Community participation essential for dengue eradication

Lahore—Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Health, Kh. Salman Rafique has directed the concerned departments to improve indoor surveillance for eradication of dengue and micro planning should be made at union council level for this purpose. He observed that dengue larvae is being reported from the water containers inside the houses, therefore, community participation is essential for dengue eradication.

He said this while presiding over cabinet committee meeting to review the measures taken by various departments to check dengue. Besides Members Punjab Assembly from Lahore, Commissioner, DCO Lahore, Secretaries, Addl. Secretaries of concerned departments including Health and other senior officers also attended the meeting. It was informed that meetings of town response committees are being held on regular basis in which public representatives and officers of concerned departments are participating. The meeting decided that “Dengue Mukao” campaign would be launched door to door at UC level with the help of volunteers, officials of district government, NGOs and local public representatives.

In this connection, a pilota project is being launched in UC-38 from the next week. The meeting was informed that so far 1363 tyre shops have been issued licenses whereas more than 10 thousand volunteers have got registered their names. Moreover, dengue awareness campaign is continuing in educational institutions of Lahore and other districts. Seminars are being organized to create awareness among the students.

The students of schools and colleges are also engaged in dengue surveillance in their institutions. It was informed that dengue awareness booklets have been provided to Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Lahore for onward distribution among private schools and they have been asked to get these booklets from the BISE according to their requirement.

Senior officers of Health, Local Government, Auqaf, Fisheries, Labour, Cooperatives, Social Welfare, Higher Education, School Education, Food, Environment, Irrigation departments, Information Technology Board, Lahore Waste Management Company, WASA, PHA and special branch briefed the meeting about the measures taken for the eradication of dengue.