‘No alternative sans awareness to prevent dengue’

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that there is no alternative to awareness.

At the same time, online awareness campaign must be intensified so that people adopt preventive measures against dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases
He said this while addressing as the chief guest a workshop on Insights Dissemination of the Improvement of Urban Public Health Preventive Services Project (IUPHPSP) on Wednesday at Hotel Sonargaon in the capital.

Fakhrul Islam said the national committee on mosquito-borne disease prevention has already held its first meeting and is continuing its work. He hoped that Improvement of Urban Public Health Preventive Services Project will play an important role in strengthening dengue prevention efforts.

Despite various initiatives, mosquito larvae are still being found in different areas, he said, adding that greater public awareness is essential to effectively tackle the situation. He said the Prime Minister attaches the highest importance to public health, cleanliness and disease prevention and envisions a clean, healthy and beautiful Bangladesh.

Speakers at the workshop said the IUPHPS project being implemented by the Local Government Division (LGD) with financing from the World Bank, aims to strengthen disease prevention capacity and public health management in urban areas. The project is working to expand preventive public health services and build effective mechanisms to combat dengue and other diseases in cities, they added.

Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain, Dhaka North City Corporation Administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan, Director General of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Inspection Wing of the Finance and Planning Ministry Mahmudul Hasan, Project Director of the IUPHPSP Abul Khayer Mohammad Hafizullah Khan and senior officials concerned attended the workshop.