The World Mosquito Program is working in Colombo to protect communities from mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.
In 2021, we completed the release of Wolbachia mosquitoes in Colombo Municipal Council-District 1 and Nugegoda, covering 20km2 and 240,000 residents.
We are currently monitoring the Wolbachia mosquito population and dengue cases, and are encouraged by the preliminary results of Wolbachia establishing in the release areas.
This first release of our Wolbachia mosquitoes, conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services (MHIMS), wrapped up in June 2021.
We thank the community and stakeholders in Sri Lanka for their remarkable support for enabling our Wolbachia mosquito releases to be completed successfully. The community participated by:
- Hosting mosquito monitoring traps at their residences.
- Growing and releasing mosquitoes using the Mozzie Box.
- Taking part in our various activities and events.
- Helping us share our work with the greater Colombo community.
The pilot project was the first of its kind in the country and aims to help quell the impact of a dengue epidemic that has emerged as a serious public health concern in Sri Lanka.
Progress updates
We’ve been working with communities in Sri Lanka since 2020 to help prevent mosquito-borne diseases. Read our progress updates to see our latest news.
