A New Chapter in Malaria Prevention Begins with Guardian and Global Action

With a World Health Organization (WHO) policy recommendation in place, countries have a powerful opportunity to adopt spatial repellents to protect communities from malaria and other insect-borne diseases.

Malaria kills more than 600,000 people each year, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities across Africa and other tropical regions. For decades, the fight against malaria, and other insect-borne diseases, has relied on a familiar toolkit: bed nets, insecticides and antiviral medication. But it's clear that new solutions are urgently needed.

Earlier this week, SC Johnson convened members from the Coalition of Parliamentarians Engaged to End Malaria, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), End Malaria Council Kenya, and the Principal Secretary (PS) for Public Health and Professional Standards in the Ministry of Health Kenya to discuss the impact SC Johnson Guardian™ spatial repellents could make for communities.

Health leaders and government officials came together to learn about this tool that could help save lives. They discussed how their countries could take the next steps to officially approve and register the product, make it available through public health programs and use it in areas where malaria is most common.

This meeting follows the recent World Health Organization (WHO) policy recommendation endorsing spatial repellents for malaria prevention - marking a major milestone in global health.

SC Johnson representatives, global health leaders and government officials gathered for a Malaria Roundtable at SC Johnson’s Nairobi manufacturing plant

A Decades Long Journey

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.

When used alongside other methods, Guardian provides protection for up to one year and has been shown to reduce disease transmission by up to 33 percent in clinical trials.

Spatial repellents release an active ingredient that repels mosquitoes out of a room, helping prevent bites and reduce disease transmission. They are a low-cost, long-lasting solution that can help save and improve lives.

SC Johnson had been working towards this achievement for more than a decade and had 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 such as The MENTOR Initiative, Society for Family Health Rwanda, United to Beat Malaria and Ministries of Health of several countries.

Built for Impact 

SC Johnson has invested more than $100 million into the development, testing and deployment of spatial repellents as a public health intervention and over a decade of research into developing spatial repellents. But the company isn’t stopping at innovation. It’s also making sure the product reaches the people who need it most.

Earlier this year, SC Johnson launched high-speed manufacturing lines at its plant in Nairobi, Kenya, capable of producing 20 million units annually. The company also plans to open a new line at its plant in Pilar, Argentina in 2026 to manufacture Guardian, which will produce up to 20 million units annually, reaching 20 million more people.

These repellents are distributed at no profit to SC Johnson, ensuring access for communities most at risk. 

Leaders taking a tour of the SC Johnson Guardian™ manufacturing line.

With WHO Support, Countries Can Take Innovation into Impact Against Malaria

Now that spatial repellents have the go-ahead from the WHO, there is hope that interest and adoption for these tools will increase to help reach and protect even more families. By keeping mosquitoes away and reducing malaria transmission, kids can stay healhty and in school, parents can keep working, and communities can thrive.