Gates Foundation backed the first release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to fight dengue in Latin America
With Gates Foundation support, the World Mosquito Program conducted its first releases of Wolbachia-bacteria-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Bello, Colombia — the first deployment of the Wolbachia method in Latin America. Wolbachia is a naturally occurring bacterium that, when carried by the mosquito, reduces its ability to transmit dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever by up to 77%. Unlike sterile insect or genetic approaches, Wolbachia spreads through wild populations and self-sustains — meaning releases need not be continuous. The Colombia deployment became a model for subsequent city-scale rollouts across Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and South America.
Source: https://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/en/work/wolbachia-method/impact
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Related Accomplishments
January 2026
Gates-backed World Mosquito Program reaches 16 million people protected from dengue via Wolbachia method
The World Mosquito Program — backed in part by the Gates Foundation — announced in January 2026 that its Wolbachia-infected mosquito releases had reached over 16.1 million people across multiple countries, including Colombia, Indonesia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Vietnam. Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — which block dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever transmission — had established self-sustaining populations in treated cities without requiring ongoing releases. Gold-standard randomised trials in Indonesia showed a 77% reduction in dengue incidence. The program represented one of the largest and most cost-effective vector control deployments in history.
December 2025
Gates Foundation Pledges $100 Million to Global Financing Facility for Women's and Children's Health 2026–2030
On December 6, 2025, at the Universal Health Coverage High-Level Forum in Tokyo, the Gates Foundation pledged $100 million to the World Bank-hosted Global Financing Facility's 2026–2030 strategy for ending preventable deaths among women, children, and adolescents in LMICs. The pledge brings the foundation's total GFF commitment past $500 million since 2015. The GFF provides catalytic grant financing and technical assistance to strengthen LMIC health systems and expand quality access to health and nutrition services for the world's most vulnerable populations.
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