Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the dengue larva killing campaign has been launched at the union council level all over the province.
Addressing a meeting convened to review dengue control measures here on Monday, he said a central control room had been established in Lahore to collect relevant data. He said the necessary drugs and chemicals had been made available to ensure eradication of dengue fever. He directed monitoring of anti-dengue arrangements by a third party, saying that an effective institutional mechanism should be evolved in this regard. He constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the King Edward Medical University vice chancellor to monitor the campaign. The committee’s other members are the Information Technology University vice chancellor, the additional secretary (Health) and Dr Muhammad Waseem.
Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Education Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rahman, Chief minister’s Special Assistants Khwaja Salmaan Rafique, Zaeem Hussain Qadri, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Khwaja Ahmed Hassaan, additional chief secretary and secretaries of various departments were present on the occasion.
Sharif said all possible steps should be taken to stop the possible outbreak of dengue fever. He directed refresher courses be launched for the staff concerned. He said awareness about the dengue virus had been made part of schools syllabi and a compulsory question on dengue fever prevention had been included in school examinations to create awareness among children about the virus. He directed that special attention be paid to ensure sanitation in educational institutions. He said work should be initiated to establish a research and development centre to permanently eliminate the dengue virus. He said the role of the Institute of Public Health with regard to elimination of dengue fever was important.
The chief minister ordered strict monitoring of graveyards, tyre shops and warehouses besides removing debris from parks. He warned that negligence by any official would not be tolerated. He said 41,000 volunteers recruited last year should also be mobilised for the campaign.
He said the action plan for the anti-dengue campaign should be implemented by every department. The divisional commissioners and the DCOs should personally monitor anti-dengue measures. He directed the chief secretary to review arrangements for anti-dengue campaign twice a week. He directed the health secretary to ensure that salaries were paid promptly to entomologists.
He also received a briefing by various departments regarding measures to ensure success of the anti-dengue campaign throughout the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2013.