Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Project Wolbachia by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Project Wolbachia by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether NEA plans to extend Project Wolbachia in the coming months to more sites, especially in areas where a high Aedes aegypti mosquito population has been detected.

Answer:

1 The National Environment Agency (NEA) has been taking a calibrated approach in implementing the Project Wolbachia pilot as the technology is nascent. Each phase of the pilot is designed with clear objectives and builds on the learnings from earlier phases, including the impact on the mosquito population, such as the dynamics between the Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes and wild type mosquitoes, and dengue cases. Last year, NEA expanded the project to eight additional sites, as part of a multi-site field study to understand the impact of the technology on dengue transmission in different local environments. Thus far, Project Wolbachia has covered more than 300,000 households, or about 30% of all HDB blocks and 9% of all landed homes across Singapore, benefitting 1 million residents.

2 NEA will continue to rigorously evaluate Wolbachia technology and work with commercial partners and international experts to calibrate the increase in Wolbachia-Aedes mosquito production and release capacity as we work towards expanding to more sites in the coming years.