Shining a Spotlight on the World Mosquito Program in Indonesia

Hear the latest update on the planned release of engineered Wolbachia mosquitoes in Indonesia and the ongoing threat of weaponized mosquitos worldwide.

Written by World Council for Health Correspondent Alice Ashwell, PhD.

On the final day of the recent WCH Asia Symposium, a panel discussion was held to alert participants to the planned release of engineered Wolbachia mosquitoes in Bali, which was expected the following day. Prof. Richard Claproth and Frances Micklem, two of the symposium panelists who presented on this topic, joined the World Council for Health live on 20 November with an update on the mosquito release. During the show, we received the good news that, at the last minute, the Indonesian government had denied permission for the release. However, this is only a temporary measure, and continued vigilance is needed.

To set the scene for the Better Way Live discussion, host Christof Plothe shared a short promotional video in which Prof. Scott O’Neill, CEO of the World Mosquito Program (WMP) takes us on a tour of Bill Gates’s mosquito factory in Colombia – “the largest in the world”. This fast-paced video with its up-beat soundtrack is an excellent example of the slick public relations operation that presents to the world the beneficent public face of this questionable initiative.

If you missed Better Way Live #112, you can rewatch it on our website.

‘Beyond what is practically possible’ - Professor Richard Claproth

A last-minute reprieve for Bali

Prof. Richard Claproth has worked in various ministries in the Indonesian government, and is currently involved in healing work, as well as Gladiator Bangsa, a movement committed to enabling real, positive change in the lives of the people of Indonesia. He came to Bali to investigate what is behind the World Mosquito Program’s (WMP’s) plans to release millions of engineered Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) mosquitoes into the environment. The stated aim of the programme is to prevent mosquito-borne dengue haemorrhagic fever, but many believe it has more sinister intentions.

According to Prof. Claproth, the vast majority of people in Bali oppose these plans, and even government officials are angry that the WMP is pursuing this agenda. Within the government, only the Ministry of Health is promoting the programme, having signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). This is actually contrary to Indonesian regulations, which require Presidential regulation of such programmes by means of a National Risk Assessment.

In the case of the planned deployment in Bali, the WMP is working with an NGO, Save the Children, with funding from the Gillespie Foundation. It is not the role of an NGO to take on such a programme as the Indonesian government is responsible for funding economic development programmes through the National Planning Board. Prof. Claproth therefore reported both the WMP and Save the Children to the police, but no action has yet been taken. He also approached the Governor of Bali who had already been instructed by the President to halt the programme but had not done so until Prof. Claproth called a press conference to draw attention to the issue. Literally at the last moment, the project was suspended.

Thereafter, Prof. Claproth met with Prof. Adi Utarini of Universitas Gajdah Mada, and Dr Herawati Sudoyo of the Mochtar Riardy Institute for Nanotechnology, both of whom have investigated the potential impacts of the release of the Wolbachia mosquito. He was shocked to discover that they were aware that the programme is very dangerous but had been unwilling to declare this publicly.

While the WMP has stated that releasing Ae. aegypti will not increase the mosquito population, Prof. Claproth noticed in one of the graphics shared during their meeting that the population of another mosquito, Culex sp., had increased ten-fold after the release of Wolbachia mosquitoes. This species is known to transmit Japanese encephalitis, and indeed five children were subsequently infected, one of whom died. The following day, an instruction was published in the media that all children younger than 15 years old were to be vaccinated against this disease. This is extremely disturbing.

While the release of Wolbachia mosquitoes in Bali has been postponed, in practical terms it is impossible to stop the programme, which has been planned by the WMP for 15 years and is supported by the Department of Health. But Prof. Claproth is not deterred by what is practically possible. He knows that ultimately this programme is the manifestation of something far deeper. In a word, the programme is evil. And it will be countered through spiritual unity.

