Dr. Syed Nesar Ahmad Rumy :
Recently severe health hazard occurred in Dhaka and all over Bangladesh and still now it is ongoing. The crisis is viral fever ‘dengue’. People get panicked and do not understand what to do in case of affected in dengue fever. Hundreds of people get admitted in hospitals in everyday for treatment. For lack of proper understanding about dengue fever most of the people are facing a lot of troubles in the hospitals and health centers. But why our people got panicked is the major issue to be discussed in our country. We know dengue is a viral fever and any time it can be appear as outbreak anywhere. But in particular rainy season is the most suitable time of breeding of aedes mosquitoes which carry the virus of dengue fever and a single bite can be the cause of dengu fever of a particular person.
This year the volume of rainfall is big in Dhaka and other areas of Bangladesh. Since February to mid-August of this year rainfall was very frequent and sometimes the spell of rainfall continued 4/5 days uninterruptedly in different areas of Bangladesh. Many of us even could not think that the dengue fever appeared in such a large volume that the health department, City corporations and Municipalities were not in a position to mitigate the dengue fever.
Available information shows that the City corporations had no preparations to mitigate the dengue crisis. It seems City corporations and Health Department started mitigation drive as a routine matter and half-heartedly. But when death news comes one after another the authority took it seriously. But by this time a number of people died of dengue fever. Another important thing was that Honorable PM was not in the country in the peak time of dengue fever. So the high-ups of the Health Ministry and City corporations could not start integrated drive against aedes mosquitoes. And there was serious lack of coordination among the two City corporations, Health Ministry and Local government division. It appeared to the people that everyone looks at the HPM for proper directives as if they have no decision making power within their own sphere. As a result of this it shows the weakness of different government institutions and by any consideration it is not a good sign for the service providers (City Corporations, Health Department).
Integrated & Concerted efforts were not visible among the different government agencies regarding mitigation of dengue crisis. The high-ups of the City corporations, Health Department talked much than real work and sometimes they compared this crisis with the outbreak of dengue fever of Philippines and some other African countries as if it is a normal phenomenon and the situation is not that much serious. This notion was very much unexpected and unfortunate. People did not like this sort of attitude.
It seems both the City corporations and Health department were totally unprepared and unaware about the outbreak of dengue in Dhaka City. Even the authority did not think of the consequences of dengue situations. The authorities’ statements and activities showed their weakness and unpreparedness. One of the statements was so untoward that it became laughing stocks. One said the mosquitoes of the South City migrated to the North City after spraying medicines in the South City.
After the outbreak of dengue people have gone at stake. They went to hospitals, health centers madly for the treatments. No visible action was shown in the peak time outbreak of dengue fever except some activities before the electronic media and pressmen. Sometimes it seems the electronic media did not show that much responsibilities as people got panicked following the news and reporting on dengu fever of different TV channels.
During Eid vacation hundreds of thousand people left Dhaka and joined their relatives in the ancestral areas in different districts and villages. Many of them were affected in dengue fever and later it spread to districts and village areas all over Bangladesh. Now the number of dengue affected people gets reduced in Dhaka but it is still increasing in rural areas. Everyday 3/4 death news comes to the national media. The authority is now trying to mitigate dengue crisis seriously. But it would be better if this seriousness would have come earlier.
We know the people of Bangladesh are very much sensitive by nature about the health hazards. Any time the issue which is injurious to public health turns as big concern to them. Problems come to public life must be addressed properly so that people can understand that the authorities try their best to fight with this sort of health hazard.
So in future we have to face such type of situation through an integrated and concerted way. This year, going with dengue crisis, the lessons we have got in last two months are great experience of our government and other sub-ordinate organizations. With these lessons the appropriate authorities, particularly City Corporations have to chalk out round the year program for dengue crisis. In this regard City Corporations, Municipalities, Health ministry and directorate and Public Health department have to work jointly and coordinately otherwise expected result will not come.
For that reason some suggestions are given below and the authorities may consider these steps to mitigate dengue crisis in future. Those are as follows:
a. Government and City Corporations must undertake a research program for mitigation of future dengue crisis;
b. Every year in the month of February City corporations have to start a drive to destroy the larva of mosquitoes so that in the peak time mosquitoes’ larva generation get reduced;
c. The leading physicians of the country should give speeches in seminars, meetings and electronic media regarding mitigation of dengue crisis and it should be regular;
d. City corporations have to prepare urban people educated regarding mitigation of dengue crisis.
e. In the crisis time health department and city corporations /municipalities have to start temporary camps in each ward so that people can come to the center and take appropriate treatment and advice easily;
f. Public health is a very sensitive and serious issue to the people. For that reason the high-ups of government and different Institutions should give public statements carefully and cautiously so that people do not misunderstand them.
With the above discussion in mind we can say a carefully concerted and integrated effort is necessary for such type of public health crisis so that we can take any sort of challenge easily and this is the high time the policy makers and decision makers of our country can think over this issue.
(Dr. Syed Nesar Ahmad Rumy writes on health related issues)
