Roughly 390 million people are infected each year with dengue, and hundreds of thousands more are affected by Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
The World Mosquito Program, a not-for-profit owned by Monash University, arose out of Monash's Professor Scott O'Neill's ground-breaking research into the Wolbachia bacteria, which he discovered prevents mosquitoes transmitting these deadly diseases.
Following successful field trials and research publications, the France-based World Mosquito Program, with Professor O'Neill as its Director, is now a global program that releases Wolbachia bacteria into cities across 15 countries, protecting over 16 million people.
On Wednesday (29 April) at 3 pm there will be a launch of the WMP's four-plus minute short movie which is based on Manga comics and has a soundtrack by the famous Danish group, Efterklang.
According to Professor O'Neill, Releasing Hope is "a wordless animation following a young girl's battle against the spectre of mosquito-borne disease, a threat that affects hundreds of millions of people every year. The film captures the power of our Wolbachia method and how it can change lives," he said.
"We hope it inspires audiences and brings global attention to what is possible when science and community come together."
Video at: Releasing Hope: A Film by the World Mosquito Program
Stills and "making of" documentary at https://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/releasing-hope