The primacy of spiritual unity

Prof. Claproth shared the story of Cymboyton, a philanthropist who lived about 2,000 years ago in the old Persian city of Urmia. He invited the leaders of various religions to stay at his centre where they explored spiritual unity rather than promoting any particular religion. They learnt from a young visiting guru that the presence of evil in the world was due to the lack of spiritual unity. Prof. Claproth warned that without spiritual unity good will not triumph over evil, and truth will not prevail against organised crime.

This is why those motivated by goodness and truth must themselves become organised and rise above religious divisions, which always result in chaos. When we meet a person who practises another religion, we can acknowledge our spiritual unity by saying, “I worship the God inside you,” which invites that person to worship the God within us. Once we experience this, we may continue to discuss politics and the welfare of the people – but not before.

Prof. Claproth held a press conference on 19 November at which he spoke honestly about the role played by the intelligence services within the army and police in enabling the WMP to proceed. Considering the regulations restricting cross-border movement of plant and animal material, there must have been collusion with the Ministry of Agriculture and National Intelligence to import the mosquitoes from Australia originally. He warned that extremely well-resourced people were ‘playing god’ and dictating to others what they should do. These people are eugenicists who are committed to a programme of depopulation.

Prof. Claproth recognises that it is risky to speak out; in fact, during his press conference someone in the government made a phone call to warn him to stop talking about the Wolbachia programme. But despite threats to his safety, he has noticed the early emergence of spiritual unity in Indonesia and is glad to be involved with the WCH whose programmes incorporate opportunities for meditation and prayer.

Christof Plothe, DO commented that the release of engineered mosquitoes began as early as 2009 in the Cayman Islands. Since then releases had taken place in various countries including Australia, Brazil, Burkino Faso, and the USA. The motives of these releases were questionable, as the programmes were funded by organisations such as the BMGF and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the US Department of Defense. The release of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in Florida, USA to combat Zika and dengue was not even necessary, as at the time that state had experienced no cases of Zika and only four cases of dengue fever.

Due to negative impacts, mosquito programmes in Florida and California were halted, but despite this, they have continued to be rolled out in Asia. These releases have not been as effective as promised, with mosquito populations in some places rebounding to pre-release levels after as little as a year, and more resistant hybrids being created in other cases. In Singapore where WMP released mosquitoes two years ago, there is no evidence of a reduction in dengue fever, and more severe symptoms have been reported.

The WCH hosts acknowledged Prof. Claproth’s courage and commitment, and thanked him for calling for spiritual unity, and for his powerful message that spirituality is the foundation of the work of revealing truth. WCH looks forward to working with him to respond to this priority issue.

What we can learn from the Bali experience – Frances Micklem

Having worked with the Institute for Responsible Technology, drafting legislative reports on the challenges of regulating gene-edited micro-organisms, Frances brings valuable experience to the campaign to halt the release of engineered mosquitoes in Bali. She has researched biosafety and health challenges related to numerous technologies, including gain-of-function, gene drives, biological weapons, and genetically engineered mosquitoes. She now works towards the global non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including bioweapons and nuclear weapons. She is committed to the restoration of habitats, food systems, and health, and concerned about animal and resource exploitation and species eradication in the contexts of pest- and disease control.

Since her friend Margaret Denmead realised that a release of Wolbachia mosquitoes in Bali was imminent, Frances has been providing the scientific information needed to alert the people best able to call a halt to this programme. They intend using this case to help other countries cancel planned mass releases of mosquitoes, and as a precedent to demonstrate the danger of these International Health Strategies. In her presentation Frances shared some highlights from this campaign.

World Mosquito Program’s Bali project raises concerns

Frances gave credit to Prof. Richard Claproth whose research identified a number of issues relating to the government’s handling of the WMP’s Bali project. It was concerning to discover that the authorities were completely unaware of the potentially dire consequences of releasing Wolbachia mosquitoes in Bali. All government departments, apart from the Ministry of Health, were unaware that there was even going to be a mass release.

