After her son was diagnosed with dengue, Afliana Soares became one of the community leaders helping her neighbours in Dili understand the Wolbachia method. Releases have now covered the entire urban population of Timor-Leste's capital, around 240,000 people, through a collaboration between the Ministry of Health, the World Mosquito Program, Action on Poverty and the Menzies School of Health Research.

Afliana Soares remembers the night like it was yesterday. Her son had a fever that wouldn't shift.

"I took him to the clinic and the doctor advised us to go home and give him medicine to reduce his fever, but the fever wouldn't go down," she says.

Despite the medicine, her son's fever continued to rise, so Soares took him to another clinic.

"The doctor took a blood sample and the results showed that my child was positive for dengue. I didn't expect it."

Speaking from a community centre in a leafy neighbourhood in Dili, Timor-Leste's coastal capital, Soares says the experience changed her perspective. Dengue has become an increasing public health concern in Asia's youngest nation, with several major outbreaks reported over the past decade. By the end of March, Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, had recorded more than 3,500 dengue cases and over 20 deaths.

Inspired by personal experience

For Soares, her family's experience with dengue became the motivation to help protect others.

"I'm grateful my son is healthy again," she says. "Because of the information I received, I always shared it with the community."

As a respected community leader, Soares helped residents understand the recent Wolbachia mosquito releases as part of a joint effort to reduce mosquito-borne diseases across the country.

The collaboration between the World Mosquito Program (WMP), Timor-Leste's Ministry of Health (MoH), Action on Poverty (AOP) and the Menzies School of Health Research saw releases cover the entire urban population of Dili — around 20 square kilometres and approximately 240,000 people. The project, which concluded earlier this year, was also supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) and the Macquarie Group Foundation.

"I've been very proud to be part of this programme," adds Soares. "As a community and organisational leader, I informed people not to be afraid if someone from the Ministry of Health or Menzies came to distribute Wolbachia mosquitoes, because the aim is to prevent dengue."

Tackling a growing health challenge

Timor-Leste, home to around 1.4 million people, has experienced repeated dengue outbreaks in recent years, with mosquito-borne diseases continuing to place pressure on communities and the health system.

Professor Nelson Martins, Senior Technical Advisor, says the country's partners recognised the potential of WMP's Wolbachia method as a sustainable approach to dengue prevention.

"Through meetings with the experts from the World Mosquito Program (WMP), we concluded that the Wolbachia method is a good technology, suitable for long-term protection with an effective budget," he says.

"So when WMP was looking for partners in Timor-Leste, Menzies was very open and ready to support implementation."

Building community trust

For Dr Heitor da Costa Pereira, Director of the National Directorate for Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health, the programme's success has depended on strong community engagement from the outset.

Working closely with community leaders such as Soares, Pereira believes local support has been critical to building trust and encouraging participation.

"We all know that dengue, malaria, chikungunya and Zika are diseases experienced in tropical countries," he says. "Nowadays we live in an era of globalisation. We must embrace technology and innovation to help reduce illness and save lives."

WMP's Wolbachia method is already showing encouraging trends across Dili, with long-term monitoring continuing over the coming years.

Looking to the years ahead

Pereira is quick to emphasise that lasting change takes time.

"It must be understood that nothing is instant. When we start something, the process will take time. I know people want results immediately, but patience is needed."

Martins agrees and hopes the programme can eventually expand to other parts of the country.

"Since the beginning of the Wolbachia programme, experience and knowledge have grown across the Timorese community," he says. "Before, very few people knew about the programme. Now the government and many communities are talking about it."

"Hopefully, in the coming years we will see its impact, and the government and communities can continue expanding the programme to other areas as we work towards a dengue-free Timor-Leste."

Comas, on the northern edge of Lima, is home to a new approach to dengue prevention. Peru's Ministry of Health leads the programme, working with the World Mosquito Program, the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Community delegates are helping neighbours understand the World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method and why it matters. The partnership is building the technical skills, systems and local leadership Peru needs to run the programme itself. Success will be measured in families who no longer fear a disease that has affected the country for decades.

Living with dengue in Comas

In the bustling district of Comas, nestled in the foothills of the Andes on the northern edge of Lima, a new approach to fighting dengue is taking shape.

For many families, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue are a part of everyday life in this densely populated community. Peru recorded more than 271,500 dengue cases in 2024 and a further 39,000 last year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as the country continued to grapple with one of its most persistent public health challenges.

"I started feeling headaches, pain behind my eyes, and fever," recalls Alicia Lurdes Bravo Yupanqui, a community delegate and law student at Universidad César Vallejo who lives in Zone 6. "It was a strong body pain. You don't want to eat anything, you feel nauseous... those days felt endless."

Recovering from dengue changed the way Alicia saw her community. Today, she draws on her own experience to help neighbours understand both the threat of the disease and the recent introduction of Wolbachia mosquitoes in Comas.

"What motivates me the most is caring about the common good of our community and seeing positive changes in my country," she says.

A programme led by Peru's Ministry of Health

But the work underway in Comas is about more than responding to dengue outbreaks. It is also about ensuring Peru can one day lead every aspect of the Wolbachia method independently.

