SC Johnson Guardian™ was developed to help prevent the spread of, and potentially help eliminate malaria. Rural African communities are plagued by this disease, which impacts not only the health and well-being of these communities but decimates their local economies.

Guardian’s™ incredible effectiveness, coupled with its ease-of-use can reduce instances of mosquito bites by 91% in the communities where it has been tested. By reducing infection and sickness, children consistently attend school, adults continue to work and people spend household income (otherwise used on expensive health services), within the local economy. Without malaria, communities thrive.

Malaria is an entirely preventable disease. Yet, if you live in Africa’s rural communities, it is part of life and one of the leading causes of death. Most people will be infected several times a year, if they are lucky they will get treatment and survive. Many, despite the best efforts of local doctors, will not.

Malaria has been killing people in this part of the world for hundreds of years. The disease needs an affordable, effective intervention solution to be made universally available and distributed to rural populations where infection is rife. Without this, people are still plagued by malaria. Without this, people are still dying.

Guardian™ is a highly effective solution, yet it needs an official WHO policy recommendation as a public health intervention to reach the millions of people who are most vulnerable and who need it most.

This film was created by SC Johnson to show a select audience with the power to affect policy change, or deliver the funding necessary to help them distribute Guardian™ as widely as possible, in the interim between now and full WHO approval. Getting Guardian™ into schools, health centers and, ultimately, homes would save thousands of lives.

SC Johnson is a family company at work for a better world. They’ve been dedicated to fighting mosquito borne disease for over 60 years with one single-minded ultimate objective: help save lives.

As an official partner of the United Nations Foundation, they are wholly committed to the UN & WHO’s goal of Health For All - as demonstrated by their efforts to eliminate malaria

Decades of scientific research and development, manufacturing repellents, dedicating funds, and lobbying public health and policymaking officials have led to the creation of Guardian™.

Guardian™ is currently awaiting an anticipated 2025 WHO recommendation as a public health intervention. This would mean Guardian™ can be scaled globally to areas where malaria is so prevalent, that it restricts people’s ability to fulfill their potential in dignity and equality, in a healthy environment.

SC Johnson is committed to the local manufacturing, widespread distribution and sustainable implementation of this life-saving, not-for-profit innovation and isn’t waiting for the WHO approval to provide at no cost to vulnerable people in affected regions.

They are doing everything in their power to get as many Guardians™ out into the world as possible, to protect vulnerable people from mosquitos and the threat of malaria infection.

SC Johnson is a family company at work for a better world. As a private company, they answer to consumers, not Wall Street. The members of the SC Johnson family feel a personal commitment to creating a healthier, better world for generations to come. Their autonomy allows them to dedicate a portion of their profits to purpose driven work, such as fighting malaria.

SC Johnson’s challenge was to create a long lasting, highly accessible and effective intervention to use as widely as possible – especially in rural communities where malaria is rife. The objective is to get Guardian™, this life-saving not-for-profit innovation, WHO approval in order to dramatically expand efforts to distribute the product at no cost to millions of people.

SCJ and its partners aim to get as many Guardians™ into the world as quickly as possible.

Malaria is one of the world’s deadliest diseases. It kills a child under the age of 5 every minute, and over 600,000 people every year. This is a reality that SC Johnson is working hard to change, and has been through their continuous involvement and pioneering work in the fight against malaria for decades.

Global instances of malaria are increasing due to external and environmental factors like insecticide resistance, increased global temperature and higher annual rainfalls, so the need to protect people is greater than ever.

Guardian™ is awaiting WHO approval - but this takes time. Time people in malaria-stricken communities don’t have. Until this happens, SCJ’s objective is simple: To work with as many partners as needed to get as many Guardians™ into the communities that need them as quickly as possible, saving lives in the process.

Create a film to galvanize policymakers, politicians, members of Congress, NGOs, charities and local government organizations to rally around Guardian™: a simple, low-cost, highly effective and long-lasting spatial repellent. Requiring no power or ongoing maintenance, one Guardian™ protects a whole dwelling from mosquito-borne disease for an entire year.

