The rising costs of climate change are reflected in the growing burden of vector-borne diseases such as dengue, posing a serious and sustained public health challenge. India is estimated to bear one-third of the global dengue caseload. The recent surge in cases across monsoon-hit Kerala and Karnataka reflects how immediate and looming the crisis is. Multiple factors fuel this alarming rise in caseload, such as warmer temperatures and altered rainfall patterns, which have lengthened transmission seasons, and ecological stresses like deforestation, water scarcity, and waste accumulation further compound the problem. Additionally, unplanned urbanization – overcrowded cities, poor sanitation, ignorance, and increasing number of house-hold water containers – provides ideal breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquitoes.
In 2024, India witnessed approximately 2.3 lakh dengue cases, with instances leading to serious complications and fatalities. During the peak monsoon seasons, hospitals see a huge rise in dengue patients, many of whom especially those with diabetes, heart disease, and other comorbidities, as well as children and the elderly, fall in highly susceptible category5. Rural and low-income communities suffer disproportionately, lacking adequate health care availability and access. Dengue undermines development and productivity, as it entails significant economic costs, in the form of missed work or school days, high treatment expenditure, and caregiving costs. The critical lesson from state-led response initiatives is that dengue cannot be tackled by health authorities alone; collaboration with government representatives, policymakers, healthcare practitioners, community voices, researchers, and funders is necessary for bolstering healthcare systems to combat dengue.
The EquiHealth Alliance, launched in 2025 by AVPN with ETI serving as technical partner, is a multi-stakeholder platform focused on building pathways for health equity through systemic solutions. The EquiHealth Alliance's work was officially launched in regional workshops in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as through an engagement at the World Health Summit in New Delhi, bringing together a broad coalition of government representatives, policymakers, healthcare practitioners, community voices, researchers, and funders. The alliance has distilled its learnings into three thematic pillars: (1) Prevention & Behavior Change, (2) Data & Surveillance, and (3) Financing.
The outcomes paper "Advancing Access and Strengthening Dengue Response: Lessons from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka published by The EquiHealth Alliance lays out practical recommendations, including public awareness, prevention, integrated surveillance, scaling vaccine development, community engagement, financing reforms, and cross-border data sharing. It calls on stakeholders to collaborate and scale a community-informed, policy-backed dengue strategy that integrates innovations in vector control, vaccines and therapeutics, financing mechanisms, data and surveillance systems, and community engagement across India.
In light of the learnings from these engagements, the EquiHealth Alliance convened a high‐level World Environment Day summit on 5th June 2025 titled "Let's Come Together to Defeat Dengue." Participants emphasized that India's dengue response must be equity-driven, climate-resilient, and cross-sectoral.
The June 5 forum in India has marked a significant milestone in the country's dengue response, as it reiterates that the dengue crisis is now a systemic crisis driven by the triad of rapid urbanization, climate change, and migration.
To combat this, India must treat dengue as a significant national threat with year-round vigilance, ample resources, and coordinated mobilization of all sectors. This requires a sustained, equity-driven campaign, investing in early-warning systems, prevention, defining sustainable financing pathways, and ensuring last-mile, equitable delivery of life-saving therapeutics including vaccines once available. Political will and public engagement are also necessary, as dengue control concerns social justice and public health.
The EquiHealth Alliance's work and World Environment Day's focus remind us that solutions for vector-borne diseases like dengue lie at the intersection of climate resilience and community equity. Hence, now is the time to act together to defeat dengue through multi-sector collaboration and cooperation.
Authors:
Dr. Dalbir Singh
President of the Global Coalition Against TB, Dr. Singh is a leading public health advocate and strategist, mobilizing policymakers across mental health and TB initiatives. He also heads programs with Forum of Federations, Canada, and chairs the One Globe Forum, with a distinguished global presence in public health and governance.
Dr. Rajni Kant Srivastava
Chair of Disease Elimination at ICMR, Dr. Srivastava is a veteran public health expert with over four decades of experience in vector-borne diseases, health communication, and policy. As former Director of ICMR-RMRC Gorakhpur, he led landmark work in environmental friendly innovations and built collaborative health research infrastructure.
Ms. Madhavika Bajoria
Executive Director, Health and Nutrition Platform at AVPN, Madhavika is a public health leader driving multi-sector partnerships across Asia for gender, nutrition, and healthcare resilience. Her work spans public health nutrition, gender equality, social protection, and large-scale policy and systems change across global and national contexts.
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