SC Johnson Guardian™ was developed to help prevent the spread of, and to 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 a WHO policy recommendation as an official public health intervention to reach the millions of people who are most vulnerable to infection.

SC Johnson is a family company at work for a better world. They’ve been dedicated to fighting mosquito borne diseases 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™. A practical and highly effective solution to a global problem.

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.

Until then, 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.

Global instances of malaria are on the increase 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, saving lives in the process.

Guardian™ is a simple-to-use, highly effective spatial repellent product that can reduce instances of mosquito bites by 91%.

Guardian™ is a slow-release repellent that simply hangs in dwellings. It works with the airflow of enclosed, or partially enclosed spaces to protect an entire household from the mosquitos carrying malaria. Designed to be simple to manufacture and easy to use, it requires no electricity, which many villages don’t have, nor any ongoing maintenance (like a slow-burn repellent would) and is designed to be effective for a full year.

The development of the Guardian™ product delivered a low-cost, fit-and-forget mosquito spatial repellent - and a significant step towards the eradication of malaria. A single sheet provides an entire household protection from mosquitoes for 12 months, which can reduce instances of mosquito bites by 91%. When used across an entire village, it provides a whole community with protection from infection.

Eliminate Malaria.

Create a product that would dramatically reduce the infection rates in communities, offering long-term, easy-to-use and highly effective protection from mosquito bites that will protect entire villages, not just individual households.

Utilizing decades of research, product development, experience fighting malaria and SCJ’s purpose to work for a better world, collaborate with scientific institutions, NGOs and charitable foundations to create, trial and prove the effectiveness of a solution to prevent the spread of Malaria.

Create and work with a family of partners to help fund and distribute as many Guardian™ units as possible to the places most at risk from malaria while awaiting WHO recommendation as a public health intervention.

Get approval from the WHO and provide this solution at no cost to the millions of people around the world who are at risk from infection and death.

In 2013, SCJ formed a dedicated team called ‘Base of the Pyramid Group’ to focus specifically on helping the more than 4 billion people globally that earn less than a few dollars (USD) per day. These communities are in some of the highest risk areas for mosquito-borne diseases. Since then, and in partnership with several scientific and educational institutes, SCJ has continued to push innovation in the field of mosquito protection and malaria prevention, particularly spatial repellents.

Guardian™ is the culmination of over a decade of work. Made from 3D mesh fabric enclosed in a PET cage that is hermetically sealed in a pouch and stable over time at elevated temperatures and humidity. Simple to use, accessible to all and highly effective. Trials have taken place in several African countries, particularly in hard-to-reach remote areas.

To date, 1M+ people have been protected by Guardian™ & Mosquito Shield.

Each Guardian™ unit is capable of reducing instances of mosquito bites by 91%. The impact on rural communities at risk from malaria is huge.

Currently, Guardian™ is awaiting WHO approval for use as an official public health intervention. If granted, this would be the first new intervention recommended in the malaria prevention space in 25 years.

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

A demonstrated 91% reduction in instances of mosquito bites

$2 Billion Funds Advocated to Grow Malaria Programs Administered by Global Fund

$100 Million+ funding committed by SCJ and partners to generate evidence to inform a WHO policy recommendation

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

147 Congressional offices visited

5 New Partnerships Established: The Global Fund, United Nations Foundation, Kenya Ministry of Health, Tanzania Ministry of Health, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Foundation

Creation of 150+ jobs in Nairobi

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

Once WHO approval is granted, Guardian™ will be distributed to as many people in affected countries as possible as part of the 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 Kenya, 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).