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In December 2024, AVPN hosted a high-level roundtable, which brought together diverse stakeholders in the public health system to explore the urgent and complex challenge of access to solutions in communicable diseases. This gathering was envisioned as a scoping study—an effort to listen, learn, and assess whether a multi-stakeholder platform could drive collective action. What emerged was a clear signal: tackling communicable diseases required more than episodic intervention. It needed systemic thinking, cross-sector commitment, and long-term investment.
This foundational conversation led to the creation of the EquiHealth Alliance—a coalition focused on health equity through system strengthening and solution access. Launched in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the alliance began with a wide lens on communicable diseases and soon sharpened its focus on dengue.
Over the past five months, this collaborative effort, anchored by AVPN and supported by ETI Services, has brought together governments (Central, State, Local), CSRs, corporates, social investors, the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and community organisations, into a singular conversation. The April 2025 World Health Summit Regional Meeting (WHS-RM) in New Delhi was a culminating moment—a platform that tied together insights, commitments, and next steps to shift the response to dengue from episodic control to systemic prevention.
Why Dengue? Why Now?
Dengue is no longer a seasonal inconvenience—it is a year-round public health emergency. India alone contributes to one-third of the disease burden, with its global incidence reaching new limits everyday[1]. The disease also comes with severe economic and social costs, burdening both families and health systems. And yet, national attention often wanes in the non-outbreak season.
The EquiHealth Alliance chose dengue as its first focus for two reasons: first, the availability of emerging preventive tools like vaccines and advanced diagnostics; and second, the opportunity to build long-term systems that could benefit broader infectious disease preparedness.
Our approach was to move away from fragmented vertical responses and toward a multi-stakeholder platform that could drive joint action across health ecosystems. Our aim was to shift from reactive to preventive strategies—through a systems lens and with shared ownership.
Three Thematic Tracks, One Integrated Response
Through three focused thematic tracks, we unpacked the multi-dimensional nature of the dengue challenge:
- Prevention, Timely Management, and Behaviour Change: The track highlighted that dengue is still largely addressed post-symptom onset. Partners stressed the need to embed vector control and prevention into urban health planning, expand vaccine literacy, and enable earlier care-seeking through community health infrastructure.
- Data and Surveillance: Surveillance systems were found to be fragmented and underutilised. The track pushed for integrated digital platforms, predictive modelling, and standardised diagnostic protocols as well as community surveillance mechanisms that could improve outbreak response and long-term planning.
- Financing: Public and philanthropic capital must align to scale innovations. Blended finance and outcome-based funding were identified as mechanisms that can reduce risk and enable solution deployment.
Each track reinforced the interdependence of sectors—health cannot be addressed in silos. The suggestions and insights that emerged from the discussions along these three tracks are captured in detail in an Outcomes Paper, titled ‘Advancing Access and Strengthening Dengue Response: Lessons from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka’, which was officially released at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in Delhi. Please find the outcomes paper here
What’s Next: From Design to Action
The EquiHealth Alliance is now poised to move into implementation. The aim is to scale a community-informed, policy-backed dengue strategy that integrates vaccine readiness, financing, data systems, and behaviour change across South India, with a potential for replicability throughout the country.
Insights gathered from the thematic tracks are being used to design advocacy tools aimed at securing community buy-in. Initial efforts will focus on Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, with the potential to expand to other geographies as the model matures.
By showcasing success in these initial regions, the alliance can build a replicable model of collaborative public health response—one that strengthens systems while staying grounded in community realities.
An Invitation to Collaborate
The dengue challenge is not new—but what is new is the commitment to address it collectively, across systems and sectors. The EquiHealth Alliance is not a campaign, but a platform for lasting public health change. As we transition from dialogue to delivery, we invite partners to shape this next phase with us—starting with dengue, but setting the template for much more.
Together, we can turn this momentum into a movement—and build a healthier, more equitable future for all.
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-85437-w
