Using Drones and AI to Support Dengue Prevention in Candelaria, Quezon
- Agata Klat | Communications Director
- 37 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Dengue remains a persistent public health challenge across the Philippines—especially in communities where terrain is complex, monitoring resources are limited, and risk can shift quickly during the rainy season.
To support more proactive dengue prevention, Help.NGO is contributing drone-based mapping expertise to a multi-partner initiative led by SORA Technology, together with Vector Control Philippines, and Debug, a Google initiative to reduce mosquito-borne diseases.
This collaboration brings together complementary expertise. SORA Technology leads the mosquito surveillance methodology and analytics; Help.NGO serves as the drone partner supporting aerial data collection and geospatial mapping in challenging environments; Vector Control Philippines anchors local coordination and alignment with public health stakeholders; and Debug supports the technical workflows to evaluate the opportunity to provide technology to enable scaled production and releases of mosquitos with a naturally-occurring bacteria called Wolbachia that can reduce the transmission of dengue. Together, the goal is simple but important: help communities move from reactive dengue outbreak response toward earlier, more targeted prevention.
Between January 20 to January 22, 2026, In Candelaria, Quezon, the team mapped approximately 725 hectares in collaboration with the Municipal Government and local Barangays. Drone operations were conducted safely and efficiently, producing high-detail outputs that were used by SORA Technology’s proprietary AI solution to learn the location of high-risk locations.
So how does the approach work in practice?
Help.NGO’s drone operations capture high-resolution imagery across target zones identified through local coordination and with SORA’s team of experts. The mapping outputs can include orthomosaic imagery and 3D terrain products, enabling teams to review landscapes at a level of detail that’s difficult to achieve through ground-only inspections. The analysis done by SORA Technology’s AI-Supported workflows then focuses on environmental conditions commonly associated with mosquito breeding and dengue risk—such as stagnant or slow-moving water, dense or unmanaged vegetation, flood-prone low-lying areas, and residential zones adjacent to irrigated or agricultural land. The output is then showcased on an application that helps to organize actions by players on the ground.
Vector Control Philippines plays a critical role in ensuring that advanced tools translate into real-world impact—bringing mission-driven public health focus, operational grounding, and strong stakeholder engagement into the collaboration. Their work centers on biologically sustainable dengue prevention solutions, including Wolbachia-based strategies that help reduce dengue transmission over time through science-backed, community-trust-oriented approaches.
Fieldwork of this nature depends not just on technology, but on disciplined execution—flight planning, safety checks, data validation, and careful coordination with local leaders and partners to ensure operations remain respectful, sustainable, and aligned with community priorities.
We also want to acknowledge the importance of local government led by Hon. Mayor George Suayan and community leadership in making these prevention efforts possible. Collaboration with municipal and barangay partners ensures activities are sustainable and developed with local context. When technology is introduced with humility—and paired with local expertise—it becomes a force multiplier for preparedness rather than a distraction.
We’re also grateful for the support and generosity of Mr. Ferdinand De Gala (Vector Control Philippines), who has invested significant time, resources and effort into the partnership in order to bring Wolbachia-based strategies and improve health outcomes in the Philippines related to mosquito-borne diseases.
Ultimately, this work is about enabling earlier visibility of risk and taking action, so prevention resources can be used efficiently. In settings where manual inspections are constrained by distance, access, or time, drone-enabled mapping and AI-supported analysis can help teams assess larger areas faster and with greater consistency—supporting more proactive planning in a changing climate.
We’re honored to collaborate with SORA Technology, Vector Control Philippines, and Debug, and we look forward to continuing this partnership in support of healthier, more resilient communities.
Comments