Dengue remains one of the most pressing public health challenges, with its incidence rising sharply over the years due to rapid urbanisation, climate change, and gaps in vector control measures. India alone accounts for nearly one-third of the global dengue burden, out of an estimated 100–400 million infections annually worldwide, placing a heavy burden on healthcare systems and communities.
In response to these challenges, AVPN held five convenings in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that were intentionally designed as collaborative, cross-sectoral engagements, bringing together government representatives, policymakers, healthcare practitioners, community voices, researchers, and funders to co-create a roadmap for strengthening healthcare systems.
This report brings together insights from these five convenings and centres lived experience — of patients, caregivers, frontline health workers, and marginalised communities — as essential to designing accessible, inclusive, and resilient public health responses. The report focuses on exploring actionable pathways and distils cross-sector perspectives into a forward-looking roadmap for national and sub-national action across three critical areas:
- Prevention, Timely Management, and Behaviour Change
- Data and Surveillance
- Financing
As a direct response to the challenges and pathways highlighted in the report, AVPN along with ETI has launched The EquiHealth Alliance, a multi-stakeholder alliance that brings together experts from public health, epidemiology, community engagement, financing, and behavioural science committed to advancing equitable access to healthcare for infectious diseases, with an immediate focus on dengue.
Read the report
