Bangalore, February 07, 2023: India takes a giant leap in the global fight against mosquito-borne diseases. Two homegrown innovations; the world’s lowest cost liquid mosquito repellent device and a no-gas instant mosquito–kill spray developed by Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), was launched in the presence of experts from the National Center for Vector Borne Diseases Control, Malaria No More India, Fortis Hospital Noida, among others.
Branded Goodknight Mini Liquid and HIT No-Gas Spray, these innovations make safe & smoke free mosquito protection accessible for lower income consumers. Many of whom today use unsafe and unregulated high smoke incense sticks. Doctors caution against using these spurious repellent incense sticks as they may cause bronchitis, asthma, reactive airways disease, and other conditions. Till now, regulated and safe non-smoke solutions, while widely known, were only available at higher prices and with features that did not suit the needs of these consumers.
GCPL understood these needs in depth and have developed innovations with breakthrough R&D. Firstly, by recognizing that many lower income households have high mosquito infestation through the night and therefore need a consistent high repellent effect. This resulted in the engineering of Goodknight Mini as a single mode machine giving high all-night efficacy. Priced at just INR 50 (Repellent Machine + Refill) and refills for INR 35/-, this solution only costs INR 2.5 for a night’s use. With electrification in India crossing 95%+ milestone (as per The National Family Health Survey – 5 report released in March 2022), the device is expected to gain wide adoption.
Secondly, because lower income households have relatively smaller rooms, expensive LPG based aerosol sprays designed for large spread in big rooms were not suitable. GCPL took inspiration from no-gas deodorants and developed HIT No-Gas Spray, an innovative instant mosquito-kill, water-based spray for as low as INR 1.5 per use occasion. As per the tests undertaken by GCPL, HIT No-Gas Spray kills mosquitoes faster than spurious incense sticks, while being completely safe & smoke-free.
Commenting on the affordable innovations, Sudhir Sitapati, MD & CEO, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), said, “We have made great progress so far to lessen the impact of mosquito-borne diseases. The way forward, however, calls for empowering people especially in small cities, towns, and rural areas. Liquid repellents & aerosols are the most effective solution against mosquitoes, but they remained largely inaccessible to lower income households due to high pricing. We at GCPL, are proud to introduce the Goodknight Mini and HIT No-Gas Spray. These innovations bring down the cost of liquid repellent and spray categories in India by upto 50% and thus make them accessible for everyone. With these innovations, we are democratising safe mosquito repellents for lower income consumers. Supporting the government’s vision of easing the nation’s health burden is our greater commitment.”
Speaking as part of a panel discussion at the launch event, Pratik Kumar, Country Director, Malaria No More India, opined, “Mosquito-borne diseases, particularly Malaria, has been a public health issue and our goal should be its complete eradication. If we are to enable our Prime Minister’s vision of a Malaria free by 2030, we need a different strategy that goes beyond prevention and ensures elimination. New age tools and technologies will play a vital role. Private health providers have a major role to play. Malaria elimination needs all sections joining hands to focus on a disease that needs more attention. We must develop new solutions, high-end technology to accelerate access and timely last-mile intervention. More importantly, enabling lower income groups with low-cost solutions in high endemic zones should be a key focus area amongst the next steps.”
“Factors such as climate change have led to increased occurrence of malaria and dengue, leading to a significant rise in the disease burden on the country. While the medical fraternity researches and develops advanced treatments to aid quick recovery, it also becomes important for people to adopt prevention strategies to safeguard themselves, in this case, from mosquito-borne diseases. Although the general public is aware of the need for mosquito protection, they frequently turn to dangerous and unregulated alternatives like repellent incense sticks/ agarbattis, which can lead to more diseases and respiratory illnesses. Although these repellent incense sticks are less expensive, few people are aware of their detrimental effects on health. Thus, Innovation and democratisation of practical, cost-efficient solutions that guarantee everyone’s protection are urgently needed”, added, Dr.Rahul Sharma, Additional Director – Pulmonology & Critical Care, Fortis Hospital, Noida.
GCPL remains committed towards reducing the impact of vector-borne diseases in the country. Through its flagship brands like Goodknight and HIT, the company has over the years introduced many innovations across formats.
In 2016, GCPL also launched its CSR effort, the Elimination of Vector-Borne Endemic Diseases (EMBED) Project – in sync with India’s national goal of malaria elimination by 2030. This program is being implemented by Family Health India (FHI) in collaboration with NGO partners and the Health Department of the Government of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. EMBED aims to reduce morbidity and mortality due to malaria, dengue, and chikungunya in high burden areas. To date EMBED has been implemented in 9 districts of Madhya Pradesh, 4 districts in Uttar Pradesh and 2 districts in Chhattisgarh reaching over 5 lakh households across 2,000+ villages. GCPL’s EMBED program has been successful in creating a scalable model that can help high-burden villages of India achieve the goal of malaria elimination by 2030.
With continued efforts to bring about a larger change, GCPL’s new low-cost innovation support the government’s vision of a nation that is free of vector-borne diseases.
