Catalyzing a Global Ecosystem for Scale-up of Wolbachia-based Interventions to Prevent Dengue and Aedes-Borne Diseases

Dengue poses a significant and growing global health threat. Mosquito resistance to insecticides is spreading even as global warming and urbanization expand Aedes habitat, increasing risk of dengue and other Aedes- borne viral diseases. Demonstration that certain strains of Wolbachia can inhibit viral growth in the vector offers a sustainable tool to counteract the increasing risk of these diseases. Implementations by World Mosquito Program and others have produced impressive results, but scaling this innovation to all at risk requires a global ecosystem of government-led programs, donors, and suppliers that does not exist today. CHAI and HFC aim to develop the global ecosystem needed to scale Wolbachia-based solutions to mitigate the growing threat of dengue and other arboviruses by: (1) Incorporating Wolbachia-based tools into evidence-based, government-owned national dengue strategies in 4+ countries while gathering intelligence on demand and budget requirements across Central America, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa; (2) Quantifying regional supply requirements and engaging suppliers to ensure necessary supply and technical expertise exists to meet demand; (3) Developing financing mechanisms to fund Wolbachia deployment across diverse settings. Together these interrelated workstreams will catalyze scale-up by simultaneously stimulating demand, financing, and affordable supply to realize the potential of this critical health innovation.