SINGAPORE – The world must act together to fight dengue, which is spreading at an unprecedented scale and pace globally, said Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Janil Puthucheary in his opening remarks at the 9th Asia Dengue Summit.
To give bite to the call for action, six regional groups, including the Singapore Dengue Alliance, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen Asia’s countermeasures against rising dengue infections in the region. This was announced at the summit, held in conjunction with ASEAN Dengue Day and World Dengue Day, on June 15 at Orchard Hotel.
The other five organisations are the scientific working group Asia Dengue Voice and Action (ADVA), the Philippines’ Empowering Networks to Defeat Dengue Coalition, Dengue Prevention Advocacy Malaysia, Indonesia’s Kobar Lawan Dengue (also known as the Fight Dengue Joint Coalition), and the International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases.
The Singapore Dengue Alliance is a newly established group comprising ADVA, the Singapore Red Cross and Debug, a Google subsidiary.
The MOU establishes a regional framework for knowledge sharing, advocacy and coordinated action against dengue.
Innovative biological approaches, such as Wolbachia technology and the Sterile Insect Technique, have shown remarkable results in suppressing transmission across diverse settings, Janil noted. Steady progress is also being made in diagnostics and vaccines.
“Our collective challenge now is how can we, as a global community, encourage widespread adoption and scaling of these proven vector control solutions?” he said.
Arboviruses like dengue possess a uniquely dangerous trait: a deceitful calm, Janil added.
He said that as dengue lingers quietly in neighbourhoods, simmering under the surface, avoiding the cycle of neglect and panic involves fortifying three pillars: community engagement, strict environmental hygiene and resilient health systems.
“Amid the calm, we must recognise the threat and build these interconnected systems today, to prevent the explosions of tomorrow,” said Janil. “The same systems will also serve other disease threats, including the current Ebola threat.”
In Singapore, Project Wolbachia – an initiative launched in 2016 that involves releasing lab-reared male mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia bacteria to reduce the Aedes aegypti population – has contributed to a decline in dengue infections.
Over 4,000 dengue cases were reported in 2025, about 70 per cent lower than the number of cases reported in 2024, according to National Environment Agency data.
Representatives from six regional groups taking a photo after signing a memorandum of understanding at the 9th Asia Dengue Summit at Orchard Hotel on June 15.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Nevertheless, the agency urged the public to remain vigilant as Singapore has entered its traditional peak dengue season from May to October. Recent data shows a slight increase in dengue cases, with 97 reported in the week ending June 12, up from 80 the previous week and 67 in the week ending May 30.
By the end of 2026, Wolbachia releases are expected to reach more than 800,000 households, or 50 per cent of all households in Singapore, said Janil.
Singapore was the first country to trial and implement this technology at scale in a high-rise, high-density tropical urban environment. Studies show that dengue risk is reduced by over 70 per cent at Project Wolbachia release sites and by 45 per cent in adjacent areas, he said.
The Sterile Insect Technique, on the other hand, involves rearing insects in a lab, sterilising the males using radiation and releasing them into the wild.
Read the full article at The Straits Times →
SG