Formed in 2025, the partnership is building the systems, technical expertise and local leadership needed to deliver the World Mosquito Program's (WMP) Wolbachia method, with the long-term goal of creating an installed, sovereign and self-sustaining capacity within the Peruvian State.

Led by Peru's Ministry of Health (MINSA), the programme brings together the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust (PRVCU), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), technical experts from WMP, and a range of national health organisations. Together, they are working to strengthen Peru's capacity to prevent dengue through locally led, sustainable public health innovation.

Earning trust, one conversation at a time

Through patient conversations in parks and community kitchens, Alicia has helped turn curiosity and doubt into the trust on which every successful public health programme depends.

"Sometimes people hear dengue and think it's nothing," she explains. "But it can leave you very sick, or even kill you."

In the desert hills of neighbouring Zone 4, Carmen Luz Estrella Paz has taken on a similar role.

Drawing on a painful family experience with dengue, she has made disease prevention a personal mission, answering questions, dispelling rumours and helping residents embrace a method she believes will save lives.

Several years ago, her nephew became seriously ill with severe dengue. At the time, cases were only beginning to appear in Lima and information about the disease was limited. As his condition worsened, he was admitted to hospital. Carmen still remembers the fear her family felt, convinced that if treatment had come any later, the outcome could have been very different.

"We cannot ignore it," she says. "The mosquito doesn't waste any time. It finds the perfect place to lay its eggs."

Today, Carmen works alongside community leaders and health authorities to strengthen dengue prevention in her neighbourhood, helping residents understand both the risks posed by the disease and the benefits of the Wolbachia method.

"This worries me deeply, and I want to prevent it from happening to my neighbours, my family and my community," she says.

Building Peru's long-term capacity

For Isabel Alarcón, an officer with the Incident Management System for the Wolbachia Plan, community leadership has been fundamental to the programme's success.

"We have been fighting dengue for many years," she says. "Learning about a natural method with a strong focus on community participation, and working closely with the Ministry of Health, helps us understand it and adapt it to our local reality."

Sharing knowledge in this way helps ensure the programme can continue long after international partners step back. Rather than relying on a permanent international presence, the collaboration is strengthening Peru's public health system, from national authorities and regulators to the health promoters working directly in communities.

If successful, Comas could show how countries build the skills, confidence and technical expertise needed to lead their own long-term dengue prevention programmes.

For Alicia, however, success is measured more simply.

It means fewer families experiencing the fear she once felt, and more communities protected from a disease that has affected Peru for far too long.

"I believe the impact it will have in my beloved Peru will bring positive results," she says. "And that we will be able to control dengue without people losing their lives."

Wolbachia mosquito releases are now underway across five provinces in Laos, expanding a partnership between the Ministry of Health, Save the Children International and the World Mosquito Program that began in 2022. More than 1.2 million people are expected to gain long-term protection against dengue, following months of community engagement that saw public acceptance exceed 88 per cent.

Building on early success

Following launch events in early July, releases are now taking place in Vientiane Capital, Oudomxay, Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Champasak provinces. The expansion follows months of technical preparation and community engagement carried out between April and June 2026.

The Ministry of Health's Department of Communicable Disease Control (DCDC) has led the project in partnership with Save the Children International (SCI), with support from the Australian Government and the World Mosquito Program (WMP), since the method was introduced in Laos in 2022 to help combat the growing threat of dengue.

Building on successful deployments in Vientiane Capital over the past four years, the programme has now expanded across all nine districts of the capital as well as four additional provinces. More than 1.2 million people are expected to benefit from long-term protection against dengue.

A major public health challenge

Dengue remains a persistent public health challenge in Laos, particularly during the rainy season from May to October.

Between 2025 and mid-2026, close to 1,500 dengue cases were reported nationwide, including four severe cases - each one a family disrupted, a child kept home from school, and pressure on already stretched health services.

"Dengue fever was once mainly a rainy-season disease, but it can now occur year-round," says Bounleua Sinxaylorlavong, Chairman of the provincial Administrative Committee.

"Major outbreaks occurred in 2013, 2019, 2022, and 2023, causing significant loss of life and property. Dengue remains a serious public health challenge, requiring everyone's cooperation to stay vigilant and prevent its spread"

Building trust

Public health innovation succeeds or fails on the trust of the communities it serves, and in Laos, that confidence has been earned village by village.

Between April and June 2026, the project trained 336 village health volunteers across 197 villages in the five target provinces. Training of Trainers sessions, Community Advisory Group meetings, Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) workshops, youth engagement activities and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping all helped strengthen local capacity and ensure communities were well informed before releases began.

Public acceptance across the five target areas exceeded 88 per cent, reflecting strong confidence in WMP's Wolbachia method and its potential to reduce dengue transmission.

"Dengue fever remains a major public health challenge and a threat to the lives and well-being of people worldwide, causing outbreaks and deaths each year," says Baykham Khattiya, Minister of Health, Laos.

"The Wolbachia mosquito release programme is a new innovative method to dengue control that has achieved positive results in many countries. It also represents hope for more effective dengue prevention and control in the Lao PDR."

