VIENTIANE: The internationally renowned medical journal The Lancet has published the latest findings of GX Foundation’s project, validating the “China Solution” of physical vector control in addressing the global dengue fever threat.
GX’s article presents a novel approach to combatting dengue fever.
The paper sets out to show that, in an era marked by climate change, rapid urbanisation and increased population mobility, low-cost, low-tech, community-led physical intervention measures offer a viable path forward, addressing the shortcomings of traditional top-down, government-led prevention strategies.
The article’s lead author is GX CEO Professor Emily Chan Ying-yang. It is co-authored by Chairman Leung Chun-ying, Africa and Youth Director Caroline Dubois, Senior Project Manager (Head of Data Management) Dr Huang Zhe, and Senior Project Officer Louise Yung.
The authors note that global dengue cases surpassed 14.4 million in 2024—a historic record. With no targeted antiviral drugs currently available, conventional methods are becoming increasingly strained.
Chemical spraying faces challenges related to environmental protection and growing mosquito resistance, while biological controls are often costly and raise ecological concerns.
In response, GX has pioneered a prevention strategy based on “physical means of control”, introducing the “Five Mosquito Prevention Treasures”: mosquito lamps, rapid dengue test kits, bed nets, sticky fly traps and educational materials.
This community-led model has proven highly effective, safe, and has been welcomed by communities in GX’s partner countries.
A notable GX project achievement: In Laos, mosquito lamps installed at 24 sites along the China-Laos Railway proved highly effective, with 68.62 percent of users acknowledging their mosquito-control benefits.
Crucially, no infections were reported among any staff members in the 12 months following their installation.
Beyond Laos, GX’s key projects have also been rolled out in Timor-Leste, Honduras, Cambodia, and Vanuatu.
GX Chairman Leung highlighted the dual nature of GX’s mission, saying that GX is not only an “action-oriented” organisation dedicated to long-term frontline work and international humanitarian relief, but also a research-capable and knowledge-based institution.
He added that, building on the practical implementation of the “China Solution”, GX will continue to focus on diverse public health issues, systematically collate frontline experiences, promote cross-sectoral exchange, accumulate practical wisdom and contribute to the development of global public health scholarship.
GX CEO Professor Chan emphasised the broader significance of the findings. She noted that at a time when global public health measures face numerous challenges, GX has successfully validated the practical feasibility of the “China Solution” in Belt and Road countries.
She further stated that this approach offers the dual advantages of cost control and environmental sustainability.
More importantly, she said, it effectively stimulates proactive prevention awareness at the grassroots level, bridging the gap between government-led models and everyday public protection.
The publication of these findings once again in The Lancet signifies that the “people-oriented, context-specific” Chinese public health practice has garnered significant attention and authoritative recognition within the international academic community, while also injecting vital confidence and momentum into frontline work.
Looking ahead, GX will continue to collaborate with health departments and academic institutions in partner countries to establish more robust monitoring systems.
The goal is to transform prevention supplies into sustainable health resources that communities can manage independently, enhancing grassroots capacity to combat epidemics.
GX will also promote cross-border exchanges, enabling more developing countries to understand and adopt the “China Solution” as a collective response to the vector-borne disease challenges intensified by climate change and urbanisation. - Vientiane Times/ANN
