Across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, tropical diseases – neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis (JE), chikungunya, and Zika virus – are spreading faster than ever, driven by climate change, urbanisation, and unprecedented population mobility. Yet even as outbreaks intensify, attention, preparedness, and sustained communication investment often peak during crises, and fade once case numbers decline.

For pharma leaders, the question is no longer just whether scientific innovation is keeping pace. It’s whether communication strategies are strong enough to build trust, drive preventive behaviours, and protect communities across APAC’s diverse markets. The region’s escalating disease burden is testing leadership, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

APAC accounts for 70 per cent of the 2.5 billion people at risk of dengue fever, with the Pacific Islands enduring their worst outbreak in a decade. In 2025, health authorities recorded 23,500 suspected cases and 16,000 laboratory-confirmed cases – a stark reminder that reactive response alone is insufficient. Without sustained public engagement, even the most effective vaccines and therapies risk underperforming, leaving communities vulnerable to recurrent outbreaks. Strategic communication, continuous education, and long-term prevention planning are no longer optional. They are central to safeguarding health across the region.

The 2019 dengue outbreak in China illustrates how mobility and climate accelerate disease spread. Nearly 23,000 cases were reported across multiple provinces, with many infections introduced from Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar. Local Aedes mosquitoes then transmitted the virus to communities, generating sustained outbreaks far beyond border regions. The lesson for pharma leaders is clear: outbreaks do not respect borders, and neither can communication strategies. Embedding regionally relevant messaging, risk awareness, and education on diseases such as JE, chikungunya, and Zika into multi-market planning is now a leadership imperative.

A GROWING HEALTH BURDEN WITH LIMITED VISIBILITY

Tropical and mosquito-borne diseases are endemic across much of APAC, with outbreaks occurring more frequently, and affecting new locations and demographics. Japanese encephalitis (JE) remains a leading cause of viral neurological disease in the region, with cases reported not only in temperate and tropical zones of northern Australia, but also in India, Nepal, Thailand, and other countries, demonstrating the evolving and geographically expanding risk. Chikungunya and Zika virus periodically resurface, particularly in Southeast Asia, overwhelming local health responses when outbreaks occur. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as lymphatic filariasis and dengue’s more severe forms further strain already stretched health systems.

Despite this burden, media and public attention often spike during outbreaks but quickly fade, resulting in ongoing under-prioritisation. Policymakers frequently redirect resources to chronic diseases or those affecting higher-income countries, leaving diseases such as dengue, JE, chikungunya, Zika, and NTDs insufficiently addressed, even where risk is growing.

In endemic regions, the communications gap is as critical as the clinical one. Inconsistent messaging, limited public awareness, and gaps in culturally tailored education reduce uptake of vaccines, limit prevention behaviours, and undermine trust in public health interventions.

For pharma leaders operating in APAC, the implications are clear:

• Public engagement declines between outbreaks as other health priorities take over, leaving communities sceptical and under-informed.
• Disease awareness and education remain inconsistent, with wealthier countries better informed than lower-resourced markets, limiting uptake of prevention measures such as vaccination and mosquito-control initiatives.
• Market-specific perceptions of risk and disease prevention for diseases like dengue, JE, chikungunya, and Zika are poorly understood, meaning local needs are often overlooked.
• The pharmaceutical industry risks being perceived as reactive responders, rather than long-term partners in health security if their communication is episodic.

Scientific advances in vaccines, therapies, and detection tools are essential. But without strategically aligned, disease-specific communications, even the most effective interventions risk under-performance.

FROM INNOVATION TO IMPACT: DRIVING CHANGE ACROSS APAC

Innovation in vaccines, delivery models, and digital disease surveillance is advancing. Dengue vaccines, JE immunisation programs, and monitoring for chikungunya and Zika are examples of progress. However, the strategic challenge is ensuring these advances translate into measurable outcomes across diverse APAC markets – from early detection and increased vaccine coverage, to equitable access, and improved public health literacy.

APAC is not a single market. It spans highly resourced systems like Australia and Singapore, rapidly developing economies across Southeast Asia, and climate-vulnerable Pacific Island nations. Strategies that overlook this diversity, or fail to address specific diseases such as dengue, JE, chikungunya, Zika, or NTDs, will underperform, regardless of scientific innovation.

This is where communications plays a pivotal role. Effective, regionally tailored disease communication can:

• Maintain awareness of tropical disease risks between outbreaks, reinforcing prevention behaviours such as mosquito control, hygiene, and vaccination campaigns.
• Enable early detection and rapid response by equipping communities with clear guidance on symptoms, outbreak protocols, and when to seek care.
• Improve understanding of disease severity and the value of vaccines for dengue, JE, and other mosquito-borne diseases.
• Build durable trust and confidence in public health interventions and vaccines, supporting uptake across diverse communities.
• Position pharma leaders as credible, long-term partners in health security, not just providers of reactive solutions.

WHAT EFFECTIVE, SUSTAINED PREPAREDNESS LOOKS LIKE

To move from episodic response to long-term resilience, pharma leaders should consider strategies that embed disease-specific communications into every stage of outbreak management:

• Regional data with local relevance

APAC strategies must be informed by epidemiological trends for dengue, JE, chikungunya, Zika, and NTDs, local health policies, and cultural context – not by one-size-fits-all messaging. Understanding how communities perceive dengue risk in Indonesia versus JE awareness in Northern Australia, or how Zika and chikungunya are understood in urban versus regional populations, is the first step toward effective engagement.

• Multi-market coordination

Outbreaks do not respect borders, and APAC’s diverse health systems demand coordinated communications. Aligning messaging, sharing insights, and establishing consistent education frameworks across markets strengthens preparedness and builds resilient regional networks capable of responding to tropical diseases.

• Education beyond the outbreak cycle

Public understanding fades as case numbers drop. Continuous, evidence-based education helps maintain risk awareness, reinforces preventive behaviours, supports early symptom recognition, and strengthens vaccine uptake for diseases including dengue and JE.

• Trust as a differentiator

In an environment of public fatigue and misinformation, trust cannot be built during a crisis alone. Brands that invest early in clear, credible, culturally sensitive communication stand apart as long-term partners in health security.

COMMUNICATIONS: THE LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY

Tropical diseases are biologically complex, but the barriers to sustained progress are increasingly strategic and communication-driven. With APAC carrying the majority of global dengue burden, alongside persistent risk from JE, chikungunya, Zika, and NTDs, the question for pharma leaders is not whether outbreaks will occur, but whether preparedness and communication strategies are evolving fast enough to protect the diverse markets in region.

Leadership requires investing in awareness and engagement between outbreaks; coordinating messaging across multiple markets; and including communications as a core component of outbreak preparedness, not merely a reactive tactic.

The question for pharma is no longer whether outbreaks will occur. It is whether leaders are using communications strategically to prevent them?

SHAPING TRUSTED HEALTH ENGAGEMENT ACROSS APAC

At VIVA! Communications, we believe preparedness is built long before an outbreak commences. We work alongside healthcare and pharmaceutical leaders across APAC to translate scientific innovation into regionally resonant, disease-specific communication strategies. We focus on aligning stakeholders across markets, strengthening public trust and engagement, curating sustained messaging for tropical diseases, and supporting multi-market coordination to improve outbreak resilience.

As climate change and global mobility continue to reshape infectious disease risk, tropical diseases will remain a defining challenge for APAC. The opportunity for pharma is clear: to lead strategically, regionally, and credibly, using communications as a lever for real-world impact.

If you’re working in tropical disease management and are committed to advancing communications-led preparedness across APAC, let’s start a conversation.