Growing evidence

The evidence from other countries offers real hope in Laos. In Brazil, Wolbachia deployments have translated into large, measurable reductions in dengue transmission at city scale. In its first fully protected city, Niterói, WMP recorded an 89% drop in dengue cases, and during the country's 2024 outbreak, case rates remained far below state and national levels. Recent results from Campo Grande also showed a 63.2% decline in cases in the city, following Wolbachia releases.

In Colombia, city-wide Wolbachia deployments between 2017 and 2024 in Bello, Medellín and Itagüi - 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 Itagüi, even during the severe 2024 national outbreak.

Evidence from Indonesia

Evidence from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where WMP completed a three-year randomised controlled trial, also showed a 77% reduction in dengue incidence and an 86% reduction in dengue hospitalisations. Yogyakarta made history in its fight against dengue in 2023, with a record of only 67 cases, thanks to WMP's Wolbachia method, first implemented in the city in 2016.

A healthier future

To date, the World Mosquito Program (WMP) has protected over 16 million people across 15 countries, preventing an estimated 1.54 million dengue cases and close to 93,000 hospitalisations, while saving $455 million in healthcare and societal costs.

Where Wolbachia has become established in local mosquito populations, evidence consistently shows substantial and sustained reductions in dengue transmission.

"Together, we are reducing the burden of dengue while advancing innovation, delivering hope, and creating safer, healthier environments for children and families," says Ebbs.

Few people understand the danger of dengue as personally as someone who has lived through it. Alicia Lurdes Bravo Yupanqui - a community delegate and law student in Comas, northern Lima - caught the disease years ago and never forgot it. Now she draws on that experience to help her neighbours take dengue seriously and to understand an unfamiliar new tool in the fight against it: the World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method. Through patient conversations in parks and community kitchens, she is turning curiosity and doubt into the trust that makes a public health strategy work. Her story shows how surviving a disease can become a reason to protect an entire community.

"Sometimes people hear the word dengue and think it's nothing, but it can leave you very sick—or even kill you."

In the district of Comas, in northern Lima, Peru, neighbourhood organisations are part of everyday life. Parks, community meetings, and public spaces often become places where residents exchange information, discuss local challenges, and work together to find solutions that benefit their neighbourhoods.

In Zone 6, one of the people who has taken on that role is Alicia Lurdes Bravo Yupanqui, a community delegate and law student at Universidad César Vallejo. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball and participating in community activities, but what truly drives her is her commitment to her neighbours. "What motivates me the most is caring about the common good of our community and seeing positive changes in my country," she said.

Her interest in community health, however, did not come only from her leadership role. It was shaped by a personal experience that deeply affected her life. Several years ago, Alicia lived in Piura, a northern region of Peru where dengue outbreaks often occur during the rainy season. Much like in Comas, rainwater frequently collects in containers and household water storage tanks, creating ideal breeding sites for the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue.

Crippling pain of dengue

It was there that Alicia became ill. "I started feeling headaches, pain behind my eyes, and fever," she recalls. Doctors soon confirmed the diagnosis: dengue. The days that followed were filled with physical discomfort and worry. "It was a strong body pain. You don't want to eat anything, you feel nauseous… those days felt endless," she adds.

While recovering, Alicia also witnessed the impact dengue could have on other families around her. She remembers the case of a close friend whose son nearly died from severe dengue. That experience permanently changed how she saw the mosquito responsible for transmitting the disease. "Every mosquito I saw, I tried to get rid of it," she said, with a clear sense of seriousness about protecting her family.

Dengue, a growing public health threat in Peru

Over time, Alicia came to understand that dengue is not a problem that can be solved within a single household. It is a challenge that affects entire communities. In recent years, dengue has become one of Peru's most pressing public health concerns, with thousands of cases reported nationwide and an increasing presence of the mosquito, Aedes aegypti, in densely populated urban areas such as northern Lima. In districts like Comas, the mosquito often finds breeding sites in standing water collected in containers, waste materials, and small household storage areas.

When Alicia returned to Comas and assumed her role as a community delegate, she began talking with her neighbours about dengue. In community meetings, social gatherings, and everyday conversations, she reminded people that the disease should not be underestimated. "Sometimes people hear dengue and think it's nothing," she explained. "But it can leave you very sick - or even kill you."

An innovative strategy to help combat dengue

It was during this time that Alicia first heard a word that sounded unfamiliar to her: Wolbachia. "At first it sounded like a strange name, something that didn't make much sense," she remembered. But her curiosity, and her commitment to the community, pushed her to learn more.

Shortly afterwards, Alicia and other community leaders were invited to a meeting at the Municipality of Comas. There, specialists from Peru's Ministry of Health, DIRIS Lima Norte, and the local Integrated Health Network (RIS) introduced an innovative strategy to help combat dengue: the release of mosquitoes carrying the naturally occurring bacterium Wolbachia, which reduces the mosquito's ability to transmit viruses such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.

The evidence behind the Wolbachia method

During that meeting, Alicia learned that the strategy was backed by years of research and successful international experiences. A gold-standard randomised trial in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, has shown a 77 per cent reduction in dengue incidence and an 86 per cent reduction in dengue hospitalisations in Wolbachia-treated areas compared with untreated areas. Peru's Ministry of Health officially authorised its implementation through Ministerial Resolution No. 485-2025-MINSA, under the Implementation and Evaluation Plan for the Wolbachia Strategy for Dengue Control in Prioritised Scenarios 2025–2027. The resolution supports the use of Wolbachia as a complementary biological method for dengue control in the country.

