Amid rising cases of dengue and other Aedes-borne arboviruses such as Zika and chikungunya, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday launched a global plan to reduce the burden of disease, suffering and deaths.

The Global Strategic Preparedness, Readiness, and Response Plan (SPRP) looks to foster a global coordinated response with actions to control transmission. It also offers recommendations to affected countries across various sectors, including disease surveillance, laboratory activities, vector control, community engagement, clinical management, and research and development, through a whole-of-society and regional approach.

“The rapid spread of dengue and other arboviral diseases in recent years is an alarming trend that demands a coordinated response across sectors and across borders,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

The WHO said that an estimated four billion people are at risk of infection from arboviruses around the world, and this number is estimated to increase to five billion by 2050.

An estimated four billion people globally are at risk for dengue, and the disease is now endemic in more than 130 countries. The number of dengue cases has approximately doubled each year since 2021, with over 12.3 million cases as of the end of August this year — almost double the 6.5 million cases reported in all of 2023.

In December 2023, WHO graded the current global dengue upsurge 2023 as grade 3, the highest level of emergency for the UN health body, to support countries to strengthen their surveillance capacities and implement response activities.

Ghebreyesus urged for “clean environments to support vector control and timely medical care” to fight dengue.

He called the SPRP plan “a roadmap to turn the tide against this disease and other Aedes-borne arboviral diseases, protect vulnerable populations, and pave the way for a healthier future”.

Factors such as unplanned urbanisation and poor water, sanitation and hygiene practices, climate change, and international travel, are facilitating the rapid geographical spread of dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and more recently the Oropouche virus disease, the WHO said.

The SPRP comprises emergency coordination, collaborative surveillance, community protection, safe and scalable care, and access to countermeasures. The Plan will be implemented over one year until September 2025.