GX Foundation conducted post-flooding evaluation on dengue risk in the most affected areas

Laos has experienced a series of severe storms in recent months, leading to heavy rainfall and flooding that have wreaked havoc across multiple provinces and communities. The floods have affected over 250,000 people, with many residents displaced and resulted in loss of lives.

GX Foundation (the Foundation), an international humanitarian aid organization established in Hong Kong and actively engaged in relief efforts in Laos, mobilized to conduct a one-week assessment in the country from 23-28 September. Professor CHAN Ying-yang Emily, the Foundation’s CEO and an expert in the WHO’s Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (HEDRM) Research Network, led a team to the most affected areas in the northern province of Luang Namtha. Based on post-disaster evaluations, the team examined the potential risks of a dengue outbreak. The team also conducted site inspection Luang Prabang and the capital, Vientiane, as well as meeting with Ms FANG Hong, the Chinese ambassador to Laos.

Flooding considered as a risk factor for dengue
Villages in severely affected areas being assessed

Following Typhoon Yagi's landfall, flooding has severely impacted the capital, Vientiane, and various provinces, including Luang Namtha, Phongsaly, and Luang Prabang, since September 9. As of September 20, Luang Namtha has been the most affected province, with over 40,000 people in 46 villages requiring assistance. More than a hundred homes have been destroyed by the disaster.

From September 23 to 28, the Foundation dispatched a team to assess the aftermath of flooding, focusing on the heavily impacted Luang Namtha Province, in collaboration with the Laos-China Railway Company. The company operates the railway, which is the only large-scale mass transportation accessible to the disaster areas. It has been assisting local disaster relief by providing free shuttle services for relief teams and transporting essential supplies under severe flooding conditions.

The Foundation’s CEO, Professor CHAN Ying-yang Emily, met with village leaders, residents, monks, and local health agency officials from the flood-impacted areas. She also visited the impacted airports to assess the overall situation. The Foundation distributed anti-mosquito lamps, dengue rapid test kits, and sticky insect traps to the villagers and medical institutions, encouraging their use to prevent dengue. At the Health Centre in Luang Namtha, all equipment and medications were submerged by floodwaters. The Centre’s director stated that rebuilding would take a month before it could serve the area’s 24,000 residents again. He added that the centre typically received the highest number of dengue fever patients in the province, having recorded over 850 cases this year.

As an expert in the WHO’s HEDRM Research Network, Professor CHAN Ying-yang Emily, emphasized that the flooding has significantly affected the country, “Besides the necessity of rebuilding damaged infrastructure, impacted areas can expect a considerable rise in the risk of dengue outbreaks and other vector-borne diseases as floodwaters recede.” Consequently, the Foundation is exploring the possibility on providing assistance on rebuilding the laboratory as well as donating anti-dengue resources to enhance the capability of dengue prevention.

Top fundraising organization for the Tencent’s “Giving for Good”
Donations dedicated to “Health Protection against Dengue Fever” project in Laos

In early September, GX Foundation launched its first public fundraising campaign as part of Tencent Foundation’s “Giving for Good” event. The Foundation successfully gained substantial support from numerous generous donors, reaching the maximum “matching donation” and receiving HKD 500,000 from Tencent, along with an additional HKD 100,000 “incentive grant” for being the top fundraising organization. The Foundation expresses its gratitude to Tencent for providing a fundraising platform that facilitates additional resources. These funds will provide timely anti-dengue assistance in Laos, while also supporting projects for health protection against dengue fever, provision of potable water, cataract blindness elimination, and youth development in Hong Kong.

The Foundation launched the "Cataract Blindness Elimination Project" in Laos in September 2022, successfully completing over 4,500 cataract surgeries across seven cohorts. In May 2024, the Foundation initiated the “Health Protection Against Dengue Fever” project in collaboration with the Laos-China Railway Company, the Lao Ministry of Health, and the Kunming Railway Bureau. Nearly 1,000 mosquito lamps have been donated and installed to 24 stations along the China-Laos Railway to support the prevention and control of dengue fever, as well as other vector-borne diseases. The effectiveness of this initiative has proven to be highly significant.