Normal procedures appear to have been ignored, including a lack of the necessary planning coordination between Departments such as Health and Defence. The project turned out to have been agreed to by the National Department of Health, with a risk assessment conducted by the independent arm of the World Health Organization (WHO). They used Microsoft artificial modelling for their assessment of biohazards and found them to be negligible. No other independent oversight or local testing will be possible, even though WMP reports state that they use Wolbachia Internet Protocol (IP) Technology coupled with Microsoft CNN artificial intelligence. This would constitute a thorough monitoring system, but it was not disclosed to the government.

WMP promotional materials explain that Wolbachia bacteria occur naturally in many insects. They state that the strain used is significantly different from the Wolbachia strain that causes filarial disease in humans, and that we should feel reassured that even though it is a symbiotic bacterium, it will not transfer to humans or other species in the environment. It should, however, be recognised that regulatory oversight is particularly challenging in the case of biological organisms due to their ability to spread independently.

Frances pointed out that competent authorities should at least try to regulate such high-impact projects. In addition, she drew attention to an immediate global-scale catastrophe that these authorities and other decision-makers must face head-on: WHO’s Pandemic Treaty and Amendments to the International Health Regulations must be rejected this week and due diligence must be done on the safety and efficacy of their Pandemic Preparedness plans. If not, they will become legally binding, and no individual government will have a choice or the power to refuse a WHO health strategy, however contrary to their own planning and health advice it may be.

What aided the campaign?

One of the strengths of the Bali campaign was that Frances had built up a comprehensive set of papers indicating the risks associated with genetically engineered mosquitoes. One reference explained that mosquitoes fulfil all the criteria of a bioweapon, such as their eggs being easy to deploy. She suggested that a package of information be compiled from this collection, including the criminal charges filed with police, and a legal strategy for civil court cases going forward. She has started making these packs available to defence departments in countries facing the deployment of engineered mosquitoes.

It is essential to make time to undertake due diligence prior to such a release. The last-minute postponement that was achieved in Bali has provided this opportunity but a rigorous due diligence is yet to be started. Other parts of Indonesia are still threatened with releases, and there are increasing incidences of illness in areas where it is feared that releases may have been made without permission.

The advice of Christof Plothe to request a formal statement from the WMP on the cancellation of the release of mosquito eggs in Bali, rather than letting them get away with a quiet postponement, was an excellent opportunity to publicise the fact that the release had been stopped because of actual safety concerns. Unfortunately, the WMP has been allowed to continue promoting the programme. However, the campaign has garnered support from influential people who care, including the President of Indonesia and the honourable Defence Department, both of whom have the power to veto releases of mosquitoes and other biotech across Indonesia. Both also endorsed the decision of the Governor of Bali to postpone the Denpasar release, as well as his letter outlining the concerns that must be addressed before any future release takes place.

Significant support came from Siti Fadilah, a former Minister of Health who is fully informed about the absence of financial, legal, and operational liability for the mosquito release. She is a force to be reckoned with who herself previously had to challenge WHO after samples were taken out of Indonesia against her instruction. She foresees the emergence of a national and international movement, and would like to bring scientists together from Indonesia, Asia and beyond to independently analyse the mosquito eggs.

Siti Fadilah would also like to conduct a due diligence on the efficacy and safety of the pandemic preparedness strategies; the legal accountability and liability offered for adverse events and other human rights violations; and financial due diligence to ensure that pandemic preparedness tools are health- rather than market-led. She has asked for international help to resist the implementation of WHO’s Pandemic Treaty and the amendments to the existing International Health Regulations. She hopes they can create an alternative comprehensive system of health promotion that draws on each country’s own medical systems. This is a wonderful opportunity for WCH Asia to collaborate with others wishing to create ‘a better way’.

The issue is bigger than people imagine

Despite some people recommending that discussions with stakeholders should be limited to obvious issues such as the impacts of mosquito releases on tourism and health, Frances felt it was important to raise concerns that are less commonly mentioned, such as the science behind the production of these mosquitoes, so that every decision-maker can recognise that gene editing does use genetic engineering. People need to realise that gene editing is not, in fact, accurate, safe, or predictable, as industry claims.

