Dengue fever dengue infects about 400 million people every year, causes severe pain and kills over 20,000 people. While organizations like the World Mosquito Program are working on methods to block mosquitoes from transmitting the disease, a low-tech solution is now available in Bangladesh.
It turns out that zebras are last in line when it comes to mosquito bites. Seen through the insects' compound eyes, those wavy, black-and-white stripes mess with their vision and deter the mosquitoes from landing.
Creative agency Grey Dhaka built on that finding to create zebra-patterned curtains for residents of Dhaka's informal settlements, who suffer from high rates of dengue. Commissioned by Akash Digital TV, Grey designed curtains and developed an educational activation campaign to distribute them free of charge. The TV service provider's angle? Fewer mosquitoes means fewer interruptions for viewers of its digital broadcasts.