Building community trust through dialogue

When Alicia began sharing this information with her neighbours, questions quickly emerged. Many had never heard of Wolbachia before. "When I mentioned the name, people immediately asked, 'What is that?'" she recalled with a laugh. Some neighbours even imagined completely different explanations for how the strategy worked. But for Alicia, these questions were a natural part of the process. As a community leader, she understood that trust is built through clear information and open dialogue.

Rather than becoming discouraged by the initial doubts, Alicia did what she does best as a community leader: listen, discuss and organise. Together with the zonal president and with the support of health specialists from the Ministry of Health's Wolbachia Plan, she began organising meetings in parks, community kitchens, and other neighbourhood spaces to explain how the strategy works. The goal was simple: ensure that every neighbour understood the initiative and could share that information with family members and others in the community.

During this process, they also learned about experiences from other countries where the Wolbachia strategy had already been implemented, including El Salvador, where communities similar to theirs had accepted the method as an effective way to combat dengue. For Alicia, learning about these experiences helped strengthen community confidence and reinforced the idea that information and community organisation are essential in addressing the disease.

Hope for dengue control in Peru

Today, Alicia sees the project with hope. She believes that if communities understand the strategy and actively participate, they will accept initiatives like Wolbachia that can make a real difference in the fight against dengue. "I believe the impact it will have in my beloved Peru will bring positive results," she said. "And that we will be able to control dengue without people losing their lives."

When a new approach to dengue reaches a community, its success often depends on whether people trust it. In Comas, on the northern edge of Lima, that trust is being built by Carmen Luz Estrella Paz, president of Zone 4, who made it her responsibility to understand the World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method and explain it to her neighbours. Drawing on a painful family experience with the disease, she has turned dengue prevention into a personal mission - answering questions, dispelling rumours, and helping residents embrace a method she believes will save lives. Her story shows how community leadership turns a scientific innovation into lasting local acceptance.

"For us, dengue is a serious issue. That's why I believe Wolbachia is important, it will save lives."

In the desert hills of Zone 4 in Comas, Peru, access to water is not always easy. Many families must store it in barrels and containers so they can use it throughout the day. For Carmen Luz Estrella Paz, president of the zone, this daily reality is also a public health concern. When water remains stored for several days, she explains, it creates the perfect conditions for mosquitoes to reproduce. As Carmen puts it: "The mosquito doesn't waste any time, it finds the perfect place to lay its eggs."

As a community leader, Carmen understands the differences within her neighbourhood. In the lower part of the zonal area, concerns often focus on maintaining streets, trees, and public spaces. But in the upper area, the situation is different. There, dengue has become a constant concern. Over the years, this part of the district has reported dengue cases within the Peruvian capital's Lima Norte area, leading Carmen to make dengue prevention one of her top priorities.

Dengue - a deeply personal concern

For her, the issue is not distant or abstract. "We cannot ignore it," she says firmly, especially because many neighbours have experienced the disease firsthand and understand what it means to live with it.

Her concern is also deeply personal. Several years ago, her family went through one of their most difficult moments when her nephew fell ill with severe dengue. At that time, cases were just beginning to appear in Lima, and information about the disease was still limited. No one fully understood what was happening or how to respond. As the days passed, his condition became critical and he was hospitalised. Carmen remembers that moment with anguish, convinced that if medical attention had come any later, the outcome might have been very different.

That experience profoundly changed how she viewed the disease. From that moment on, dengue stopped being just a public health issue and became a personal and community concern. "This worries me deeply, and I want to prevent it from happening to my neighbours, my family, and my community," explains Carmen.

With that commitment, she has worked alongside other community leaders and health authorities to strengthen prevention efforts in her neighbourhood. Carmen recognises that in recent years Peru's Ministry of Health has made significant efforts to inform communities and coordinate with local leaders, helping residents better understand the risks of dengue and the importance of prevention.

Learning about the impact of Wolbachia

It was within this context that Carmen first heard about a tried and tested approach that promised a solution to the devastation of dengue. At first, she recalls, the reaction among neighbours to the World Mosquito Program's (WMP) Wolbachia method was one of surprise. Many people wondered what it would mean and whether it could truly help fight dengue.

Carmen remembers those early conversations clearly - neighbours asking with uncertainty what this strategy really involved.

For her, however, being the zonal president meant taking on a clear responsibility: learning first so she could inform others. As the initiative was approved and endorsed by health authorities, Carmen believed it was important to understand it and help her community do the same. Over time, she began attending meetings organised by the Ministry of Health, where specialists and biologists explained how the Wolbachia bacterium can reduce the mosquito's ability to transmit viruses such as dengue.

Convinced that information was essential, Carmen began sharing this knowledge throughout her community. Together with other delegates from her zonal area, she organised meetings in parks and neighbourhood spaces to explain how the strategy works and answer questions from residents. At the beginning, many people were influenced by rumours or incorrect information, but gradually those doubts were addressed through open dialogue. Acceptance increased, and residents began to embrace the promise of Wolbachia. Today, Carmen summarises her belief in a phrase she repeats with conviction: "Wolbachia is very important because it will save lives."

