EcoHealth Alliance To Honor SC Johnson at Annual Spring Benefit in New York City
NEW YORK – April 10, 2018 – EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of animal, environmental, and human health on a global scale, announced today that it will honor SC Johnson at its upcoming spring benefit: “Standing Between You and the Next Pandemic.” EcoHealth Alliance applauds SC Johnson, a leading manufacturer of household cleaning and pest control products, for its commitment to social responsibility, including its efforts to help protect consumers against mosquito-borne diseases like Zika and dengue fever. The company will be honored at EcoHealth Alliance’s annual benefit taking place on April 26, 2018 at Guastavino’s, located at 409 E. 59th Street in New York City.
“Mosquito-borne diseases can have a devastating effect on individuals and communities, and we remain committed to helping protect the most vulnerable,” Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson said. “We are honored to be recognized by EcoHealth Alliance for our decades of expertise in insect science and continuing efforts to provide education on mosquito protection to families around the world.”
For decades, SC Johnson has been committed to helping protect against mosquito-borne diseases. In 2016, in response to the global outbreak of Zika and dengue fever, the company made a commitment to donate $15 million in pest control products and financial support to help at-risk families combat mosquitoes that may carry the Zika virus. SC Johnson delivered on that promise in 2017 and continues to educate families globally on how to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
SC Johnson is dedicated to protecting earth’s most critical resources for future generations and has been actively involved in battling deforestation. As a member of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), SC Johnson shares its commitment to net zero deforestation by 2020 through the sustainable sourcing of pulp, paper, packaging, and palm oil. This is of special importance to EcoHealth Alliance, as our research has demonstrated the connection between deforestation and emerging disease spread.
“We are thrilled to commend SC Johnson at this year’s benefit,” EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak said. “SC Johnson’s commitment to their customers and the environment is paramount and we are delighted to shine a light on their positive corporate responsibility.”
More than 60 percent of infectious diseases infecting humans originate in animals. Increased interaction between humans and wildlife due to deforestation, urbanization, and other types of land-use change are creating more opportunities for new viruses to spread into human populations than ever before. Preventing those spillover events is at the core of EcoHealth Alliance’s work, and maintaining healthy ecosystems plays a key role in preventing disease spread.
About EcoHealth Alliance
Building on over 45 years of groundbreaking science, EcoHealth Alliance is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting wildlife, environmental, and public health from the emergence of disease. Approximately 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases like Ebola, HIV, Zika, SARS, MERS, and West Nile virus have all originated in animals before spilling over to human populations. Using environmental and health data covering the past 60 years, EcoHealth Alliance scientists created the first-ever global disease hotspots map that identified at-risk regions to determine where research and field work are needed to help predict and prevent the next pandemic crisis. That work is the foundation of EcoHealth Alliance’s rigorous, science-based approach working in more than 30 countries worldwide. EcoHealth Alliance’s strength is founded on innovations in research, training, global partnerships, capacity building, and policy initiatives.
Press contact: Anthony Ramos, (212) 380-4469 or ramos@ecohealthalliance.org