usage of these illegal mosquito repellent incense sticks is highly risky for health of citizens across age groups. We strongly recommend everyone to use only government approved formulations and products.”
Dr. Myriam Sidibe, a global health expert and honorary professor of the practice at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said, “India has done a good job in bringing down malaria and dengue cases over the last 5 years. As all of us adjust our lives to prevent COVID-19, efforts to further reduce the impact of mosquito-borne diseases should continue. Governments may be calling all hands on deck to address the COVID-19 pandemic, but we don’t have to stop our long campaign against mosquitoes. Public-private partnerships will be critical in lowering the socio-economic burden on India due to malaria, dengue and other such diseases. These partnerships can lead to many interesting innovation and models to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.”