The effort did not stop with formal meetings. Carmen and other delegates also began speaking directly with nearby neighbours, sharing what they had learned in every conversation. She describes this effort as quiet but constant work, where each discussion helped more people understand the initiative.

A critical turning point against mosquito-borne disease

Today, Carmen approaches this challenge with optimism. She believes the Wolbachia strategy can represent a critical turning point in the fight against dengue in her zonal area and across Comas. Working together, the commitment from the community and expertise from health authorities and specialists will help deliver a solution that drives down dengue. For her, the fact that Comas is one of the first districts in Peru to apply this strategy is a valuable opportunity to protect the health of its residents.

When Carmen speaks about the future of her community, she does so with hope. She believes that the implementation of Wolbachia will bring real health benefits to neighbours and help reduce the impact of dengue in the district. "This will bring great benefits and protect the health of our people," she concludes.

Telling a four-and-a-half-minute story without dialogue, narration, or subtitles is one thing. Animating it is another. Guilherme, Lead Animator at Flow Creative, was responsible for bringing Releasing Hope to life frame by frame, navigating particle simulations, character rigging, and the technical demands of a film built around a villain made entirely of mosquitoes. In this interview, he reflects on the animation process: what made the spectre so difficult to build, why realism was central to the storytelling approach, and how the team found its way through a project unlike anything the studio had taken on before.

Interview with Guilherme, Lead Animator, Flow Creative  |  Behind the Film

When you first received the storyboards, what stood out to you as an animator?

When I first received the storyboards, and even earlier during pre-production, it was already clear to me and the team how big the project was. But it was only once the storyboard was finished that we fully understood the number of shots and the level of complexity involved.

As an animator, I was obviously excited to be part of it, while also very aware of the challenges ahead.

Were there particular shots, emotions, or movements that immediately felt exciting or challenging to bring to life?

To be honest, most of the shots were both challenging and exciting to bring to life. The spectre shots stood out as the most elaborate and time-consuming, but the character work was also extensive and required a lot of experimentation and dedication.

How do you approach expressing emotion or storytelling through movement, especially without dialogue?

This is a great question, and it really guided our animation process. Telling a four-minute story without voiceover or dialogue was definitely a challenge. Our approach was to focus on realism: the realism of the characters' movements, but also making everything feel grounded, subtle, and believable.

In the early stages, the animation technique moved in a slightly different direction. Could you talk us through the tools and techniques you chose to use for this project?

Initially, the creative direction leaned more towards an abstract approach, focused almost entirely on pointillist scenes and moving particles that slowly morphed from one composition to the next. As the project evolved, that idea was integrated into a more narrative-driven piece, while still keeping the concept of an antagonist made of small particles representing mosquitoes.

We tested a lot of different approaches and used any spare time during pre-production to experiment with tools. There wasn't a single method or workflow that worked for every shot. Each scene required something different. For the particle-heavy shots, especially those featuring the spectre, we used a mixed media approach between Cinema 4D and After Effects, with particle simulations done using Stardust.

Building the main animation and blocking in 3D gave us more freedom to explore movement and dynamics. Bringing everything into After Effects afterwards made it easier to assemble and gave us full control over the final look.

What has been the most challenging scene or shot to animate in Releasing Hope, and why?

Any shot involving the spectre was challenging. The particle simulations and detailed motion made them quite heavy to process. At first, you would expect the final shots, where the spectre fights a crowd and eventually explodes and fades away, to be the hardest.

But because the project spanned several months, by the time we reached those shots, we had already gone through the learning curve. After working through all the earlier spectre scenes, we had developed a more efficient way of building and animating it. So in the end, those more complex shots were actually faster to produce than some of the simpler ones at the beginning.

"After working through all the earlier spectre scenes, we had developed a more efficient way of building and animating it. So in the end, those more complex shots were actually faster to produce than some of the simpler ones at the beginning."

Guilherme, Lead Animator, Flow Creative

When the World Mosquito Program set out to create Releasing Hope, a wordless animated film about dengue, community resilience, and the Wolbachia method, they turned to Manchester-based studio Flow Creative to help bring it to life.

Karl Doran, Founder and Creative Director, guided the project from brief to screen, navigating the challenge of telling a complex public health story through visual storytelling alone, scored by acclaimed Danish band Efterklang. In this interview, Karl reflects on the creative and technical process behind the film: from developing a hero's journey narrative accurate to the science, to the animation techniques that give the spectre of disease its unsettling life.

The result is a four-and-a-half-minute film designed to speak across borders, cultures, and languages to audiences in all 16 countries where WMP works.

Interview with Karl Doran, Founder and Creative Director, Flow Creative  |  Behind the Film

What was it about the project that stood out for you in its early stages?

This was a dream project for us in lots of ways. As soon as we started talking to the World Mosquito Program we knew this was a great opportunity to create a powerful and beautiful animated film, but also to help effect a huge positive change in the world. We've always believed in the power of creativity to make the world a better place and have worked with lots of charities and NGOs over the years, so this project felt like a really good fit for us right from the start.

