K-P launches dengue control action plan

Chief secretary orders awareness drive in province

PESHAWAR:

In order to avoid a repeat of previous year’s emergency situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) the provincial government has launched a comprehensive and systematic dengue control program this year across the province.

This was revealed by K-P Chief Secretary Dr Shehzad Khan Bangash while presiding over a high level meeting on dengue on Friday.

He said that the provincial government had prepared an action plan which will be implemented in a coordinated manner by all the districts and stakeholders.

The meeting was attended by secretary health, secretary local government, director performance management and reforms unit and other related officials.

The meeting was informed that the health department in collaboration with all the district administrations would ensure timely measures across the province so that the previous year like dengue situation could be avoided.

It was further revealed that a complete action plan had been chalked out by the provincial government to ensure coordinated and effective measures for the prevention of dengue.

He also called for a coordinated campaign by all relevant departments to this end. Chief secretary ordered an awareness campaign about the prevention of dengue and effective monitoring of the overall campaign to get the desired results.

He said that the setup at the divisional and district level should be strategized according to the action plan 2022 while special attention should be given to the last year’s dengue stricken areas.

Bangash also directed the local government department to improve the drainage and water supply system in the dengue hotspots.

It is worth mentioning here that thousands of dengue cases were reported from across the K-P last year in parallel with the Covid-19 and at least 10 people lost their lives.

The administration failed completely to bring the situation under control as it was preoccupied with the Covid-19 emergency and lockdowns. Local residents say the district administration and town administrators had failed to start emergency fog sprays and larvicide campaigns in the province soon after the monsoon season as a result all the four provinces were hit by dengue hard.

Thousands of dengue patients provided the paramedics to mint money advertising drips as the only remedy and charging Rs1,500 per drip in Peshawar without inviting any attention from the quarters concerned and government.

Local people claim that the government has manipulated the data to hide the actual death toll caused by dengue.

Dengue was first reported in Khyber tribal district which rapidly spread to adjacent Peshawar where it survived till the end of November.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2022.