Minister takes stock of fight against dengue

Asks officials to work on plan for the next year

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafiq directed officials of departments concerned to speed up the work on the dengue control plan for the next year.

He was addressing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Dengue Control at the Civil Secretariat's committee room on Monday.

The minister directed officials to ensure the availability of medicines, spray pumps, and other equipment to deal with any kind of situation.

He lauded the efforts of all departments concerned, saying the coordinated efforts and hard work of government departments helped them control dengue in the province. "We can overcome any challenge through collective efforts."



Dengue Control Additional Director General Dr Farrukh Sultan and other officers attended the meeting. The DCs and CEOs of the health of other districts participated in the meeting through the video link. Dr Sultan briefed the meeting about the overall situation of dengue in Punjab. He disclosed that 4,968 confirmed dengue cases were reported in 2016, whereas that number fell to 1,032 in the current year.

"A significant decline in the dengue cases was a great achievement of the Punjab government," he said. During 2016, 402 dengue cases were reported in Lahore, while only 74 dengue cases have been reported till December 2017.

Dr Sultan asked the officers of Punjab Information Technology Board to prepare an audit report of the anti-dengue activities of all government departments as it would prepare next year's strategy for dengue control.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2017.