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The World Mosquito Program protects communities from mosquito-borne disease with our natural, self-sustaining Wolbachia method.
We’ve become a trusted ally – built on decades of experience – working closely as partners with communities across the globe. As climate change accelerates mosquito-borne diseases, our nature-based Wolbachia method provides lasting protection from dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Smart. Safe. Self-sustaining.
With growing global interest in mosquito-borne disease prevention, here are the questions people ask us most.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided grant funding to the World Mosquito Program over a number of years, as one of many funders supporting our work. That funding relationship has now concluded. The Gates Foundation no longer funds WMP projects.
The Gates Foundation had no role in the scientific direction, operational decisions, or governance of WMP. The World Mosquito Program is owned by Monash University and operates as an independent not-for-profit. Decisions about where we work, how we work, and who we partner with are made entirely by WMP and Monash University.
WMP is currently funded through a diverse mix of governments, philanthropies such as Wellcome Trust, and local partners.
No. City-wide Wolbachia deployments between 2017 and 2024 in Bello, Medellín and Itagüí, protecting more than 3.5 million people, resulted in marked reductions in dengue incidence and sustained protection. These included dramatic drops of 91.9% in Bello and 92.1% in Itagüí, even during the severe 2024 national outbreak.
The Wolbachia bacteria is now self-sustaining in the local mosquito population – which is exactly the goal of our method: a one-time intervention that maintains itself indefinitely without the need for continued releases. WMP continues to monitor outcomes there, but large-scale production and releases have concluded.
Posts on social media claiming the Medellín facility is still mass-producing and releasing mosquitoes are based on outdated information. Our major mosquito facility in Medellín closed in 2024.
No. Our method does not involve the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO). GMO technology is defined as the use of particular procedures to alter the natural composition of an animal or plant’s DNA. Our method is not genetic modification, as the genetic material of the mosquito has not been altered.
Neither the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes nor the Wolbachia have been genetically modified in the lab, and the strain of Wolbachia we are using is naturally occurring. None of the governments in the 16 countries where Wolbachia mosquitoes have been released have considered this to be a GMO technology.
The approaches are fundamentally different. Some programmes – including those involving genetically modified mosquitoes or the Sterile Insect Technique – aim to suppress or eliminate mosquito populations. They require continuous, large-scale releases of male mosquitoes to maintain their effect.
WMP’s method works differently. We release both male and female mosquitoes carrying naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria for a defined period. These mosquitoes breed with the wild population until, over 6–12 months, Wolbachia is established throughout the local mosquito population. Once established, Wolbachia is self-sustaining – no ongoing releases are needed. Our method does not involve any genetic modification.
Our approach has been independently evaluated and has demonstrated a 77 per cent reduction in dengue cases in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 89% in Niterói, Brazil, and more than 90 per cent in Medellín, Colombia.
Mosquito-borne outbreaks are unpredictable, and reactive response systems are costly, slow and often too late. WMP offers a safe, scientifically proven and cost-effective alternative already successfully deployed in 15 countries. As a long-term partner in national disease prevention strategy, our aim is to reduce future government costs and build durable public health resilience.
Not a treatment. A shift. We’re setting change in motion with nature that heals itself. We invite communities to learn from trusted local voices, ask questions, and explore how this could work in their own setting as co-creators and stewards of the future of public health.
Mosquito-borne diseases are a growing global crisis, but still largely underfunded and under-recognised. Imagine a prevention model that spreads naturally, protects entire regions, and keeps working long after you give. Your support can help fund a paradigm shift, not just another intervention.
The momentum is building, and so is the case for prevention at scale.
Our communities, staff and partners are the beating heart of everything we do. Full stories will return when our main website is back online.