Anti-dengue mosquito alert: Cleanliness Day on Sunday throughout the Punjab

City governments told to speed up efforts to clean up mosquito ‘hot spots’.

LAHORE:

Considering the possibility of a dengue fever epidemic, the provincial government has announced that September 7, Sunday, will be observed as Cleanliness Day throughout the province. City governments will conduct cleanliness drives throughout the province during which potential dengue mosquito breeding sites will be swept and dengue mosquitoes eradicated. All departments will remain open on Sunday.

This was announced on the directions of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif at a high-level meeting chaired by Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique and Additional Chief Secretary Aamir Sohail at the Civil Secretariat on Wednesday. The chief minister has directed all departments to take stringent steps to eradicate dengue mosquitoes and file performance reports to him daily.

Health Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik, secretaries of relevant departments, Health Services Director General Zahid Pervez, Institute of Public Health Dean Prof Moaz Ahmed, Epidemiologist Prof Farkhanda Kokub, PITB Director General Aamir Chaudhry, DCO Capt (r) Muhammad Usman and Vector Borne Diseases Additional Director General Islam Zafar attended the meeting.

Malik discussed the dengue fever situation in the Punjab. The participants reviewed the performance of various departments and the steps they had taken to control dengue fever.  The additional chief secretary said all departments will receive standard operating procedures on dengue fever control once again. He urged the relevant departments to speed up their efforts in eradicating dengue mosquitoes. He said an awareness campaign should be launched this season and seminars should be organised in schools and colleges. He said community workers and civil society could also be taken on board. The participants decided that city governments would display banners and advertisements carrying awareness messages would be published and aired in print and electronic media. Aamir Sohail said September was a crucial month due to the heavy rain forecast. He said the Water and Sanitation Authority and Solid Waste Management Departments in cities would join the campaign. Prayer leaders would deliver awareness lectures before Friday prayers each week, he said.

Rafique said the chief minister was closely observing the performance of elected representatives and government departments with regard to dengue fever control. He said Sharif had directed town emergency response committees to meet twice a week. Public representatives, department secretaries and other officers would attend the meetings and ensure monitoring of dengue surveillance activities. Rafique said due to heavy rains in September, the experts had predicted that breeding of dengue mosquitoes could precipitate another health emergency. He said government departments and citizens should play an active role in checking and cleaning dengue hot spots. He said Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura were high risk areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2014.