The Indonesian Ministry of Health and the Tropical Medicine Center of Universitas Gadjah Mada (PKT UGM) continue the pilot project to implement Wolbachia technology in efforts to control dengue fever.
With additional funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through the World Mosquito Program (WMP), the project is taking place in four cities: West Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, and Kupang.
Previously, the Wolbachia project was conducted in Bontang and is scheduled for completion in early 2025.
The funding provided by DFAT is said to support the project’s expansion to new areas in the four cities next year.
“This funding is complementary, supplementing the state budget (APBN) that has already been allocated. This money will be used to complete the project in these four cities next year,” explained Dr. Riris Andono Ahmad, Director of PKT UGM, on Monday (Dec. 16).
The additional funding from DFAT is channeled through the Partnership for Healthy Region Initiative scheme, which aims to support the sustainability of the Wolbachia-based dengue control program.
Bekti Andari, WMP Asia Project Manager for Communication & Engagement, stated that the pilot project implementation of Wolbachia technology in five cities has been progressing well. However, some activities could be improved with additional funding support.
“The funding from DFAT is used to fill the gap in the activities that have been outlined,” she said.
Further, Andari explained that the DFAT funding had been allocated for specific activities, including project management, community engagement, consumables, bucket placement and monitoring, data and mapping management, mosquito egg production at Udayana University, and cross-sectoral issues using the GEDSI approach (gender equality, disability, and social inclusion).
“We must ensure that this program also benefits vulnerable communities,” she added.
The DFAT funding complements the government budget funds that were previously used.
This is certainly good news for the pilot project initiated by the Ministry of Health with the support of PKT UGM, which is expected to be a complementary method for reducing the number of DBD cases in Indonesia, especially in areas where the project is being implemented.
Author: Lintang
Editor: Gusti Grehenson