World Mosquito Program (WMP)

We are looking for an early-career Mechatronics Engineer to join the World Mosquito Program, based in Melbourne, Australia. WMP is a global public health organisation working to prevent mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever, using naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria. Our engineering team develops the technologies that support this work, and we're growing our early-stage R&D capability in Melbourne. Reporting into the engineering team, you'll contribute to early-stage R&D by designing, building and testing electromechanical systems, taking prototypes from concept through to validated hardware. The role spans mechanical, electronic and mechatronic work, alongside CAD modelling, technical documentation and structured test planning. You'll also support hardware design reviews, build automated test capability using tools such as Python, and work within laboratory and biosecurity environments that demand rigorous documentation and traceability. We're looking for someone with a degree in Mechatronics, Mechanical, Electrical or a related discipline, around 2 to 4 years of engineering experience (including internships or graduate projects), and hands-on experience with CAD, electromechanical assembly and prototype development. An interest in verification and validation, and in engineering for regulated or safety-critical environments, will serve you well in this role. Full details are below 👇 https://lnkd.in/eHPq5cfd

Indonesia has set a target of zero dengue deaths by 2030. On 30 July the Ministry of Health and the World Mosquito Program signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support implementation of the World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method as part of that effort. Indonesia carries one of the heaviest dengue burdens in the world, among the top two countries globally for reported cases and deaths. In 2024 it recorded more than 257,000 cases and over 1,400 deaths. It is also where much of the evidence was built. The randomised controlled trial in Yogyakarta, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, recorded a 77% reduction in dengue cases and an 86% reduction in hospitalisations. In 2023 Yogyakarta recorded 67 cases, down from more than 1,700 in 2016. "Achieving zero dengue deaths by 2030 requires us to accelerate effective prevention and embrace proven innovations." Dr Andi Saguni, Director General of Disease Control, Ministry of Health. Read the announcement here: https://hubs.la/Q04s_J5r0 World Mosquito Program: re:define possible in partnership. #WorldMosquitoWeek #WorldMosquitoDay #RedefinePossible

"When I was there in person with the people releasing the little mosquitoes, truly, personally, I have felt very emotional, I have felt grateful." Carmen Luz Estrella Paz lives in Zone 4 of Comas, in the desert hills on the northern edge of Lima. Years ago her nephew was admitted to hospital with severe dengue, at a time when cases were only starting to appear in the city and information was scarce. Her family still remembers how close it came. She has spent the time since answering questions, dispelling rumours, and forming the meeting groups where biologists could come and explain what Wolbachia is and what it does. Her account of the result: "many people who didn't know have been able to say yes to Wolbachia." Today is World Mosquito Day. On 20 August 1897 Sir Ronald Ross found the malaria parasite in the stomach of a female Anopheles mosquito, the first evidence that mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans. The day was founded to commemorate that discovery, and each year it is a chance to look at the wider danger mosquito-borne disease still poses. Our corner of that picture is a different mosquito and a different disease. Aedes aegypti carries dengue, and Peru alone recorded more than 271,500 cases in 2024. The World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method works on that mosquito, reducing its ability to transmit the virus. Community acceptance is where a national programme begins. When communities welcome the method, governments gain the confidence to commit, and funders gain the confidence to invest. It is earned in rooms like the ones Carmen convened, one conversation at a time. More than 16 million people are now protected. A large share of that is down to people doing this work in their own neighbourhoods. Read Carmen's story: https://hubs.la/Q04ty1TJ0 World Mosquito Program: re:define possible in partnership. #WorldMosquitoWeek #WorldMosquitoDay #RedefinePossible