If every decision-maker understood that gene-edited products are genetically modified organisms (GMOs), they would recognise at once that the same industry that misled them is now seeking to claim for itself decision-making and law-making powers, behind the public front of WHO.

They would also recognise that molecular biology research is inherently risky with regard to biosafety, whether it is directly or indirectly funded, and whether the organism is released intentionally or accidentally. In addition, they would notice and raise the alarm when a living organism incorporating IP technology was released in their country, let alone in tandem with the implementation of new Wi-Fi frequencies.

Christof Plothe observed that DARPA was behind both the development of these mosquito bioweapons, as well as the gain-of-function research that produced SARS-CoV-2. He noted that the mRNA in the Covid shots had been modified to make it more stable and long-lasting, and wondered if the blood used in the factories to feed the Wolbachia mosquitoes that produced eggs for distribution might be contaminated with mRNA. If so, he wondered if the mosquito offspring would be able to transfer the gene therapy to people who had rejected the shots, making informed consent impossible.

This would be very much in line with research Frances conducted on the 14 Global Health Challenges outlined in 2003 by Bill Gates, including mass vaccination and mass mosquito releases. The timing is also right because in 2004 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) designated open funding to Indonesia to carry out the research and trials on which the current mosquito releases are based. Frances acknowledged that there were many issues associated with the use of blood, including that the WMP had a permit from WHO to feed their mosquitoes on human blood, and there was no clarity about where this was obtained. She had however been told by a representative of the Save the Children Fund who was involved with the Bali programme that the mosquitoes produced in Denpasar were fed on blood from Halal-slaughtered cows.

People need to be informed about the many technologies they are being exposed to, such as genetic engineering, gain-of-function research, trials lacking informed consent, and surveillance technology. Greater awareness is essential if countries are to be motivated to reject WHO’s power grab. This is especially true for countries that rely most heavily on support from WHO.

Avoid arguments – ask questions!

Frances shared some valuable advice in relation to concerns about potentially being sanctioned for making statements that could be construed as ‘spreading misinformation’. Instead of preparing arguments to raise during meetings with scientists and officials, she compiled a list of due-diligence questions about how closely the planned Bali release matched the Yogyakarta trials. Here she shares just a few examples from the list:

• Why are mass mosquito releases introduced on the basis of an experimental permit, despite the WMP saying that it has run the programme successfully in a number of locations?

• Why does the WMP sometimes release only male Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes, and yet in the case of the Bali release it was considered safe to release mainly biting, breeding females?

• Why are adult mosquitoes sometimes released, and at other times mosquito eggs?

• Mosquito larvae spend two weeks in water courses; what are the risks to water sources and aquatic ecosystems?

• Have the exact Wolbachia strain, gene sequence, and ingredients been shared with local authorities to enable them to monitor what happens after a release?

• Why does the WMP call the 2021 Sri Lanka mosquito release a success when two years later they have a world-record number of 60,000 dengue cases, as well as a larvae crisis?

In the first webinar with officials and scientists challenging the Bali mosquito release, the Health Department sent WMP researchers to explain how the release would take place and to answer questions. This, however, proved to be an opportunity for the scientists to let themselves down, as they could not provide direct or satisfactory answers! In the second interview, WMP scientists confirmed the presence of pathogens other than the Wolbachia infection in the mosquito eggs. Whether these were transferred by vertical, inherited gene transfer or injected into the mosquitoes was not clear.

The threat of weaponised mosquitoes that was brought to the attention of the WCH through the Asia Symposium is yet another piece in the crazy puzzle of global control. It is also one that has not yet been subjected to adequate scrutiny internationally. Thanks to the collaboration between WCH and the courageous health advocates in Indonesia that has been sparked by these recent meetings, this is about to change!

---

If you find value in this Substack and have the means, please consider making a contribution to support the World Council for Health. Thank you.