SC Johnson has committed over $50 million to generate evidence to inform this WHO policy recommendation as a public health intervention. Until that policy is approved, we need a family of partners to get Guardian™ distributed via schools, hospitals, and health clinics in vulnerable communities around the world.

Showcasing and celebrating the effectiveness of Guardian™ and the dramatic reduction of infection rates in communities gives hope that the eradication of malaria is possible, creating a groundswell of energy and, most importantly, support for Guardian™.

Target those politicians, policymakers, individuals in power and local partners who can help SC Johnson through funding, in-country testing and the immediate distribution of Guardian™ among the communities most at risk from malaria. Energize this family of partners to help get Guardian™ into as many homes as possible until the WHO makes an official policy recommendation for public health intervention.

Malaria is a story many have heard before. They’ve read the official reports, seen stats, facts and familiar figures. Yet few of them have seen anything that feels like a viable long-term solution or genuine advancement in malaria prevention for decades. Guardian's™ efficacy was tested extensively both in laboratory tests and in-country to gather compelling data to present to this small group of decision-makers, proving the astounding effects of Guardian™, both in individual households and when used extensively throughout an entire community.

The film was created by a small team, shooting in four different countries. They embedded themselves in rural communities for 2 months so they could accurately capture first-hand the stories of the people most at risk from malaria.

They also worked closely with SC Johnson scientists and their partners in academia, on the ground with local charities and with members of the SC Johnson family to ensure total authenticity in telling the story using the most compelling voices.

The film was predominately shared individually via 1-1 screenings, hand delivered by SCJ leadership to a small, select audience of policymakers, partners, and public health leaders and SC Johnson’s private company family shareholders. A highly targeted paid social campaign on Meta and LinkedIn also shared the film with people working in senior leadership positions in public health and policy located in DC, New York, Brussels, Nairobi, London, and Geneva.

The film was designed to get attention, support and collaboration from key policymakers and fund gatekeepers to build a family of partners to ensure the immediate widespread distribution of Guardian™ ahead of WHO approval. Increased investment from shareholders was also required, while boosting awareness of Guardian™’s effectiveness and SCJ’s malaria work amongst senior officials in public health and policymaking.

Additional funding has since been approved for production of Guardian™, with more units being distributed more widely, increasing the numbers protected by over 200,000

1M+ people protected by Guardian™ & Mosquito Shield™ to date

$30 Million funding by SC Johnson for spatial repellent production in Kenya

147 Congressional offices visited

3.7 pt increase in brand lift percent (compared to 1.1 benchmark) from key public health and policymaker audience

119k new individual Meta users, from key public health and policy maker audience, with a favorable view of SCJ

Guardian™ enables communities to live without fear of constant infection, sickness and death from malaria. Better and more consistent health and well-being allows people within those populations to thrive. The community can prosper and the local economy grows.

The local manufacture of Guardian™ in Nairobi will create over 150 jobs, while allowing for more immediate access to protection from disease-carrying mosquitoes, simultaneously investing the people most affected by this disease in the fight against it.

Guardian™ is awaiting WHO approval - But this takes time. Time people in malaria-stricken communities don’t have. Until this happens, SCJ’s objective is simple: using this newly established family of partners to get as many Guardian™s into the communities that need them as quickly as possible, saving lives in the process.

Once WHO approval is granted, Guardian™ will be distributed to as many countries as possible as part of the UN’s ongoing fight against malaria.

As a company, SC Johnson is committed to sustainable manufacture and production of all its products, and has been using renewable energy sources to power factories for more than 15 years.

Currently ranked No. 88 on the EPA's 2020 National Top 100 List of the largest green power users from the Green Power Partnership and between 2015 and 2020, cut greenhouse gas emissions nearly 30%, (doubling their goal of 15%).

The production of Guardian™ to date falls under this commitment to the environment and planet.

Moving forward, Guardian™ will be produced locally in Nairobi, dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of both manufacture and distribution, in addition to creating over 150 jobs within that community.

All filming and production of the Guardian™ documentary was conducted by African crews and production partners. U.S travel for the crew was also kept to a minimum both in terms of days and people (only two of the crew traveled).