Afliana Soares took her son to the clinic with a fever that would not shift. The second clinic took blood. It was dengue. "I didn't expect it," she says. She is now a community leader in Dili who spends her time telling neighbours not to be afraid when someone from the Ministry of Health or Menzies arrives to distribute Wolbachia mosquitoes. Releases have covered the entire urban population of Dili, roughly 240,000 people across 20 square kilometres. That took four organisations working together: Timor-Leste's Ministry of Health, Action on Poverty, the Menzies School of Health Research and the World Mosquito Program, with support from the Australian Government through the ANCP and the Macquarie Group Foundation. Professor Nelson Martins, Senior Technical Advisor, on why they backed it: "We concluded that the Wolbachia method is a good technology, suitable for long-term protection with an effective budget." Full story here: https://hubs.la/Q04t6X2G0 World Mosquito Program: re:define possible in partnership. #WorldMosquitoWeek #WorldMosquitoDay #RedefinePossible

The largest Wolbachia mosquito factory in the world sits in Curitiba. Pedro Barbosa, director and president of IBMP, filmed at the Health Technology Park: "Here we have a place where the sense of partnership, the sense of association, enables conditions to fight dengue in Brazil." Behind that building is a decade of Brazilian experience developing and implementing the World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method, now running across dozens of municipalities. We asked what he would say to leaders in other countries weighing this up. His answer was short: study the solutions that are available, and establish partnerships. Confronting a health problem at this scale takes combined experience between countries. Read more here: https://hubs.la/Q04tj-pb0 World Mosquito Program: re:define possible in partnership. #WorldMosquitoWeek #WorldMosquitoDay #RedefinePossible Wolbito do Brasil

Peru recorded more than 271,500 dengue cases in 2024, and a further 39,000 last year. In Comas, on the northern edge of Lima, the response taking shape is designed to outlast the organisations that helped start it. Peru's Ministry of Health leads the programme, working alongside the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, technical experts from the World Mosquito Program, and a range of national health organisations. The stated goal is an installed, sovereign and self-sustaining capacity within the Peruvian State. Isabel Alarcon, an officer with the Incident Management System for the Wolbachia Plan, puts it in practical terms: "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." Comas could become a model for how countries build the skills and technical expertise to lead their own dengue prevention programmes. Read the full story here: https://hubs.la/Q04tjR110 World Mosquito Program: re:define possible in partnership. #WorldMosquitoWeek #WorldMosquitoDay #RedefinePossible

Proud to see our Director of Advocacy and External Relations in Asia, Claudia Surjadjaja, DrPH, speaking at APMEN's World Mosquito Day webinar this Thursday. If you work in vector control, this is worth your time. Register at the link below. 👇

Wolbachia mosquitoes are now being released across northern Laos. The Driving Down Dengue in Laos project has entered its second phase. Releases have expanded from Vientiane Capital, where they have run for four years, to all nine districts of the capital and four further provinces: Oudomxay, Luang Prabang, Savannakhet and Champasak. More than 1.2 million people are expected to benefit from long-term protection. The project is led by the Ministry of Health's Department of Communicable Disease Control, in partnership with Save the Children International, with support from the Australian Government and the World Mosquito Program. Before a single release, 336 village health volunteers were trained across 197 villages between April and June. Public acceptance across the five target areas passed 88%. "This initiative is not only about the release of mosquitoes. It is about fewer children falling ill, stronger communities, and a healthier future for Lao PDR." Luke Ebbs, Save the Children International. Read the story below: https://hubs.la/Q04t6HHf0 World Mosquito Program: re:define possible in partnership. #WorldMosquitoWeek #WorldMosquitoDay #RedefinePossible

No single organisation beats dengue alone. Fifteen years ago, releasing mosquitoes to stop a disease was an idea most health ministries would not have entertained. Today the World Mosquito Program's Wolbachia method protects more than 16 million people across 16 countries, and it got there because governments, research institutions, community leaders and funders each carried a part of it. This week we are handing the microphone to those partners. Over the next five days you will hear from a secretary of health in Colombia, the head of the vector area at Peru's National Institute of Health, a mayor in Brazil, community leaders in Comas, and the teams running the biofactories that make any of it possible. Cameron Watson, our Executive Director of Global Access, opens the week. Learn more here: https://hubs.la/Q04t6Sq-0 World Mosquito Program: re:define possible in partnership. #WorldMosquitoWeek #WorldMosquitoDay #RedefinePossible