An informal settlement in Indonesia where Monash-led research program Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments is working with locals to prevent mosquito-borne disease.
Researchers have caught and analysed more than 90,000 mosquitoes in Fiji and Indonesia to find more effective ways to protect some of the world's most vulnerable populations from harmful diseases like dengue, Zika and West Nile.
They have highlighted the urgent need to improve water supply and access, upgrade drainage systems, and mitigate urban heat, to reduce mosquito abundance in informal settlements in Makassar, Indonesia and Suva, Fiji.
The research is part of the Monash University-led transdisciplinary research program Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE), which aims to address water access, sanitation, environmental and related health issues in 24 informal settlements in Fiji and Indonesia.
Often referred to as a "slum", an informal settlement is a residential area lacking formal urban planning or service provision.
It's estimated that more than 1 billion people across the globe live in informal settlements today, and the number of residents is expected to triple in the next 30 years.
Lead researcher Dr Emma Ramsay, who undertook the research as a key focus of her PhD at Monash University, said people living in informal settlements face a high risk of mosquito-borne diseases, but until now there was limited evidence on what drives mosquito numbers in these areas.
"We must address this issue if we are to improve the health and environmental outcomes in these areas," Dr Ramsay said.
"Our study is a big step forward, because we provide an evidence-based approach to guide place-based solutions for dealing with mosquito vectors that enhance the burden of disease.
"Climate change, rapid urbanisation and population growth are all contributing to growing challenges for informal settlement residents across the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere."
Over six years, the RISE team has been diligently trapping and counting thousands of mosquitoes to untangle the complex dynamics that drive mosquito risk.
Co-author Professor Steven Chown, from Monash School of Biological Sciences and lead of the ecology and environment team at RISE, said the long-term study gave researchers enough data to develop a rich and nuanced understanding of how mosquitoes behave and spread in informal settlements.
"Some solutions can inadvertently create other problems, so it's really important to test our ideas with long-term research and work closely with the communities to mitigate adverse impacts," Professor Chown said.
"For example, more buildings and roads can make an area hotter, which may benefit mosquitoes."
"It's also important to understand not all mosquitoes respond the same way. Having piped water can reduce the number of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, but increase numbers of the southern house mosquito, which spreads other diseases."
RISE is led by Monash Sustainable Development Institute in partnership with the governments of Indonesia, Fiji, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Australia, Hasanuddin University in Indonesia and Fiji National University. Click here to find out more.
Read the full research paper in Environmental Research Letters: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/add751