We hadn't heard of WMP or the Wolbachia method before this, but once we found out about the numbers of people affected globally by mosquito-borne disease and the potential of this method to save literally millions of lives, we knew we had to be involved.

What did you think of the initial challenge of making something that is both universal and involves no dialogue?

An important part of the brief from the start was the requirement that the film have no words, instead relying on visual storytelling, music and sound design. WMP works in 16 countries all over the world, so it was important that there weren't any language barriers when distributing the film. To tell a complex story like this, involving cutting-edge science that audiences will likely not be familiar with, and make it accessible and emotionally engaging without any words, was a big challenge.

We worked closely with the WMP team and with a wonderful writer, Michelle Collier, to develop a narrative that would be true to the science, tell a human story authentic to the experiences of people living with these diseases, and would work without dialogue or voice-over.

Working with the fantastic and highly acclaimed band Efterklang on the score made a big difference too. The music they composed helps to drive the emotional journey of our hero character, and adds a poignant and powerful feel to the film.

"To tell a complex story like this, involving cutting-edge science that audiences will likely not be familiar with, and make it accessible and emotionally engaging without any words, was a big challenge."

Karl Doran, Founder and Creative Director, Flow Creative

What animation techniques or tools are central to achieving the overall look of the film?

This film combines a number of animation techniques and processes. All of the artwork is hand-drawn by the fantastic artist Eleonora Asparuhova, then rigged and animated by the Flow team in After Effects and Moho. The spectre is modelled and animated in 3D using Cinema 4D, with particle simulations created using Trapcode Particular and Stardust. We also used frame-by-frame animation in many shots, as well as creating lots of elements in 3D then rendering in 2D, like the motorbike and the girl's cape.

It was very much an experimental process that took some research and development to work out the most effective way to create the look we wanted for the film. The most important thing was that the end result felt believable and natural, and that the tools we used helped to tell the human story rather than get in the way of it.

How important is movement, colour, and pacing in this film to express emotion and a powerful human story?

The use of colour in the film is limited to black and white, with red to depict the danger of mosquitoes, and blue for Wolbachia mosquitoes. This gave us a really powerful visual language to work with, with the glowing blue used to signify hope.

Seeing this mysterious blue glow, and the work WMP and her community are doing, encourages our hero to act and fight back. Having witnessed the devastation caused by the spectre of disease in her town and in her own family, she bravely fights the spectre, but it's too powerful to defeat on her own. Working together, and with the power of Wolbachia, they manage to overcome it. Throughout the film the source of the blue glow remains a mystery, until at the very end it's revealed to be coming from a mosquito, flipping perceptions of mosquitoes as the enemy and showing they can be part of the solution as well as the problem.

Pacing and timing is an essential aspect of the film, allowing the audience to understand the emotional journey of our hero, the wider issue of mosquito-borne disease, and the power we have to do something about it. We had to ensure the story felt human-first. Telling it from the perspective of the girl helps to humanise it and, hopefully, makes a complex subject feel relatable and emotionally resonant for the viewer.

Were there particular scenes that anchored the pacing or defined the story's turning points?

The film establishes the geographic setting at the start, the context of global temperature increases and the growing mosquito population, then we see the reality of living with the spectre of mosquito-borne disease. The first turning point comes when our hero sees her own brother taken ill and decides to act. With the naivety of youth she bravely attempts to fight the spectre, but is knocked back into a dark abyss. At this point in the story all hope is lost - she has tried and failed.

Then the second turning point is when a hopeful blue glow appears in the darkness. This light is coming from Wolbachia mosquitoes and a WMP bike, which leads her to a WMP lab. Seeing the collective action being taken gives her renewed courage and, together with WMP and her community, they do battle with the spectre again.

What do you think are the biggest creative or technical challenges in bringing this project to life?

The first big challenge was creating a story that had humanity and emotion, but was accurate to the science and the reality of people's lives living with these diseases. In many of the interviews WMP had carried out with the communities affected, people spoke of living with the "spectre of disease," or "in the shadow of disease." This gave us the inspiration for how we visualised the spectre.

Creating this spectre as a constantly moving mass of mosquitoes was a huge technical challenge, but it was important that it felt connected to the issue and not an abstract monster. Balancing being true to reality, telling a human story that was relatable and authentic, with the hero's journey narrative and the girl's point of view, was probably the biggest challenge of all.

How do you feel the final film came together, and are you happy with the end result?

I'm really happy with how the film has turned out. In our ten years as a studio this was definitely our most ambitious project, spanning nearly a year from start to finish. Working with WMP was a pleasure — their expertise and passion for the subject were clear from the very first conversations.

Being able to collaborate with an internationally acclaimed band like Efterklang on the score was fantastic too. Visiting their studio near Copenhagen was a great experience, and the music helps to elevate the film to another level. From our point of view it was a huge technical and creative challenge, but the whole team is really proud of the outcome. We can't wait to see it out in the world, and helping to save lives.

"In our ten years as a studio, this was definitely our most ambitious project, spanning nearly a year from start to finish."

