TIB urges govt to declare dengue situation in country 'public health emergency'
The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has urged the government to declare the current situation of dengue deteriorating across the country a "public health emergency".
In a statement on Saturday (8 July), the TIB asked the government to formulate a roadmap and implement it in this regard.
Placing a 15-point recommendation to authorities concerned, including the Dhaka North City Corporation and the Dhaka South City Corporation, based on the 2019 study "Aedes Mosquito Control in Dhaka City: Governance Challenges and Way Forward", the TIB said
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TIB said the country's dengue situation has taken a dire turn due to a lack of coordination among authorities, and a lack of proper planning, preparation and effective implementation.
"Due to lack of transparency and accountability in activities of relevant authorities – including large city corporations, irregularities, corruption as well as the undertaking of sporadic and ineffective programmes – it has not been possible to prevent or control dengue," the statement reads.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, "The situation may be dire. There were such warnings, but the initiative of the two city corporations to prevent dengue in the capital is disappointing.
The concerned authorities did not have any long-term planning and coordinated efforts to prevent dengue by giving due importance to the aforementioned research-based policy brief, and the initiatives that were seen were limited to inadequate or public campaigns considering the situation.
Iftekharuzzaman said both city corporations in Dhaka need to work in coordination with the health directorate and apply various methods instead of only relying on insecticide.
He urged the government to form an expert panel akin to what was formed amid the Covid-19 pandemic and take its suggestion regularly with due importance to control dengue.
Year-long programmes should be taken to control mosquitoes while awareness campaigns related to Aedes mosquito and dengue disease should be run. Besides, public awareness and effective dissemination of warning messages about dengue control and quick treatment through all possible means, including social media, he said.
He also said area-based voluntary groups with the participation of public representatives could be formed while options to include voluntary organisations such as Bangladesh Red Crescent Society in the process could be considered.
Besides, the TIB has demanded clarifying the duties and responsibilities of organisations concerned in order to prevent such a situation from happening again in the future.
