TacDe: Tackling Dengue in a Changing Climate: A Bangladesh Perspective

Climate change is having a significant global impact on dengue transmission, the most common mosquito-borne illness worldwide. Bangladesh is increasingly at risk due to the combined effects of climate change and the rising incidence of dengue. In 2023, the country reported the second-highest number of dengue cases globally, after Brazil. The rising humidity, temperatures, and rainfall during the summer months are expected to contribute to more frequent dengue outbreaks in the future. However, there is limited research on how climate factors, such as temperature and rainfall, influence dengue transmission, and insufficient data on how vulnerable groups-such as children, the elderly, and low-income communities-are disproportionately affected. Additionally, there is a lack of evidence on cost-effective, climate-adaptive dengue prevention strategies that can be scaled by non-specialists and applied in other low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). The integration of climate data with health surveillance remains inadequate, which hampers effective outbreak forecasting. Furthermore, there is little understanding of community behaviors and perceptions surrounding dengue and climate risks, as well as the multidimensional impacts of both climate change and dengue. Acknowledging the importance of equitable partnerships with institutions in Bangladesh, the core of this proposal is to engage various stakeholders in developing a consortium that will collaborate to create an impactful and implementable full proposal.