United States hatches Initiative with SC Johnson and Global Fund to Deploy Innovative Malaria Prevention Tool

The U.S Department of State and SC Johnson, together with the Global Fund have announced a three-year agreement to expand access to the Guardian Spatial Repellent, which is an innovative malaria prevention tool designed to help reduce the transmission of insect-borne diseases.

The collaboration is expected to support introduction and implementation in approximately 10 priority countries, with the goal of helping protect more than 60 million people over three years.

The U.S Department will utilize the Global Fund to support the procurement and distribution of approximately 30 million Guardian spatial repellents to protect more than 60 million people over the next three years.

“More than a decade ago, we launched a not-for-profit effort to develop an ultra-low-cost spatial repellent aimed at helping fight malaria and other insect-borne diseases among the world’s most vulnerable communities,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson.

“We’re grateful for our partnership with the U.S. Department of State and the Global Fund, which will help protect tens of millions of people from malaria.”

Guardian is a spatial repellent developed and manufactured by SC Johnson, a Wisconsin-based company and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of consumer pest control products with brands like OFF!® and Raid®.

The low-cost, electricity-free tool provides protection for up to one year and can be used in a wide range of household and humanitarian settings.

It’s a not-for-profit initiative for the company.

In 2025, SC Johnson launched two high-speed manufacturing lines at its plant in Nairobi, Kenya, with the capacity to produce up to 20 million units annually.

Malaria causes more than 600,000 deaths each year, most of them children under age five in Sub-Saharan Africa. Without accelerated introduction and distribution of new prevention tools, the global malaria burden is projected to increase.

This partnership demonstrates how American innovation combined with the Global Fund’s global procurement and delivery platform, can expand equitable access to life-saving malaria prevention tools. It also enables sustainable manufacturing in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Deployment will target countries with some of the highest malaria rates in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as acceleration towards malaria elimination in settings like Southeast Asia.

SC Johnson has already distributed Guardian in humanitarian and high-risk settings and continues to work with partners to increase awareness of the role spatial repellents can play in malaria prevention. This new commitment builds on the company’s long-standing investment in insect science and public health, including more than US$120 million invested to develop, test and manufacture SC Johnson Guardian on a not-for-profit basis.

“The Department of State continues to rapidly make transformational investments in American-led global healthcare progress as we deploy the America First Global Health Strategy’s landmark innovation fund,” said Jeremy P. Lewin, Senior Official and Acting Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs, and Religious Freedom.

“Secretary Rubio believes that with emerging technologies developed and manufactured right here in the United States, we have an exciting opportunity to make focused and targeted investments in tangible interventions that can help bend the curve of the world’s deadliest and most pervasive epidemics and global health challenges.”

“This exciting partnership will deliver SC Johnson’s spatial emanators to tens of millions of people in high-risk low-income locations, protecting them from the scourge of malaria, while also supporting thousands of researches and real manufacturing jobs here in the United States.” 

“Malaria remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, especially for children in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund.

“Innovative partnerships like this one are essential to staying ahead of the disease and saving lives. By accelerating access to new tools alongside existing interventions, we can help countries strengthen malaria prevention and protect vulnerable communities.”