Karl Doran, Founder and Creative Director, Flow Creative

Brumadinho made global headlines in January 2019 when a mining dam collapse killed 272 people and devastated the surrounding region. Now, as part of a landmark reparations investment, our Wolbachia method is bringing long-term protection from mosquito-borne disease to the communities of the Paraopeba River Basin.

Wolbachia expansion continues across Brazil

Brazil's first releases of Wolbachia mosquitoes began in September 2014 in Rio de Janeiro. Large-scale deployments followed three years later. Our Wolbachia method now protects more than six million people across 29 cities, including Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Londrina, Foz do Iguaçu, Campo Grande, Joinville, Belo Horizonte, and Petrolina.

WMP Brasil projects are also under way in Uberlândia and Natal, while the second phase of releases is starting this month in Presidente Prudente. Other municipalities where Wolbito do Brasil is currently implementing include Balneário Camboriú, Blumenau, Valparaíso de Goiás, Luziânia, and the capital, Brasília.

WMP Brasil's team leader, Eliane Moreira, highlights the efforts of the whole team and emphasises the role of science in protecting lives and supporting communities.

"The initiative in the Paraopeba River Basin represents an important step forward in actions aimed at promoting health and improving the quality of life of the affected communities. The moment was especially significant because of the role the project plays in the reparation process in Brumadinho and throughout the basin, reinforcing the commitment to science-based solutions and the protection of communities."

Alexandra Andrade, representative of the Association of Families of Victims and Those Affected by the Brumadinho Dam Collapse (Avabrum), emphasised the symbolism of the initiative.

"It is gratifying to know that Brumadinho is the first city to receive the project. The mosquito with Wolbachia helps reduce cases of dengue and represents concrete care for the health of the population."

Eliane adds: "This was more than just a launch event; it was a public recognition of collective work, built daily with dedication, responsibility, and commitment."

Wolbachia touring exhibition launches

The event also marked the launch of a touring exhibition highlighting our Wolbachia method. It invites the public to explore the collective efforts of researchers, field agents, and community members, showing the different stages of production and Wolbachia mosquito releases.

Juliana Silveira, communications coordinator at WMP Brasil, describes the exhibition's central idea:

"At the heart of this exhibition's narrative is the Wolbachia method, a solution that transforms the mosquito itself into an ally of public health, reducing the transmission of diseases such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya."

The exhibition presents the faces and stories of both staff and communities involved in the programme, alongside evidence-based data on the impact achieved in several Brazilian cities. Its target audience includes the general community, students, healthcare professionals, and public administrators.

"The exhibition aims to broaden understanding of the Wolbachia method in an accessible way and bring science closer to people," adds Juliana.

Brumadinho is the first city to host the exhibition, which will be on display in the hall of the Administrative Centre until 10 April. It will then travel to the city of Mário Campos and, over the five-year Paraopeba Project, will visit all 22 participating cities.

In early 2025, WMP set out to make a film that could speak to anyone, anywhere, with no words at all. Releasing Hope is the result: a four-and-a-half-minute animated film created with Manchester-based studio Flow Creative and scored by acclaimed Danish band Efterklang. Here, the people who made it explain how a universal story of resilience, community, and hope took shape.

How do you tell a global story - one that crosses borders, cultures, and languages - without using words at all?

That was the creative task the World Mosquito Program (WMP) set for itself in early 2025.

"So the challenge was that we tell our story without really using any words," says Scott O'Neill, WMP's Founder and CEO. "By creating a piece of original, universal collateral, we wanted something that could be used anywhere and still be effective without language."

Brimming with ideas and possibilities, WMP's global communications team set out to create a powerful and meaningful animation rooted in community empowerment. From the outset, the ambition was clear: a film that could speak to anyone, anywhere, through visual storytelling alone.

Why animation?

For Communications Director Bruno Col, animation offered something no other medium could.

"I thought animation would give us the scope of imagination, creativity, and possibility that no other medium could actually offer us," he says.

In May 2025, the team began working with Manchester-based animation studio Flow Creative, alongside acclaimed Danish band Efterklang, who composed an original score. Together, they worked to craft a cinematic experience driven entirely by imagery, music, and emotion.

Visual storytelling without words

Telling this story without dialogue required careful creative balance. The animation relies entirely on visual cues - from framing, camera angles, transitions, and style — to guide viewers through the narrative and create an epic, cinematic feel.

The final look blends pointillism and illustrative styles, combining frame-by-frame drawing with rigged animation.

"It's pure visual storytelling," says Karl Doran, Founder and Creative Director at Flow Creative. "It all relies on the artwork and what you see on screen allowing you to understand what's happening but also get across that cinematic journey.

"Our goal was to create a film with drama, action, and emotional impact, whilst staying true to the science and reality of how these diseases affect people's lives.

"We hope the film will help to inspire audiences, bring global attention to the amazing work WMP is doing, and the enormous potential impact that Wolbachia could have on the world."

A human story at its core

Central to the project was developing a strong narrative built around a single character in a universal setting. The story needed to be uplifting, while also acknowledging the heavy burden of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, which continue to strain health systems and communities around the world.

"We really wanted to frame it as a human story," says Alex Jackson, WMP's Editorial and Media Manager. "A hero's journey where we follow a girl who battles the spectre of disease."

