The Mosquito Control Day (Hari Pengendalian Nyamuk) 2019 held in MG Setos, Semarang on 22 August 2019 was officially opened by the Governor of Central Java, H. Ganjar Pranowo, S.H., M.IP. and the Ministry of Health as represented by Dr. Anung Sugihantono, M.Kes., DirectorGeneral of Diseases Prevention and Control (P2P).  In this event, Dr. Sjakon G. Tahija, Sp.M shared about Yayasan Tahija’s journey as a venture philanthropy in a multi-years project (i.e. Eliminate Dengue Project) in Yogyakarta (“EDP-Yogya”) since 2011 up until this moment. 

As a philanthropy foundation, Yayasan Tahija, has become the sole donor of EDP-Yogya research to find a major and sustainable breakthrough in public health that would benefit Indonesia and the world by using Wolbachia technology.

EDP-Yogya is a joint effort between Yayasan Tahija, Gadjah Mada University and Monash University, Australia. In 2018, EDP-Yogya embarked on Phase 3 of the research. This final stage is expected to confirm the hypothesis that Wolbachia Ae. aeigypti intervention will significantly reduce the number of clinical dengue cases. 

Yayasan Tahija hopes that this effort could support the government in eliminating dengue and creating a large impact on the management of future insect borne disease.