The "spectre" itself was inspired by recurring themes in WMP community stories — descriptions of disease as a looming darkness, ever-present and threatening. This concept became the film's antagonist, symbolising the fear and disruption these illnesses bring to everyday life.

The young heroine represents something equally important: the role of young people and community volunteers at the heart of WMP's work, including community engagement and Wolbachia releases.

Collaborating with Efterklang

Efterklang's original score elevates the emotional arc of the film, particularly during moments of tension and triumph.

The three-piece band from Copenhagen - made up of childhood friends Casper Clausen, Mads Christian Brauer, and Rasmus Stolberg - have been making waves since the early 2000s, with seven studio albums released to date. The ethereal beauty of their music has graced major stages, concert halls, and festivals across the globe over two decades, with performances alongside classical orchestras at venues including the Sydney Opera House, the Barbican, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

"There was a complexity to this whole project that felt exciting to work with," says Casper. "Let's say the process of working with animation fits quite well with the way we work as Efterklang, with our music. It felt daring to do."

The band is also renowned for its creative collaborations and films, including a border-crossing exchange between the Danish stars and the Macedonian music scene, most recently highlighted in the documentary Efterklang: The Makedonium Band. Their collaborative spirit, experimentalism, and openness to new ideas made them the right choice to partner with WMP on this film.

"It's always nice and it's challenging and it's fun," adds Mads. "But it's also exciting to sort of express yourself in different ways."

Reaching new audiences

"The message is about the power of our Wolbachia intervention and how it can change lives," says O'Neill. "It's about empowering communities and creating a sense of collective action."

Releasing Hope was created to reach a broad, diverse audience, especially younger viewers who may be encountering WMP's work for the first time. The film will be supported by a reimagined comic book version of the story, alongside educational resources about mosquito-borne diseases.

For those who worked on it, the project was as inspiring as the story it tells.

"Once we learned about the science behind Wolbachia and how it could potentially change the world, we were all energised," says James Lawson, 2D Animator on the film. "Hopefully that comes across in what we've made."

In Comas, a district on the edge of Lima, dengue is woven into daily life. But Peru is now taking a different approach - one that goes beyond outbreak response. Carlos Pineda reports on how a national commitment to our Wolbachia method is putting long-term disease prevention firmly in the hands of Peruvian communities and the state.

Dengue in Lima: a disease that has become part of everyday life

In the bustling district of Comas, which lies along the Chillón River valley, near the foothills of the Andes, dengue stopped being a distinct statistic long ago. For many families, the disease is part of everyday life in this populous area of Peru's capital, Lima.

"Here in Comas, dengue is normal; people have, to some extent, lost their fear of it," says resident Liliana González.

Like her, thousands have experienced first-hand the effects of a disease that, over the past year, has significantly affected both adults and children across the country. In 2024, there were more than 271,500 cases reported and over 39,000 last year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). This situation has led Peru to rethink how it addresses dengue. Beyond outbreak response, the country is moving toward a model that prioritises sustainable, long-term solutions.

A national partnership built on local ownership

In Lima, specifically in the district of Comas, an intervention is taking shape that redefines international cooperation in public health. This is a strategic partnership aimed at transferring technological knowledge and transforming the Wolbachia method of the World Mosquito Program (WMP) into an installed, sovereign, and self-sustaining capacity of the Peruvian State.

This partnership is grounded in a national commitment and a co-financing scheme that is uncommon in the region for initiatives of this kind. The Ministry of Health (MINSA) has assumed financial leadership of the plan, covering more than 50 per cent of the total investment with domestic resources, complemented by support from the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust (PRVCU), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and technical accompaniment from the World Mosquito Program (WMP). This approach positions Peru as a regional benchmark, investing directly in its long-term health security.

What Peru's model means for the future of dengue control

The Comas project shows how countries can build their own long-term capacity to fight dengue. When WMP's support eventually ends, Peru will have the knowledge and technical expertise needed to run and sustain the Wolbachia programme on its own. This experience shows that innovation can grow and last when it is built on national leadership and local capacity — turning our Wolbachia method into a tool that the government and communities can use to protect themselves from dengue for years to come.

Wolbachia mosquito releases are due to begin in Comas later this month, and many hope it will expand to other regions of the country, bringing hope in the fight against mosquito-borne diseases.

Communities as active partners in dengue prevention

People in the community clearly understand this approach. "You can tell this is not an experiment, but something meant to protect us," says Mirna, a community leader from Zone 4 in Comas. "Knowing that it has worked in countries like Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia makes me grateful for how the Ministry of Health is informing us and working to protect us." For school principals, health promoters, and neighbourhood leaders, the plan's value also comes from clear information and from involving communities as active partners in the solution.

Sharing knowledge in this way helps ensure that the programme can continue in the future without relying on a permanent international presence. Instead, it strengthens the public health system — from national authorities and regulators to health promoters working directly in communities.

"We have been fighting dengue for many years," explains Isabel Alarcón, an officer of the Incident Management System for the Wolbachia Plan. "Learning about a natural method with a strong focus on community participation, and working closely with the Ministry of Health, helps us understand it and adapt it to our local reality."